- Excerpt
MY KID CAN'T SPELL!
Understanding and Assisting
Your Child's Literary Development
by J. Richard Gentry
"Five Questions Parents Ask Most
About Their Children's Spelling.....Answered!"
1. My child's teacher doesn't teach spelling
or phonics. Is spelling important for a child who is just learning to
read?
Spelling
opens the gateway to literacy by helping your child meet two requirements
for beginning readers: breaking the
code of the alphabet and learning about sounds in words. These tools
should be acquired early on to ensure your
child's progress toward literacy. The student's first experiences with
spelling provide a foundation for his or her future reading education.
2. How can I tell if my child's spelling
is at the right level?
In "My Kid Can't Spell!" I
provide guidelines for you to "measure" your child's spelling
level. A parent should be aware of which words are appropriate for
a child to tackle. For instance, "me" is a first grade word, "unknown" is
a fifth grade word. The given tests for determining your child's grade
levels are to be used as indicators. The results are useful and accurate,
however, they are not an exact measure of the students' reading skills.
You should keep in mind that your child's spelling consciousness and
writing skills are more important than being at a certain grade level.
3. What are the basic spelling rules my child should know?
There
are five basic spelling rules that a child needs to know in order to
be a successful speller. The first two are
simple enough for a first grader to master. Your child should know
that "Q" should
always be followed by "u," with
a few
exceptions, such as Iraq. Rule two can be taught simply by asking the
child to pick out the vowel(s) in one and two
syllable words. Once the child knows that in each syllable there must
be a vowel, his or her spelling will improve.The Silent "E" Rule
involves the dropping of the e when adding endings beginning with a
vowel, such as "have" to
"having." It gets tricky when the child must remember to keep the e
when adding endings beginning with a consonant. For instance "late" to "lately." Rule
three is developmentally appropriate for children around grade two.Rule four
looks at making words plural. It asks the student to change the "y" to "i" and
add "es" when
the singular form ends with consonant + y. An example of this is "baby" to "babies." When
the singular form ends with a vowel + y, add "s" (boy, boys).
Third and fourth graders are advanced enough to learn this rule.Rule
five, as in most spelling rules, must be learned simply by repeating
the phrase over and over. "Write 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' or when
sounded like 'a' as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh.' 'Weird' and 'neither' aren't the
same 'either.'" This one sort of rhymes and that makes it a bit easier.
But it is not learned until fifth grade because of the difficulty of the words
it affects as well as the many exceptions to the rule. Exceptions include: caffeine,
codeine, Fahrenheit, etc.
4. What
should my child be learning about spelling in school?
In school, children
should learn the importance of spelling. Teachers should stress that "creative
spellers" should ultimately develop good spelling habits and correctness.
I decided to devote an entire section to the identification of
"bad spelling lessons." With the use of this guide, you can determine
the appropriateness of your child's spelling
instruction. Learning how to appraise the content of their child's assignments
and tests will better equip you to
evaluate your child's education.5. Why do some people struggle with
spelling their entire lives?Chapter five of my book explores the reason
why spelling may always be a struggle for some people. The possibility of a "spelling
gene" may give some people the power to visualize the spellings of words.
This enables people to see in their mind's eye how words should look. Therefore,
a person who has trouble spelling carrot, karat, carat, and caret cannot "see" in
his or her minds eye the spelling. And because the words all sound the same it
is difficult for these people to learn to spell them. Just as a music teacher
should never discourage a student because he or she isn't as talented as other
students, a parent or teacher must understand that a student who lacks the natural
ability to spell correctly with ease should be encouraged to work toward his
or her own potential. Expert spelling may be a genetic accident.
Copyright © 1997 by J. Richard
Gentry and Heinemann Publishing. Please do not duplicate or distribute
this file
without permission from the publisher. For permission to reprint this material
or for more information contact:
Heather L. Smith, Heinemann, 603-431-7894 x. 140, mailto:
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