Can I make a quiet confession?
I have never included spelling as a part of my children's curriculum. I can't say that this is the "right" thing to do or not, but it is what I have done.
I've read a collection of thoughts on spelling and they differ, as so many learning philosophies seem to do. Knowing that my load in life was already quite full, I decided to choose what I considered the "easiest" of the methods and what seemed to fit our home better. Some, with more skills than myself, would call this method natural spelling.
Natural spelling recognizes that spelling practice is actually occurring whenever your child is reading and writing. It also discourages a child from practicing spelling words that he already knows and focuses on the words that he is struggling with.
I thought that I would sit myself in front of the camera and share with you how I am teaching spelling with my grade 3 daughter using the works of A.A. Milne.
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| Free slideshow design made with Smilebox |
Other natural spelling strategies that are easy to implement:
*** Pay careful attention to your child when he is writing and take note of words that he is needing help with when spelling. Make a personalized spelling list of about 5-6 trouble words and have your child practice these words in a variety of ways until they are learned. Fun ways to practice spelling include writing in rice, using a whiteboard or chalkboard, using magnet letters, using alphabet stamps, posting the words on the bathroom mirror for frequent viewing, and playing hangman.
*** Take note of words that may be from a word family. For example, my daughter spelled "stair" like this: "star". I recognized that she needed practice with the "air" word family. So along with her spelling words, I shared with her other words that ended with "air" such as fair, chair, lair, pair, etc.
*** Give your child a spelling test that includes 50% of all written language. This list is presented in Ruth Beechick's book The Three R's, but I have made a printable copy of it here: 50% of Written Language ~ Spelling Test.
Related Readings:
Homeschool {Natural Spelling} ~ @ Herban Homestead {This post recommends using Simply Spelling starting in grade 3.}
How to Teach Spelling ~ @ Anne's Coffee Break
Teaching Tip Tuesday ~ Spelling List of Resources
