How to Correct Spelling Mistakes

There are different approaches you can take when your child misspells a word. Some would simply show the child how the word should be spelled, but that would not provide explanation for the correction to enable the child to learn from the mistake. Instead, I would recommend that you follow the steps taught by the folks at All About Learning Press to help your learn.

If your child misspells a word during a spelling lesson, follow these steps:
    1. Ask your child to slowly read exactly what he has written. Often the student will see his own error and be able to fix it.
    2. Take a look at the cause of the spelling mistake -
          Did you and the student pronounce the word correctly?
          Is he unclear on a particular spelling concept or rule?
          Did he segment the word correctly?
          Do you need to re-teach something?
If you need to review a phonogram or spelling rule, do it now.
    3. Have the student spell the word again, preferably with letter tiles or magnets first, and then on paper.

When your child misspells a word outside of the spelling lesson, such as during dictation exercises or other written assignments, only hold his responsible for writing the word correctly if it includes concepts you have already taught. If that particular word, or words with a similar spelling pattern, have been taught, ask the student to segment the word and write the letter or letters for each sound. If he has misspelled a word for which you have not taught the pattern or rule, simply show him the correct spelling and have him write it himself, so that he imprints that spelling into his brain. When you cover that pattern in a future spelling lesson, he will likely remember what he has already practiced.

Why not encourage inventive spelling? First of all, it can imprint an incorrect form on the child's brain, which will require more "unlearning" later. Secondly, this approach can be counterproductive to teaching students the right way - they may use the first option that comes to mind (figuring that's what the teacher would allow) and not make an effort to spell correctly. My brother was taught this way in his early elementary years and had to work very hard in later years to overcome the incorrect imprinting and bad habits this approach established.

It is also not recommended to direct younger students to "look it up" in the dictionary. This can be a very frustrating process if the student does not know what basic phonograms are used, since the dictionary is organized by the proper spelling. If the student has not yet been taught a spelling pattern or rule for the word in question, simply tell (or show) the student what the correct spelling is.

The manner in which you correct mistakes can significantly impact your student's progress.

Kelly

Why Dictation?

When I began using Sonlight's literature-based approach, I asked this question. I was working with mid-elementary students and part of the Language Arts exercises was to dictate a passage taken from their Readers. Thankfully, I persevered through the early weeks, and then it dawned on me what we were gaining through the use of dictation exercises.

What is the whole purpose of studying Language Arts? To learn to effectively express yourself or to take what is spoken and record it in writing for another to read and comprehend later. One of my students was the type of child who doesn't like to spend extra time doing what he has already mastered, but even he began to see that through dictation he was practicing all aspects of Language Arts skills - capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, and handwriting. Writing from dictation allows your student to concentrate on the writing process without having to compose original sentences. An added benefit was that he was learning about sentence structure through examples from skilled authors. This is actually one of the methods that Ben Franklin used to improve his writing skills.

There is an added benefit for you, the parent - you will improve your skill in reading aloud. When giving dictation, you must use your vocal intonation to help your students hear the punctuation.

Sonlight encourages younger children - those who have not yet mastered handwriting comfortably - to do copywork, rather than dictation. This gives them the same exposure to all aspects of Language Arts skill while removing the pressure of taking auditory information and transforming it to written. As they become more skilled in spelling and handwriting, you can begin to wean them off copywork and into dictation.

Dictation can also benefit your child's spelling skills. When you dictate a passage to your child, present it in phrase lengths that are appropriate to his age and readiness. Have your child repeat the phrase and begin writing. Do not offer help in the writing process - let your child commit his own mistakes. I recommend not even watching what your child is writing as this can cause him to focus on your body language for signals about his performance, rather than concentrating on what he is doing. Allow him to pause when spelling an uncertain word to consider various alternatives or recall the spelling rules he has learned. He should feel free to think through the spelling process. When the full passage has been dictated, have your child read his writing aloud to determine whether he is satisfied that he has spelled everything correctly, as well as using capital letters and punctuation properly. As soon as your child has completed proofreading, compare his work with the printed sample from which you gave the dictation. Make note of any misspelled words and discuss any punctuation errors.

I'll provide some guidelines for correcting spelling mistakes in my next post.

Kelly