How to Help My Daughter Practice Spelling

Before I had my son I taught kindergarten and first grade - I wouldnt wait to bring it up with the teacher- has the teacher tried moving her closer to the board? Is english her primary language? Does she have trouble with all words or just words that arent spelled like they sound? Some kids can sound out words but have a hard time with others (often high frequency words arent spelled like they sound)these high frequency words can be found on a Dolch list. Just google dolch list for 2nd grade or sight words for second grade.
Also spelling words are usually broken down into groups like -ight, -ite, - tch, -oal. Teach these as whole sounds not the individual sounds. Hope this helps!

I like the suggestion for flash cards with single letters because then it becomes a game. One of my twins is very musical so we used to sing her spelling words and make songs out of her vocabulary words when she was younger. Sometimes I still see her doing the same thing on her own now. My other twin and my son are very sporty so we used to practice their words by shooting a basket for each letter.

Mom of three.

Check into vision therapy. Find a behavioral optometrist to give her an eye exam. There is more to vision than simply can you read the board. If you eyes are not working together as a team, it makes reading and spelling very difficult. It makes everything harder in fact. Vision therapy can correct this. You can find a behavior optometrist in your area by going to covd.org. My 5 year old benefitted far more than I ever could have imagined by going through vision therapy! I highly recommend it!! We used Dr. Esposito from Advanced Vision and Achievement Center. They have several locations. We went to the one on 35th Ave and Dunlap (off Cheryl Dr.) If you have any questions about it, send me a note and I will give you my contact information. Best of luck to you!!

As another mom responded, some children with reading/spelling difficulties have difficulties because of visual issues/visual processing. I have worked as an occupational therapist in the school setting for over 10 years now with children with these types of learning difficulties and it is definitely something to check out to rule it out. Vision therapy can help alleviate the problem if there is something there...check out carlssoneye.com or covd.org for more information. Carlsson Family Eye Center is located in Gilbert and has a vision therapy program
Good Luck!

I would suggest posting spelling words, and common words around the house, that way she is able to see the words on a daily basis. I think labeling household items such as clocks, oven, stove is a great way to teach spelling with repetition she should pick it up quickly. Singing the spelling also helps, because its easy for kids to remember. When you practice letter sounds, some children tend to spell only phonetically, unfortunately our language is full of confusing rules! I hope this helps, good luck!!

Hi R.,

School can be so frustrating and stressful for kids, especially when they are struggling a bit. What if you did the spelling all the time, not just homework time. I think homework time is great but when it comes to a subject they struggle in I'm sure it is hard. Maybe you could try doing spelling in the car. As you drive down the road just make it part of your conversation. Or in the store you could point to things and ask her to spell them. Maybe if you change your stradegy a bit it will be less stressful, more fun and she will succeed.

Ovbiously she still needs homework time to learn study habits and work on concentrations. I just think you could add to her learning in a fun, non homeworkey kind of way.

Good luck!

Hi R.,

I'm a student teacher in a second grade classroom right now. Here are a couple of things...have your daughter spell words to you throughout the day, so in the car ask her how to spell words, while she's eating breakfast, etc. If you notice she does better spelling the words verbally, ask the teacher if this is a form of intervention she can use with her (use either the word intervention or modification...those are important for testing purposes). If she's not willing to do that, then you need to talk to someone in admin about your concerns.

Also, don't be scared to get your daughter tested. She may not qualify for special ed, but she may qualify for extra help from a resource teacher or from regular classroom modifications. A little secret I learned is that if a parent requests that their child be tested it is usually a faster process than if the teacher requests it. Put it in writing to her teacher (make sure you save a copy for yourself).

For reading, you can buy a transparency and cut it into like 2" X 8" strips. Then, in the middle of each strip, use a highlighter to draw a straightline across it. Then, have your daughter use this when she reads. She puts the highlighted line over the line she is reading.

Some kids just aren't great readers or spellers, but she sounds like there is more going on. Make sure all the books she is reading (not what you're reading to her, but what she reads on her own) are "Just Right" books meaning that she can read and understand pretty much everything she reads in them. Have her read a couple of sentences in the middle of the book and then tell you what she read about. If she can't tell you, she was focusing too much on how to read the words and the book isn't right for her. Also, if she struggles with 5 or more words during a short reading selection, the book is not right for her.

Good luck, it really sounds like you're doing everything right. If the things you've been doing really aren't working, I personally think it might be time to pursue some other intervention at school.

If she is not reading at a 2nd grade level, she should not have a 2nd grade spelling list. Ask the teacher for a modified spelling list that is her level. Some fun ways to practice words are to write them on a small white board with a dry erase marker (my daughter loves this); write with a special crayon while taking a bath or shower (most craft stores, toy stores) write on a poster with marker. You can type words on the computer, print out and cut out and tape them on the wall in her workspace or above her bed so she has to look at them a lot that week.

Read, read, read! Read to her A LOT and let her read to you too. I can't stress enough how that will affect all academic areas as your daughter gets older. As her reading progresses, her spelling should come along with it. Also, don't stress too much about spelling. As adults, we all use spell check anyway. (Even my DD in Jr. High has to type most assignments.) It is more important that she be able to read well.

As early as first grade I knew there was something wrong - for lack of a better word - with my son regarding reading and spelling. He and I would study spelling together for hours throughout the week. He would bring the practice test home on Thurs with over half of them wrong. We studied those words extra hard that night and Monday when he brought the test home, there were more than half wrong. He also reversed the letters b, d, p, q, j, y and inverted m and w. The teacher and principal both told me this was normal for first grade. I didn't think so, something in my gut just told me this wasn't your typical kid. Reading was so frustrating for him and we tried to be encouraging and not let him get to upset.

Finally in 2nd grade I wrote to the district because the school wasn't doing anything to help but were threatening to make him repeat 2nd grade. He was clearly intelligent because his actual grade in math was a 100%. Science was a 99% and Social Studies was a 97%. Reading was 43% and spelling was 38%. The thing that sent me to the district was when the principal suggested I take him to Sylvan. She tried to tell me that because they were a charter school they didn't have the facilities to cover testing or special services. The school district corrected them on that matter and they agreed to test my son. His IQ was too high to qualify for special services and the special ed teacher had the absolute gall to tell me that maybe my son was just lazy. The next day we were at a new school in the Peoria school district. My son was privately tested and it was confirmed that he is moderately dyslexic.

We now home school because his grades in math were becoming affected. Not because he wasn't doing it correctly...he would calculate the problem accurately but transfer the answer to the answer sheet in reverse order - for example 41 instead of 14 - and instead of checking the work, the teacher simply marked it wrong. When my son reads silently he can almost speed read and retains excellent comprehension. His spelling is still atrocious but easily fixed with spell check. This shows him which words are incorrect and he has to look them up himself (my rule). He takes a science class through a co-op and there have been only minimal problems with his lab reports. The teacher - there because she loves teaching - is very understanding and accommodating.

If your daughter reverses any letters or the order of numbers, has terrible memory, is easily distracted and has trouble reading I would recommend getting her tested. It might not be dyslexia but there are other things that affect reading and spelling. I forgot to mention...my son also read some small words out of order..for example, "sit" was read as "its" and "not" he read as "ton".

Have you had her tested for things such as dyslexia? Maybe there is more to her spelling woes than just difficulty memorizing. Sometimes listening to classical music while studying can help to solidify it in their mind. Also, maybe have her quiz you, there have been studies that have shown teaching a concept can help a child learn that concept better. Good luck.

Maybe have her tested? Some friends of mine have kids that have to wear special glasses for reading because their eyes have trouble tracking the words. It may be worth checking into. Also, if writing the words doesn't seem to help her, maybe get some alphabet letters (plastic or foamy), (Teaching Stuff Store would probably have them)and have her physically find the letters and put them in the correct order. Some kids are more tactile learners. Have you asked the teacher for suggestions?

Other than to say that everyone has given great advice and to follow it, the only suggestion that I have is something that I do with my fourth grade daughter. I made her large 'letter flashcards' with a single letter on each of them and I tell her the word and she finds the letters she needs to put the word together for me. She does much better with this method than any other that I've tried over the last few years.

Hi Racheal,

I'm not sure if you do this all ready but when I was in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade we would practice writing the word out like a gazillion times... lol no but seriously we would write the word 10 times and in a sentence 3 times EACH word. DAILY... so for example:
Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog, Dog
The dog went to the park.
The dog followed me to school.
The dog smells bad.
The sentences would be made up of word she already knows. and like I said Daily is the key... I went from not doing to well to almost 100% every spelling test when we started doing it this way... Repetition is key... and remind her that it's not a race to finish the test first and it's not a contest as to who does what in her class... remember there are a LOT of things that go into play... but the MOST important is her MIND FRAME! Is she going into the test nervous, with the expectation she will not do well? Or... that she is going to ROCK THAT TEST? It really does make all the difference. She may have a problem like all the other people mentioned or... she could have another underlying issue. I wish you and your family all the best.

Something simple and inexpensive is get a pie tin and pour salt or sugar in it and have her write the words with her finger. My daughter loves this one. Good luck. Also, my Brother in law had sever spelling issues growing up and his mom took him to a Dr. Bacon in Chandler AZ, he does eye therepy that strengthens the muscles of the eye. http://www.oepf.org/CCBacon.php He didn't have dyslexia, but he did have some condition that I don't remember the name of. Good luck. :)

Have you ever heard of Sylven? They are a company that offers tutoring outside of school. There are other such agencies as well. Another avenue is at the university intheir English department. Maybe some starving student could help for minimal price, preferably one who's studyng rhetoric. Let us know what happens.