Spelling in First Grade

[rainbowmama]

Can we talk about speech development and spelling? My six year old does not consistently pronounce his "th" phoneme in words correctly. For example, he would pronounce, "Run with them!" as "Run wif dem!" and spell it accordingly. His pediatrician does not think his speech is delayed and recommends we wait another year before considering speech evaluation. Will the spelling naturally follow the speech development? We are working through All About Spelling together, and he's struggling due to his pronunciation: should I table it for a year or just keep chugging while waiting for his speech to catch up?

[MerryAtHope]

It's not unusual for 6 year-olds to not have the TH phonogram down yet. About 75% of kids can pronounce it correctly by age 8. You may want to wait (there's certainly no harm in waiting since he's only 6, especially if he's still working on beginning reading), but here's what I would do if you do continue:

 

First, can he pronounce the phonogram TH on its own correctly? If not, get in front of a mirror with him, and show him the difference between /d/ and /th/ (/d/ has the tongue on the roof of the mouth, just behind the teeth, while /th/ has the tongue between the teeth.) Have fun and be silly with this part!

 

Even if he can't do it in words yet, if he can do the phonogram on its own, that could help get him closer to spelling these words. 

 

Second, make sure he is turned towards you when you pronounce the words. Say them slowly enough that he can see whether your tongue is between your teeth when you say words like with and them. You might even say the word once at normal speed and then once a little more slowly at first, to help him catch the correct sound. If he can pronounce the phonogram on its own, have him try repeating the word, slowing it down enough to try to say it with something close to a /th/ sound.

 

I wouldn't do dictations until he can spell the TH words correctly individually, since this is such a struggle for him. Dictation is harder, and you want to make sure he's consistent on the individual words first. When you do try the dictations, you might say, "Some of the words will have the /th/ sound. Listen for that sound and watch my mouth as I say the phrase." Adding the additional cues might help him pay more attention to this sound and when its used.

 

HTH some!

[fralala]

Can we talk about speech development and spelling? My six year old does not consistently pronounce his "th" phoneme in words correctly. For example, he would pronounce, "Run with them!" as "Run wif dem!" and spell it accordingly. His pediatrician does not think his speech is delayed and recommends we wait another year before considering speech evaluation. Will the spelling naturally follow the speech development? We are working through All About Spelling together, and he's struggling due to his pronunciation: should I table it for a year or just keep chugging while waiting for his speech to catch up?

 

Well, I don't do spelling in first grade anyway. I think first grade is a wonderful time to set things aside that aren't working and just read more, personally!

 

If he is hearing words correctly and seeing them frequently, that can help with spelling even if he is not pronouncing them correctly. (As a perfect speller in a second language whose pronunciation I absolutely butcher, I know how this feels.) He just needs to hear them the right way inside his head, not produce them perfectly.

[Guest]

I have one that said A LOT of things incorrectl, consistently, to the point that I thought he had a speech impediment.

 

I showed him how to make each sound with his mouth (many times) and asked him to say it correctly every time he said it incorrectly. That he COULD correct it when reminded is why I now assume he does not have a speech impediment, fwiw, though I am unlearned about speech problems in general.

 

He rarely lapses now, and having to read very slowly and deliberately (unlike his brother who took off in reading early on) honestly helped a lot, I think.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My 2nd grader (7yo) has a few speech issues that are not enough to warrant a speech pathologist, but were still somewhat delayed.  She struggled especially with rWw (she once spelled Snow White as snor rit in 1st grade, for example) and th/d/f type confusions like your dc.  

 

I have found that spelling lessons have helped not only with spelling, but also with speech.  We do simple exercises to emphasize the difference between th (stick tongue between teeth) and f (rest upper teeth on lower lip) and exaggerated RRRRrrrrr of a pirate vs the w sound.  

 

She has made HUGE speech progress and spelling progress over 1st and now 2nd grade.  She and her brother do spelling together and we use Apples and Pears, but I doubt the program makes any difference.  

 

Her older brother, who had no speech issues at all, was still not ready for spelling in 1st even though he was a strong reader.  He is now in 4th and a terrible speller but making steady progress.  Together, they are in A and P level B.  

 

ETA:  dd is also a very strong reader, and I think seeing the correct spelling of words has helped her with correct pronunciation of words.  She can produce all sounds, but struggled to hear all sounds, probably due to her having blocked ears for several winters before we figured out what was going on and had her ears drained and tonsils out!

Edited November 4, 2016 by Monica_in_Switzerland

[eternalsummer]

 mine can do the TH (but doesn't) and even says his friends down the street tell him he is stupid for not doing it correctly (which is a joke on them, as he is years ahead of them in reading and conceptual math) but I don't bother much to make him do it correctly all the time

 

his spelling is accurate, though

[rainbowmama]

We finished our reading program (OPGTR), and he can read books like the Magic Treehouse series fluently, so he's seeing the words frequently. He can sort of pronounce the phoneme separately but not consistently. When I first noticed it with his spelling, I talked to him about sticking his tongue out a little, and he overcompensates.

[Bluegoat]

I think that if the decision has been not to do therapy for now, I would put off the spelling and do something else instead.

[Jess4879]

My youngest struggled with this sound as well.   He hated the vibration it made on his tongue.  We used the mirror as Merry suggested.  We also told him the "th" was naughty and stuck its tongue out.  To start, we exaggerated it a bit and he found that quite funny and it seemed to help the sound stick better for him.  When he'd forget we'd remind him, "this sound is naughty" and he'd immediately correct.  We didn't spell words at that time.  I did dictate sounds and have him write the correct letter/letter combinations though.