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4 Spelling Strategies You Won’t Want to Miss

Some kids are just naturally “good spellers.” And then there are those who need all the help they can get.

If spelling doesn’t come easily to your child—or if you want to get your child started on the right foot—this post is for you! Read along to learn about four powerful spelling strategies to help your student, including free resources to get you started.

Quick guide for spelling strategies printable
  1. Phonetic Spelling Strategies

    Phonics is the perfect place to start. When done correctly, phonics teaches a child how to listen for each sound in a word and then how to represent each sound with a letter or combination of letters.

    The ability to hear the individual sounds in words is called segmenting. You can see how we teach segmenting in the video below, or find out more in our Segmenting blog post.

    Would you like to give it a try with your student? Download this free segmenting activity.

    After learning how to segment, your student will represent each sound in a word with a letter or letter combination, also known as phonograms. Phonograms include the letters of the alphabet A to Z, as well as combinations such as CK (for the sound of /k/), SH (for the sound of /sh/), and OW (for the sound of /ow/).

    Image depicting how cow is split up in to two phonograms

    If you are new to phonograms, be sure to check out our comprehensive article on How to Teach the Phonograms, including free printable activities and a free app.

  2. Rule-Based Spelling Strategies

    Though hundreds of words can be spelled phonetically, there are often several possible spellings for the same sound—the sound of /j/ can be spelled J, G, or DGE, for example—and that’s when knowing some rules comes in handy.

    The Kids’ Club Rule™ is a great example of a reliable spelling rule.

    This rule helps you determine whether to use C or K for the sound of /k/ at the beginning of words such as kitchen and camp. You can download the rule poster here.

    Spelling rules are easy to demonstrate with the Letter Tiles app  or the physical tiles. Here are some more ideas for incorporating spelling rules into your teaching:

  3. Visual Spelling Strategies

    Sometimes phonics and spelling rules aren’t enough. This is where visual spelling strategies come in. Does the word look right? Good spellers often try spelling a word several ways to see which way looks correct.

    This is why we use word banks in the All About Spelling program. Each word bank focuses on one concept, such as the sound of /er/ spelled UR, and helps build the student’s visual memory of words related to that particular concept.

    Word Banks for words with UR

    After becoming familiar with UR words, the word nurse spelled nerse will look wrong, prompting your child to correct her own work. Visual memory is important when it comes to correctly using homophones, too, like pray and prey or tale and tail.

    Extensive reading and word games are a huge help in building visual memory. Be sure to check out some of these resources:

    Download image for free Drag Race game

    Rev up your review with Drag Race, a fun reading and spelling review activity. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

    Download image for free Pirate Ship game

    Your young swashbucklers can turn up the fun on spelling review with our Pirate Ship file folder game. Ahoy there, matey!

    Download image for free Popcorn Party game

    Reviewing spelling words can be easy and delicious when you have a Popcorn Party! Don’t forget the butter and salt!

    Download image for free Bingo Smash-Up game

    When two words get “smashed up” to form a new one, you get a portmanteau! Make a few of your own with Bingo Smash-Up!

    Find even more fun with words here!

  4. Morphemic Spelling Strategies

    Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning. Morphemes include roots and base words, prefixes, and suffixes, as in the word invisible.

    Image depicting the morphemes of the word "invisible"

    An understanding of morphology helps kids spell words like knowledge and action even though the base words know and act change pronunciation. That’s why All About Spelling teaches words with Greek and Latin roots, how to add prefixes and suffixes to base words, and how to form compound words and abbreviations.

    For a taste of how understanding morphemes can help your student, check out this 30-second Word Tree demo and download your free Word Tree printables.

So there you have it: the top spelling strategies that good spellers use. If your child is a struggling speller—or if you want to help your child reach the next level—be sure to incorporate these strategies in your lessons. That’s exactly what we’ve done in the All About Spelling program!

Where does your child fall in the continuum from natural speller to struggling speller?

Be sure to download our free spelling rules posters for extra reinforcement!

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Michelle

says:

I did the placement tests for both reading and spelling with my 9-year-old, and the results were surprising. She’s reading words well and seems to know advanced phonograms, but struggles with vowels. We only discovered that because of the spelling placement test, which we almost didn’t bother to do but so glad we did. We’re opting to start with AAS at level 1, and will eventually pick up AAR with level 4 (where she landed on the placement test) once she masters basic phonograms better. I’m grateful for an open-and-go program as well as active blog posts like these with tips and strategies for new students in this program.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Michelle,
We find that most students need to start with Level 1 of All About Spelling. Placement for All About Spelling is based on the student’s knowledge of spelling rules and concepts rather than grade level, reading level, or the words a student has memorized.

For example, we find that many students simply memorize easy words like “cat” and “kid” but have no idea why one uses a C and the other uses a K, or that the same rules that apply to these words also apply to higher-level words such as “concentrate.” Other students switch letters or leave out letters entirely. This usually occurs because they don’t know how to hear each sound in the word. Level 1 addresses these and many other foundational concepts in detail.

All About Spelling is a building block program with each level built upon the previous one. The rules and concepts learned in Level 1 are applied in Level 2, and then those are applied in Level 3, and so on.

Crystal

says:

I will be using the Latin word tree! Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Crystal!

Sasha

says:

I love that this post shows multiple strategies that can be used, based on the child’s spelling knowledge, so that there are various tools to draw from.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Yes, great point, Sasha! No one strategy will help with spelling every word, so having multiple reliable strategies is essential for spelling success!

Cira

says:

I love the Kid’s Club spelling video. Thanks for sharing!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Cira! I’m glad you enjoy the video.

Becca

says:

We are starting All About Spelling after trying 3 years with a more tradition method. It has already made such a difference in my daughter’s confidence after one month. She is starting to hear the sounds and understands segmenting. Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Becca,
What great progress in just one month! I love that her confidence is build; that’s so important! Thank you for sharing.

Tamara

says:

Learning the spelling rules has really helped my son on his journey to learning how to spell.I’m not ashamed to say that I didn’t even know most of these rules until teaching this program as well.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Tamara,
You’re not the only one! I had never heard of even the Floss Rule before learning it with my children, let alone more complex ones like the Doubling Rule (for when to double the last consonant before adding a vowel suffix on words with two syllables). I love that I could learn with my children as we went through All About Spelling!

Lisa

says:

This tip about morphemes will be helpful. Can’t wait until we get to those lessons in addition to our study of Latin.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Lisa,
Yes! Learning Latin and Greek roots can help a lot with spelling. A couple of my children had a hard time with the word “decide.” They kept wanting to spell it deside. So we studied what “de” and “cide” meant, look at other words that used those roots, and discussed how that applies to what decide means. We came up with decide means to make a choice by killing off the other choices. They mastered the spelling of “decide” easily after that!

Brandy Thompson

says:

Awesome tips!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Brandy!

Laura Ramos

says:

Great strategies. Can’t wait to try them with my dyslexic daughter

Robin

says: Customer Service

Laura,
I hope you find these helpful! But if you have questions or need additional tips, let me know. I’m happy to help!

Taryn

says:

Can’t wait to use some of these strategies with my kids. Thanks!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Taryn!

Tonya

says:

These are all great strategies!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Tonya! I hope they are all helpful for you.

Amanda conrad

says:

I love all the different strategies listed .

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Amanda!

Cassie Hitchcock

says:

I’ve loved this curriculum since we started homeschooling last year. I’ve noticed such a difference in my kids understanding. I love learning new ways to use it and how to expand on it to help my kids learn.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Cassie,
It’s exciting to hear that the program is helping your kids learn and understand! Thank you!

Sophie

says:

This is elite level stuff! I’ll be practicing with my kids

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Sophie! I hope this helps make a difference for your kids.

Oluwamayowa

says:

Highly informative

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Oluwamayowa.

Rosa

says:

Wow! This blog was so informative! Thank you for providing so much free content. I feel more confident teaching my little ones.

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re so welcome, Rosa! I’m glad you find the blog informative and confidence building!

Oana

says:

Great tips, thanks!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome!

Dina Johnson

says:

Thanks for the free resources! I’ll be printing the spelling posters and games! I’m always amazed at how much learning you can get done with games without any complaining. We’re excited to start all about spelling in August!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Dina! Playful learning is such a great way to learn!

Lynda

says:

Thank you, spelling is such a difficult skill to master!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Lynda,
Yes. For many students, spelling is difficult. We hope this helps some.

Beth

says:

This is so helpful! Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Beth! Glad it’s helpful!

Rachel

says:

I’m so excited to start your curriculum with my children. I honestly hope it will help me improve my own spelling too.

Robin

says: Customer Service

It likely will, Rachel! I know my spelling improved!

Shannon Weinman

says:

I so appreciate all of these freebies and tips!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Glad you like them, Shannon!

Anjelica

says:

Thank you for this great way to learn spelling!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Angelica!

Jenny

says:

THIS is how spelling should’ve been taught!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Jenny!

Patty

says:

I think this is what my son needs. Glad I found it.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great, Patty! Do you have any questions about placement or anything else? I’m happy to help!

Virginia

says:

Iam happy to have you here. Hope is going to help me to know how to spell and write notes correctly. I attended village primary schools no one taught me how to spell and write. That is while am struggling to know how to spell words correctly to able me be a good writer .

Robin

says: Customer Service

Virginia, I’m sorry you have struggles with spelling and writing.

If you have a tutor or friend who can help you, the All About Spelling program may be a good option to help you learn to be successful with spelling. Many adults helped by the program, and a friend would be able to help you through each of the lessons. The program is not designed to be used to teach yourself, however, and don’t advise going through it on your own.

Virginia

says:

Hi. Thank you for the lesson. Please, contact me through my Email.

Catherine

says:

Thanks so much I will try to help my girl she has spelling problems

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m glad this was helpful, Catherine. If you have questions or need help with anything, please let me know. I am happy to help!

Eunice

says:

Yes, it was helpful, what adult who want to improve in spelling, how will the adult go about it.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Eunice,
If you have a tutor or friend who can help you, the All About Spelling program might be a good option. Many adults have been helped by the program, and a friend would be able to help you through each of the lessons. It isn’t designed to be used by yourself, as you need someone to read the words and sentences to you so you can write them without looking.

Ikechukwu Ngozi

says:

Waw this a very great tools to assist a chiyor children.Am more than grateful coming across this site , God bless every one in this site for making it well

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Ikechukwu. I’m glad this will be helpful for you!

Awele Bello

says:

Thank you

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Awele.

Tijesunimi

says:

I like this post but pls why not tell us about what are in the videos for pple like me who don’t have Data

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Tijesunimi,
We understand and do have all the information in the videos available in written format too!

The information in the video on segmenting in found in our Segmenting: A Critical Skill for Spelling blog post.

The information in the video on The Kid’s Club Rule is found in our The Kids’ Club Rule for Spelling blog post.

And the information in the video on word trees in found in our Teaching Latin Roots with Word Trees blog post.

Jess

says:

Awesome! Thanks for the tips!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Jess!