1. Sound It Out
Learning to spell can come secondary to learning to read. In the beginning, children first learn to read words using visual memory. They can recognize and recite the spelling of words that they have seen or heard repeatedly, like "cat" and "dog," but that spelling is derived only from memorization. For children to learn to spell words they are not familiar with, they have to learn to "sound them out."
There are several documented stages a child goes through as he learns to spell. In the phonetic spelling stage, which typically begins around the age of 5 or 6 years, a child can connect the letters in the alphabet with the sounds they make. Spelling at this stage consists of matching the sounds in the words with the letters they represent. This is called "invented spelling" or "phonic spelling." For example, a child might spell the word "day" as "da." This is perfectly normal and should be encouraged. However, instead of pretending that the child's spelling is correct, which may confuse him later, praise the effort and say something like, "That is how that word sounds. Good job. Here is how an adult spells it." From there, your child can be taught conventional spelling patterns and rules.
2. Teach Spelling Rules
For a child to move to correct spellings, she has to grasp a number of different concepts, including letter combinations, phonic varieties and ending rules. Each spelling rule has to be taught individually and reinforced by drilling. This is a large part of the lesson plan from first through third grade. Help your child to learn these rules by practicing them repeatedly at home. Buying or making flash cards for letter combinations, prefixes and suffixes is a good place to start, as these are the building blocks for conventional spelling. Connect these rules by linking the elements of a word with words that use them. For example, to teach the letter combination "th," link it to words like "with," "think" or "bath." Spelling rules make more sense when they are put into context.
3. Use Hands-On Spelling
You also can teach spelling at home using games. Letter magnets and alphabet blocks are tools for helping kids learn to spell out words. Make spelling an interactive game by calling out words that you child will spell with the magnets or blocks. Give points for correct answers. If your child gets it wrong, don't reveal the answer. Instead, help him to discover the mistake on his own by using similar words he knows or restating spelling rules. To make the game slightly more advanced, call out words in the order of a sentence. When the sentence is complete, have your child read it back to you and reward the effort.
