Five Ways to Handle Misspelled Words

As much as we'd like for our children to be surrounded by positive people at all times, a wise parent knows that kids are bound to run into those occasional "rule breaking and troublemaking" characters in their travels. We could keep them inside, far away from that bully on the playground...but we also know that one day they'll be out on their own without our protection. So we do our best to offer them coping skills before we send them out into the world.

It's not so different from teaching your student spelling. There are many words that follow the rules quite nicely, but there are others that don't fit the expected script. Instead of letting those difficult words "bully" or scare your child away from using them with confidence, equip him or her with the skills needed to sail past spelling challenges!

During the course of spelling instruction, your student is bound to run into a troublemaker or two. Troublemakers are words that, for one reason or another, are especially challenging to spell. They tend to fall into one of three categories: words with careless mistakes, mispronounced words, and words that don’t follow the spelling rules.

To tame these troublemakers, you need to match the problem with the correct remedy. Figure out why the student is misspelling the word, and then correct the problem by using one or more of the following strategies.

Problem: The student misspells a word you think he should be able to spell. For example, your student writes down the word form instead of from, and you know that he has spelled this word correctly on other occasions.

Remedy: Ask him to slowly read exactly what he wrote down. Make sure that he reads each phonogram. Many times, the student will catch and correct his own mistake. If he doesn’t see his mistake, tell him, “You wrote form, but we want the word from. What do you need to change?” This encourages the student to check his own work.

Problem: The student’s pronunciation of a word makes it difficult for him to spell.

Remedy: If a student learns to pronounce a word clearly, he has a much better chance at being able to spell it correctly. Some words that are commonly mispronounced and misspelled are probably (probly), secretary (secertary), because (becuz), and library (libary). Model the correct pronunciation of the word, and have your student segment the word syllable by syllable.

Some words are not pronounced clearly in everyday speech. For example, most Americans pronounce the word button as butn and little as liddle. The vowel sound in the unaccented syllable gets lost in the normal rhythm of speech. In these cases, it is helpful to “pronounce for spelling” and enunciate each syllable clearly and as it is written. Regional accents can also make certain words more challenging. If your student pronounces forget as ferget, remind him to “pronounce for spelling.”

Problem: The student forgot a rule or generalization.

Remedy: Keep those spelling rules fresh in your student’s mind! Demonstrate the rule by writing out or using the letter tiles to spell the troublesome word correctly and explaining how the rule applies. Have your student spell other words that follow the same rule or generalization. Make sure to revisit that rule several times over the next few days until your student demonstrates mastery of it.

Problem: The misspelled word is a Rule Breaker. A Rule Breaker is a word that does not follow the rules of spelling. For example, in the word said, we expect ai to say /â /, not /ĕ /.

Remedy: Each time the student encounters a new Rule Breaker, have him circle the letters that don’t follow the rules. If your student misspells the Rule Breaker at a later date, have him follow these steps:

•  Look at the Word Card and then look at an empty spot on the table.

• Picture the word on the table and spell the word aloud three times.

• “Write” the word on the table with his finger in VERY BIG LETTERS three times.

• Spell the word on paper three times.

This exercise allows your student to practice spelling the difficult word nine times in the space of a few minutes.

All of these tips for handling misspelled words can be used no matter which spelling program you are currently working with.

If you are using the All About Spelling curriculum, the following additional features are built in:

• A “Jail” for Rule Breakers is included in the material packet beginning in Level Two. Words that do not follow the rules are on flashcards. After the tricky part of the word is identified, the bad guy is thrown into jail and the word is practiced.

• Spelling rules are on flashcards, making for easy and regular review. Prompts to review are given in the lesson plans.

• After a spelling rule or generalization has been taught, additional words are provided to help illustrate the rule in various ways.

• The lessons provide your student with multiple opportunities to apply what he has learned through activities such as writing dictated phrases (Level One), writing dictated sentences (Level Two), and writing original sentences in the Writing Station activities (Levels Three and up). The more your student uses what he has learned in context, the more likely he is to retain it.

In a nutshell, here are five ways to handle misspelled words:

1. Have your student read exactly what he wrote down and give him an opportunity to self-correct.

2. Make sure your student pronounces the word correctly. Have him break the word into its individual sounds.

3. Review any spelling rules that apply.

4. If the word is a Rule Breaker, help the student identify the tricky part of the word.

5. After the student has rewritten the word correctly, provide multiple opportunities to use the word in context.