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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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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!

Priscila

says:

The program has helped my three children read and become good spellers. The kids especially enjoy the spelling rules that have visual aids–thank you for those– such as Jail and The Floss Rule.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m so pleased to hear this program has helped your children be successful with reading and spelling, Priscila!

Moses Faustina

says:

Thank you very much I appreciate your efforts

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Moses.

Anthony Tarwater

says:

51 and I’m trying to learn to read and spell read some spell song

Seon sankar

says:

I want to learn to write and spell words

Jessica Wright

says:

My son was struggling with spelling so we switched to All About Spelling while he was virtual schooling and it made such a difference!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great to hear that All About Spelling has helped make a difference for your son, Jessica!

Elena Tejeda

says:

Helpful!

Jennifer Goldston

says:

We love all about learning! It’s helped my son so much.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great to hear, Jennifer!

Katharine Gindin

says:

These products look terrific!

April Justis

says:

Great tips! My first 2 are natural spellers. My next 2 are not.

Laura Unger

says:

Great tips! My oldest son and I have never had any difficulty with spelling, but my youngest son really struggles with it. I’m happy to have found some tips to use with him!

Amanda

says:

Good info to know! I’m excited to teach my son how to spell and sharpen his reading skills!

Vania

says:

Thanks for amazing tips!!!

Rachel Wiese

says:

All good tips

Megan R.

says:

Great article!