Ideas for supporting spelling

Spelling can be a challenge for many children, especially those with dyslexia. Try these fun, practical ideas to making spelling a more positive experience at home and school.

Try to establish whether your child’s difficulties are with specific words, sounds or blends. Find out how the school is approaching the spelling difficulty – perhaps you could be supporting your child by using the same methods at home. Be aware of words being used within the classroom. Get lists from the teacher and suggest having access to these words in advance to allow more preparation and learning time for your child.

Spelling with the child

• Having fun is important – be creative in this task.
• Create a multi-sensory approach to spelling – planning, making, seeing, doing, reading, hearing. By using these skills, your child will be given a wider ‘experience’ of the words you are working on, which will help their memory.
• Be aware of their concentration dropping and don’t push too hard when they’re tired.
• Begin with words that are already known before starting with new ones.
• Focus on words that interest them – their own name, street name, their favourite food, film or computer game. Focus on one word they want, and one word for school.
• Take time to practise these activities in as many different environments as possible – in the kitchen using magnets on the fridge, at the table, playing scrabble, doing word searches, on car journeys.