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Spelling Tips for Parents
Spelling is an essential part of good written communication. Those who learn to spell well become more fluent writers, focusing on content and creativity rather than struggling with spelling. This year, your first grader will add greatly to the words she can use in her written vocabulary.
First grade is a time of transition. As a beginning writer in kindergarten, your child may have been encouraged to use "invented spelling" or "best-guess spelling." In first grade, your child will:
continue inventive spelling for some purposes
learn basic spelling rules
learn words with irregular spellings
learn to spell high-frequency words, those words most often used in the English language
Your first grader will also learn
contractions and their uses
how to make plural nouns
how to add prefixes and suffixes
commonly misspelled words
common antonyms (opposites), synonyms (similar in meaning),and homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings such as see and sea)
To help your child learn her weekly spelling list, try these tips:
1. Give a pretest. Identify the words he can spell already and focus on the rest.
2. Help your child look for patterns:
word families (-an, -ap)
letter combinations (ch-, th-, sm-, st-, kn-, ow, ou)
contractions (we≠ll, he≠ll)
compound words (sunshine, sunglasses, sunlight)
multiple-syllable words (Saturday, holiday, family)
3. Have your child look for words within words. (Find and in the word stand.)
4. Have her take words apart. (Take off prefixes or suffixes to get to the root word. For example, the root of happiness is happy.)
5. Have him write the words in sentences.
Although it≠s important to spell well on weekly tests, it's more important for your child to observe patterns in words and use what she knows as she writes daily.
To encourage daily spelling practice, write messages to your child, and have your child write back. Try these ideas:
Slip a secret message and a treat into her bookbag.
Place a goodnight note under his pillow.
Provide a special wipe-off message board or use magnets to post notes to each other on the fridge.
Provide notecards, gel pens, and envelopes for responses.
Spell and Tell
Remember those little folded-paper "fortune tellers" you used to make as a child? You know, the ones where you folded the paper a special way and wrote messages behind the flaps? They are great for spelling practice.
Here's how to make one:
1. Start with an 8" x 8" square of paper.
2. Fold in all four corners to the center point
3. Turn the folded square upside down.
4. Again, fold in all four corners to the center
5. Fold in half.
6. Place both thumbs and forefingers under the outer flaps and bring all four corners to touch in the center.
7. Write a spelling word on each of the flaps and write a secret message underneath each flap.
8. Spell the word and tell the message!
Spelling Dough
Provide play dough, and have your child use it to spell her weekly list of
words. To make each letter, he can roll the dough into a snake shape and
form it into the letter. Or she can roll the dough flat and use a toothpick to
spell the letters in the dough.
Have Fun!!!
Here's another website you might want to check out:
http://brokenhallelujah.org/2010/09/spelling-tips-for-children-and-parents/
Reposted: I found this in on Mrs. Wolfe's webpage and she found it in a book from the Teacher Education Center.
joy
