Teaching children to incorporate spelling can be a difficult task for both parents and teachers. It is usually boring and uncomfortable. Still, many spelling games will help teach spelling to children in a fun and entertaining way. These games (which can be spelling-specific or adapt for this purpose) encourage correct spelling in your children. By around six years of age, the child is ready to learn to write, his coordination and fine motor skills have improved, and his cognitive skills are sharpening. In fact, at this age, many children have begun to make their first strokes and, although they still have a very long way to go, they are already able to write their name or short words like “mom” and “dad.” However, it will still take a few years to learn to write well, fluently, and without spelling mistakes.
Five strategies to teach your child the spelling rules
- Explain why it is important to have a good spelling
If a kid does not understand why he should have good spelling, it is difficult for him to pay attention while writing or struggle to learn the 1st grade spelling rules. That is why you must explain in simple language why you should write well and without errors. You can tell him that good spelling will help him identify words pronounced the same but have different meanings, known as homophones. In addition, if they are well written, you will be able to grasp their meaning faster.
- Develop your visual memory
Visual memory plays a very important role in the development of spelling skills. When a child has an excellent visual memory, they will remember spelling rules more easily. A great way to stimulate visual memory is to play with word cards, a game in which your child is presented with different cards with different written words. The idea is for the child to visualize each word and make a “mental photograph” of it. This way, the next time you use it, it will be easier for you to remember how to spell. To learn the english language, try to learn dictation words for grade 1 first.
- Encourage him to read
Reading is a very effective method to correct spelling errors in children, which is also explained by the development of visual memory. In practice, the more times a child reads a word, the more likely they are to remember how it is written. In the same way, it will be easier for you to distinguish homophone words and remember those with complex spelling. Not to mention that reading is also an excellent exercise to expand vocabulary while facilitating writing and improving grammar.
- Encourage him to practice
Practice is the mother of skill and knowledge. No one is born knowing, and very few can assimilate content the first time. That is why you must encourage the child to practice his spelling, whether repeating the words several times, doing dictations, or resorting to word games such as crosswords, Scrabble, or hangman. The spellquiz.com is a great platform by which your kid can learn new words. Every time the little one repeats a word, he automates his writing to remember it more easily when he has to use it again.
- Lean on basic spelling charts
Another very effective strategy for teaching a child spelling is to introduce him to the basic spelling charts. You can find different spelling tables since each is based on different teaching resources, be they images, rhymes, or sequences. It is about the little one memorizing the contents of the table so that they can reproduce it later without having to resort to it. Therefore, the idea is that you always have the table at hand, at least until you manage to “photograph it mentally.” In Infant Stage, they present you with a very simple and easy-to-memorize basic spelling table for your child to use in their day-to-day life.
Conclusion: Undoubtedly, spelling is one of the aspects that children have the hardest time assimilating when they have already learned to write; some even carry these problems until adolescence or youth. In most cases, they are not paying proper attention while writing, although sometimes it can lack training and practice. Fortunately, the above strategies can help a child improve his spelling.
