Does your child struggle with spelling homework or sail through the weekly test without ever needing to learn the words?  Our simple strategies will make your life easier and ensure your child is working to their full potential.

Simple strategies can make spelling homework a breeze.

Why spelling lists are good for your child

Not all schools give spelling homework; indeed, many educators argue that research shows a to-be-learned list does not help children retain spellings in the long term.  There is truth in this: spelling needs to be taught in lots of different ways.  Good spellers tend to read a lot.  However, spelling lists help get children into the habit of regular study.  Furthermore, if you help your child using our strategies, s/he will retain far more of the spellings.

The Leap

Spelling homework tends to become an issue in Year 2.  During Year 1,  children normally have a small list of perhaps six spellings, simple words of one syllable such as ‘cat’ or sit’.  If your child is at this stage, you can support them in reading and writing by reading our previous post.  In Year 2, spelling homework may become more complex with ten-word lists.  Year 2 spellings often feature multiple-syllable words and more complexity as well as homophones such as there and their.  When your child comes home with a list of words such as ‘escape’, ‘people’ and ‘amazement’ it becomes clear that expectations, in this important year, are a great deal higher than previously.

Simple strategies for spelling homework 

1.  Don’t put off learning the spellings – your child may not then retain them.

2.  Don’t learn the spelling list immediately then fail to practise before the test – your child may not retain them without reinforcement and further practice.  See your child’s spelling homework as a learning activity to spread over a few days.

3.  Before you do anything else, ensure your child can read their spelling list without too much difficulty.  If they struggle to do this, it could be an indication that their spellings are too difficult.  If this is the case you can speak to your child’s teacher about setting some more appropriate spellings.  Our post on parents’ evenings gives some tips on bringing up concerns with teachers.

4.  Give your child a little test to find out which words they can already spell.  You can then concentrate on the others.  Sit them down at a table or desk with a piece of paper and a pencil.  Read each word aloud twice (or more if necessary).  Whatever the result, be positive.  If they can already spell every word, you may want to have a word with their teacher about setting some more stretching homework.

5.  Ask him/ her to write out initial spelling corrections three times each, but don’t allow this to become a point of stress.  Take it easy and don’t turn spelling homework into an awful chore.  Learning should be enjoyable.

6.  Ask your child to write one sentence for each word.  This will help you check they understand the meaning of the words and support them in developing their writing.  By Year 2 children should be using capital letters and full stops (but many need to be reminded).

7.  Write the spellings out for your child in lower case letters with the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) extracted.  Filling in the vowels will help them think about and understand how words are formed.

8.  Make spelling cards which you cut in half and ask your child to piece them together (see below).  Notice that I have cut the cards out to follow the shape of the words.  This helps your child retain the shape of the word in their visual memory, so that if they misspell, they will easily detect that something is wrong and hopefully correct it.

Use simple strategies to support your child with spelling homework.

9.  Try the Simultaneous Oral Spelling technique (read how to use this in ten easy steps at home).  This harness your child’s audio, visual and kinaesthetic memories.

10.  Keep testing your child every so often throughout the week, but don’t get carried away and fritter your life away on this.When your child brings his or her spelling result home you can then evaluate the strategies you have used.  How does their score compare to the one achieved in the initial test you gave them?  If they have achieved a much better score, your strategies are working.  If not, you need to re-evaluate and try something different.

How Better Tuition can help with spelling

Better Tuition is Urmston’s independent tuition centre and we help children from all over Greater Manchester improve and succeed in spellings (amongst other areas of the curriculum).  With over 300 individual text books, 5,000 worksheets, bespoke computer software and specialist learning tools such as Stile Learning and the Literacy Toolbox, we offer an unbeatable range of techniques and expertise to help your child improve their spelling.  We use technology as a supplementary learning tool, but your child will never be plonked in front of a computer screen and left to get on with a one-size-fits-all ‘learning program’ that doesn’t meet their individual needs, nor the demands of the UK curriculum.  Our fully qualified teachers focus on your child’s weak areas and devise expert lesson plans that will raise your child’s attainment beyond all your expectations.  Call Paul Syrett or Christine McLaughlin now on 0161 748 3912 to book your FREE, no obligation assessment.

Other useful links from Better Tuition: 

http://bettertuition.co.uk/year-1-reading-writing/

http://bettertuition.co.uk/literacy/