Chapel Hill State School

Curriculum Information for Parents

Spelling - English - Key Learning Area

Spelling strategies used by young children as they begin to write

Skill in spelling develops as it is needed for writing. Just as children's early efforts at talking are welcomed and encouraged as they come closer and closer to 'adult' forms of talking, so children's efforts at writing and spelling need to be encouraged as they come closer and closer to standard spelling.

Even before they start school most children like to write. Their early efforts at spelling reflect the experiences they have had with print.

Scribbling: Children's first efforts take the form of scribbles, drawings and letter-like forms reflecting the visual appearance of writing.

Relating letters to sounds: When children know something about the link between letters and sounds, they spell using letters that reflect the sounds they hear in words.

Examples include U (you), pekt (peeked).

Relating letter patterns to sound patterns: Seeing and following written texts help children identify individual words and relate them to the sound patterns they hear. Children who only listen to stories but never see the words may think that 'Once upon a time' is one word and attempt to write it that way ie WONSAPCTNATIME . As children learn to read, awareness of spelling grows and this helps them know when their attempts look right.

Learning how to spell

Children's early enthusiasm for writing should be encouraged and their attempts accepted. Children who think of themselves as good writers, who feel confident to attempt the spelling of new words, and who show an interest in words are most likely to become proficient spellers.

These positive attitudes develop when:

• children write for a purpose;
• the family and others read what the child writes and show an interest in what the child has to say in writing; and
• the accuracy of spelling is checked (using a dictionary) to clarify meaning.

Under these circumstances children have reason to be enthusiastic about trying to write accurately because people enjoy and respond positively to their efforts.

To spell effectively children need:

• opportunities to write;
• 
• models of standard spelling (through watching parents, teachers and others write lists, notes and letters, and through studying words in printed materials such as newspapers, signs and books);
• information on how close their spelling is to the standard forms (Standard Australian English);
• help in learning spelling strategies; and
• the desire to use correct spelling in their writing.
  

How parents can help children learn to spell effectively

Encourage your child to write often

Children need opportunities and reasons to write so that they can experiment with words and apply what they have learnt in spelling.

You can help by:

• Using opportunities that arise naturally in the course of home and community activities to demonstrate the importance of spelling as a tool for writing. For example:
• make out shopping lists together and compare the spelling on the list with spelling on the product;
• leave messages or reminders on a message board, on the refrigerator or on a computer;
• do crossword puzzles together;
• make birthday and Christmas greeting cards together; and
• assist children to write (including e-mail) letters to friends and relatives and to write away for information, free samples and travel brochures.

Support proofreading habits.

Children need to develop proofreading and checking skills which are important for spelling.

You can help by:

• Helping children monitor their own spelling by encouraging them to underline parts of a word they are unsure about. They should then check the spelling and enter it in their personal spelling list they need for writing. If written in pencil the words can be erased as they become part of the writing vocabulary.
• Using a dictionary or a thesaurus with your child to check spelling for crosswords or games eg Scrabble.

Help find patterns in words.

Some spelling may be based on how the word sounds, but this is not always a reliable guide. Therefore, children also need to look for patterns in words.

You can help by:

• Encouraging children to see letter patterns in words by looking carefully at the word and thinking of other words containing the same letter pattern.

• Helping children to discover that words which are similar in meaning often have a common visual pattern. A good rule to remember is same meaning - same spelling eg sign, signature, signal different meaning - different spelling eg scene, seen.

• Sharing strategies or making up ways to trigger the memory for persistently difficult words. For example, you could focus on a common letter pattern.

You can use the end of because. A piece of pie.

• Urging your child to use this routine when learning a new word:

LOOK at the word. Take a photograph of it with the eye.

SAY it clearly and say each letter in turn.

COVER the word and try to 'see' it in the mind.

WRITE it from memory.

CHECK with the original.

This routine can also be used when your child asks for the spelling of words. Write the word for your child and then use the Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check routine.

• Encouraging children to write neatly so they see a clear image of the word.
• Asking your child to write a new word in different possible ways and circle the one that 'looks right
• Building children's self-confidence by praising them for what they do know, and then work on a small part that they don't know. For example, if the child writes butiful for beautiful, you can point out, "You nearly got this one right. You only need to learn eau." This provides a good opportunity to use a dictionary, examine word origin and link with other words that have the eau letter pattern. That's how children become aware of the patterns that exist in words.

Play spelling games.Children enjoy playing spelling games. You can help by:

• Asking your child to spot misspellings used by advertisers to catch your eye and to make the product memorable.

eg Snak pak, Beanz Meanz Heinz.

• Playing word games such as 'Hangman'. (Your child will show you how.) By experimenting with possible letter sequences, children should discover how letters work together in words. For example, p is likely to be followed by vowels (a, e, i, o, u) or consonants such as h, I or r but not followed by b, g, or q.

• Enjoying rhymes by reading them together and looking at the ways rhyming words are spelt.

• Doing crossword puzzles and playing games of Scrabble.

• Looking for spelling games in local newspapers and magazines.

Finally, it is important to understand that learning to spell is a long term process. Children do learn at different rates so realistic expectations must be kept in mind