What is the best way to teach Spelling to a Five year old?

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello,

 

I was just wondering if there is some magical and wonderful way to teach spelling to a five year old? We work on phonics every day and he knows all his letter sounds well. He can identify every letter just fine also.

 

I started with "at" and "an". He picked up on "at" very fast, but since introducing "an", he has become confused. I keep working with him and trying to explain the difference, but he is having a hard time.

 

It is strange, my son can memorize a fairly long rhyme or a Bible verse in no time flat, but to learn a two letter word is tough work! : ) I am trying not to get frustrated, but it is hard at times. This morning my frustration showed and my son was in tears. I felt just terrible!

 

We moved to something else, and I apologized over and over to him for getting frustrated, praised him for how well he WAS doing, and got some good hugs in. Things were absolutely fine after that.

 

BUT... I don't want him to see me get frustrated over him trying to learn something again. We will just move to something else if I see he is having a difficult time and come back to it later.

 

My question though is... What is the best way to introduce little words to your child? Any suggestions are very welcome. Thanks and have a great day!

[Ellie]

Normally, we don't work very hard on spelling for a 5yo.

 

However, my favorite method is Spalding, which teaches dc to read by teaching them to spell.

[athena1277]

I would wait until he is reading well before you start spelling. Dd is an excellent reader, but us just now learning to spell really simple words.

[SilverMoon]

I would just focus on the phonics for a five year old. I don't start spelling until they're able to drop the phonics. That's been first or second grade for my kids.

[Mom_Abear]

For my 7 year old, we didn't start spelling until 1st grade. At that point he was reading very well, and we weren't using phonics anymore. With my 4.5 year old I am planning on using level 1 of All About Spelling along with Phonics Pathways. There are lots of posts here about AAS if you do a search. I think we'll camp out at the first 3 or 4 steps for a good while. That's my plan - I look forward to seeing what others post!

[Joyfullyblessed]

Ok, this may sound dumb, but how can your child read if he/she can't spell the words yet? I would think these go hand in hand. Learning the phonics helps them sound out the words, so I guess that is where the reading comes in, of course.

 

But, for the first BOB books, they need to know how to spell the "at" and "an" words. So, I would think knowing how to spell them helps.

 

My son knows all the letter sounds, but blending them together seems confusing to him. Hmmmmm.... I think I am a touch confused now. :confused:

[Guest]

Granted, this is our first time around, but we are loving Spell to Write and Read (SWR; based on the Spalding method that Ellie mentioned above.) My son can spell many cvc words although we aren't really concentrating too much on spelling until his K5 year.

[LoveBaby]

I would work on blending orally, then. If he knows the letter sounds, now he is ready to start blending them. In the Bob books, if he recognizes that a says /a/ and t says /t/, then he needs to work on blending those sounds.

 

Phonics Pathways has a game called "train game" that has you take different "cars" w/ letters on them. As you push the cars together to make the train, you blend the sounds together. Blending is the next big step in learning how to read and shouldn't be rushed.

 

Maybe just work on "at" for a while longer until it becomes 2nd nature, then add in "an" and so on.

 

I don't start spelling until 2nd grade. Before then I always have the children sound out the words orally, listening for the different sounds and then have them write them down.

 

Do you have a copy of Ruth Beechicks' "Home Start in Reading"?

[Ellie]

Ok, this may sound dumb, but how can your child read if he/she can't spell the words yet? I would think these go hand in hand. Learning the phonics helps them sound out the words, so I guess that is where the reading comes in, of course.

 

But, for the first BOB books, they need to know how to spell the "at" and "an" words. So, I would think knowing how to spell them helps.

 

My son knows all the letter sounds, but blending them together seems confusing to him. Hmmmmm.... I think I am a touch confused now. :confused:

No, they don't need to be able to spell "at" words. They just need to be able to read them.

 

Dc don't need to know spelling rules in order to read.

 

"Blending" takes longer. Your ds is only 5; I wouldn't expect him to be able to "blend." Of course, if you were to do Spalding, "blending" wouldn't even be an issue as Spalding doesn't teach like that.

[LadyAberlin]

We are using McRuffy right now and they have spelling. I have my ds do it, but I'm not really concerned about it. We will start a spelling program in a couple of yrs. I really think that you have to be able to sound out words before you can spell. My ds can sound out words, so when it comes to spelling he just sounds out the words and breaks them up into their separate sounds and then spells them. If he is having trouble putting the sounds together I think he'll have trouble breaking the words into sounds. A lot of people can read, but they can't spell.

[Stacy in NJ]

Ok, this may sound dumb, but how can your child read if he/she can't spell the words yet? I would think these go hand in hand. Learning the phonics helps them sound out the words, so I guess that is where the reading comes in, of course.

 

But, for the first BOB books, they need to know how to spell the "at" and "an" words. So, I would think knowing how to spell them helps.

 

My son knows all the letter sounds, but blending them together seems confusing to him. Hmmmmm.... I think I am a touch confused now. :confused:

 

Blending is a specific skill many kids struggle with when they are first learning to read. The more sensitive your child is to phonemic sounds (phonemic awareness) the easier it is to learn to read and spell, although, memory is another huge factor.

 

Try teaching him to spell orally first. Say the sounds in cat slowly with a pause between letters.

 

Here's a couple links you may find helpful:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Phonemic-Awareness-Activities-Reading-Success/dp/0590372319/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250792310&sr=8-3

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_awareness

[elfgivas]

my really short answer is: don't.

 

i think its probably too early (way too early) to work on spelling. your dc is five. read to him - a lot, where he can see the words. he'll absorb a lot. it can do much more harm than good at this age to try to formally teach spelling. for fun, you could finger spell words in jello or pudding or whipped cream. you could draw simple words in dirt or sand with a stick and he could copy them. but to everything there is a season, and it isn't spelling season yet at five....

 

hth,

ann

[Orthodox6]

Voting for delayed spelling. Master reading first. Handwriting in distant second. Spelling somewhere later for third place.

 

Sequence road-tested successfully on four children !

[newlifemom]

One of my concerns with education is trying to do things too quickly. Reading, handwriting, spelling and narration/comprehension are all very different things that require different skills. What I have learned from SWB, this board, many books on education and personal experience is to get them reading and learning how to form letters for handwriting. Nothing more. Now, that doesn't mean I let misspelled words go. (Of course I would have to recognize they are misspelled in the first place lol) I always correct, but I don't expect them to be able to spell. The OPGTR is a great tool for teaching reading imo as is 100EZ(I don't do the writing). It helps the children hear and sound out the reading lessons. Neither are terrribly expensive and would go a long way to actually preparing your child for spelling, later on. Have you read TWTM yet? Their preschool section was very informative and I would recommend that you check it out. HTH.

[Dinsfamily]

Granted, this is our first time around, but we are loving Spell to Write and Read (SWR; based on the Spalding method that Ellie mentioned above.) My son can spell many cvc words although we aren't really concentrating too much on spelling until his K5 year.

 

We're also using SWR for my 5yo and love it. We were able to start slowly working through the spelling lists in June. It connects spelling with reading and handwriting. It has been great for my 5yo to learn them all together. It makes more sense to him. If you want to see how it's been going with us, I have a few posts about it on my blog.

[Sahamamama]

If it's frustrating him that much, you might want to wait a bit, no harm done there. He will learn to spell "at" and "an!" ;) Our K'er does not exactly do a formal spelling program; instead we do these activities:

 

Phonics Instruction -- We're using Ordinary Parent's Guide, just cruising through, only 1-2 lessons per week now (she's beyond the lessons, but I think we should still "cover" it).

Reading Practice -- We use Bob Books (Sets 1-5), a Children's Bible Reader, Jonathan James books, Frog & Toad series, Biscuit books, Little Bear, Scholastic Science books, etc.

Read Alouds -- Seeing and hearing many words read aloud is important for the student's future spelling efforts.

Audio Books (e.g., Jungle Book, Pollyanna, Little House series)-- Listening to full-length books on CD just adds to the child's aural/oral language development, increases vocabulary, stocks the mind with the patterns of good written language, and also lets the children enjoy good stories!

Evan-Moor Skill Sharpeners Spell & Write (Grade K) -- A simple, colorful, inexpensive workbook that I think is just right for a K'er who can print (or is learning to print). Here's the link:

 

http://www.evan-moor.com/Title.aspx?CurriculumID=3&ClassID=180&SeriesID=124&TitleID=454&EmcID=462

 

Handwriting Practice -- We are almost (finally) through the entire alphabet, LOL, only X, Y, Z to go, woohoo! I make up practice sheets using StartWrite, and she gets practice tracing and copying "real words" (e.g., hill, mint, pin, horse, can) and "real sentences" (Mary has a tan cat.). This reinforces phonics/spelling. StartWrite is nice because you can print out exactly what you need & want. Here's the link:

 

http://www.startwrite.com/index.php

 

Magnetic Letters -- Finally, my K'er enjoys playing and "writing" with magnetic letters from Scholastic. At first we put the simplest picture magnets on a board (e.g., pig, dog, cat, hat, rat, bat, top, and so on), and my daughter sounded out the spelling of the words. These magnets make it possible for a child to concentrate on the spelling ONLY, not on also forming the letters (actually writing out the word). I also think that handling and moving the letters helps the student see and think about what happens when we change one letter (e.g., a-t becomes a-n, a-n becomes o-n, o-n becomes i-n). Well worth the $. Here's the link for the set:

 

http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=34048&langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10004

 

HTH.

[ElizabethB]

Read, Write, Type was very helpful for my daughter at that age to figure out spelling.

 

You can try a free demo to see if you think it will be worth the $ for you, it's a little expensive. It is fun, though!

 

http://www.talkingfingers.com/

[MeAndTheBoys]

My 5 year old is doing Explode the Code alongside a phonics program--

 

There is occasional "spelling practice" in there when there is a picture of a mat and a blank--sometimes he wants to fill in the blank; sometimes he wants me to write it for him and he spells it orally.

 

If he has trouble, we sound it out "mmmmm" "aaaaaa" "ttttt" and that helps him to know what letters spell "mat".

 

In this phonics stage, I think that is about all you need to do for "spelling"; no list of spelling words to memorize, and helping them with the sounds (which is the priority at this point--sounds) when they get stuck.

 

Betsy

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I love the approach taken by AAS, which is what I am using with my K age dd. It teaches spelling in a way that really reinforces and can even be used to teach reading skills. Spelling was the easier skill for my dd for quite a while and it wasn't until we had worked on spelling for a while that she was able to read. But when she did she just picked up a book and started reading and she has been ever since. AAS is fun, interactive, hands-on, and appropriate for K age kids.

[Aloha2U]

Ok, this may sound dumb, but how can your child read if he/she can't spell the words yet? I would think these go hand in hand. Learning the phonics helps them sound out the words, so I guess that is where the reading comes in, of course.

 

But, for the first BOB books, they need to know how to spell the "at" and "an" words. So, I would think knowing how to spell them helps.

 

My son knows all the letter sounds, but blending them together seems confusing to him. Hmmmmm.... I think I am a touch confused now. :confused:

 

I don't think that sounds dumb at all... it makes perfect sense to me which is why we're using Spell to Write and Read (SWR) for our language arts program.

 

We began Pre-Kindergarten/K4 last year by teaching my ds the 70 basic phonogram sounds along with the cursive formation of each letter, using SWR & Cursive First. I believe that saying and then quickly moving to writing the a-z phonograms (lowercase suggested first) go hand in hand. For example, my ds learned from the beginning the three different sounds that "a" can say ( /a/, /A/, /ah/ ) as he wrote it in cursive. Writing does not need to wait until fine motor skills are development as there are fun ways for your dc to learn letter formation (manuscript or cursive) using large motor skills. If this is not an issue for your dc, then grrreat and disregard what I've just shared, but if it is an issue then you'll want to work on that before trying to begin any spelling program.

 

Our Kindergarten/K5 year will begin in September wherein we will officially begin the SWR spelling lists. However, we unofficially covered these same spelling lists during the second half of last year, after my ds could say and write his phonograms. I can honestly tell you that I was blown away by my ds and what he could do after being given those basic skills. Not only was he thinking to spell, write and read... but he was reading cvc words as well as more difficult words on his own.

 

That said, SWR states that a typical learner needs to see how phonics works in order to retain early enthusiasm and I completely agree, so it was time to move forward even if done gently. This is why we began the spelling lists unofficially, because at the time I didn't think that my ds was ready to add spelling rules to the mix, but I learned not to underestimate him as he picked up and retained those that I included along the way. I was never too keen on doing the letter of the week bit, SWR made much more sense to me and for my ds.

 

You're welcome to check out the SWR links on our blog, located under my ds's language arts curriculum for K5.

 

HTH! :001_smile:

[hmschooling]

Do you have a copy of Ruth Beechicks' "Home Start in Reading"?

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

No rush into spelling...they have to master the letters/sounds first and have a good start on handwriting before they can tackle to skill of getting the knowledge to the paper. After he's doing well with reading, start with oral spelling. In 2nd we just cover all the basic phonics/spelling rules with weekly lists but no formal program. And after that, it's all copywork/dictation and personal spelling lists (each child's own frequently misspelled words). I have some very good spellers with this method! My almost 6yo K'er is already spelling orally on his own with very little instruction in phonics just by mastering the phonics lessons we have done so far...he's applying it!

[Cera]

I have a 5 year old and we are waiting for 1st grade to start formal spelling. If she asks I tell her how something is spelled but generally she sounds out what she wants to write.

 

I am actually a bit sad when I think about teaching her to spell next year. I find the phonetically spelled notes she leaves around the house quite cute.

[jengjohnson]

My oldest was reading chapter books at 4, but couldn't spell much at all until she was 8. I didn't consider one skill necessary to the other. I would focus on blending the sounds. My current 4 yo likes the leapfrog fridge phonics speller or whatever it's called. She's learned to spell many three letter words just by playing with it. We start Spelling Workout here at 6 yo.

[Tree House Academy]

Explode the Code books encourage spelling and reading at the same time. He works with the words all through the lesson (we do 2 pages a day/3 days a week, so it takes about a week to do one lesson), then at the end of the week, he writes the words. I never really did spelling with my son, but I am finding that now, he is an excellent speller (doing the 2nd grade lists in 1st grade) and I really think his work with ETC is what made it click for him.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I love the approach taken by AAS, which is what I am using with my K age dd. It teaches spelling in a way that really reinforces and can even be used to teach reading skills. Spelling was the easier skill for my dd for quite a while and it wasn't until we had worked on spelling for a while that she was able to read. But when she did she just picked up a book and started reading and she has been ever since. AAS is fun, interactive, hands-on, and appropriate for K age kids.

 

 

So glad to read this because I just ordered AAS yesterday to use with my 3 children. They are doing phonics at the same level so hopefully it will be fun for all of us to do at the same time. :001_smile:

[FO4UR]

Keep inputting the info, but don't expect instant output from him.

 

 

If I were to teach spelling to a 5yo, assuming he isn't writing easily. I would teach him to pull down magnet letters when he hears the sounds - just do isolated sounds to start. Meanwhile, play oral games of "guess what word I'm thinking" and say the sounds very detatched /c/ /a/ /t/...and let him shout "cat!" Do this with lots and lots and lots of words. Then, give him the letters in a common word (like cat) to pull down in magnet letters /c/ /a/ /t/ and ask him to guess the word. If he doesn't get it, model how you say each sound to get the word and move on.

 

Keep it casual and light-hearted. Some kids need to learn it from the spelling side of things in order to get it - my ds6 is like that - so if that's your gut instinct with yours, go with it.