What is this skill?
Fourth grade spelling moves to longer words that children now use in their own writing: library, favorite, weather, different, remember, tomorrow and finally, then calendar, business, believe, receive, probably and excellent. Many of them have a part that is not said out loud, such as the first r in library or the middle e in different, and a part where two spellings compete, such as ie and ei in believe and receive.
In this practice the word is read aloud and never shown. Each question gives a sentence with a blank, such as "We borrow books from the ___" or "Did you ___ my letter?", and the child builds the missing word from letter tiles. The early questions use library, favorite, weather, different, remember, tomorrow, finally and surprise. The middle ones use calendar, business, believe, receive, probably, excellent, straight and whether. The hardest use necessary, separate, especially and interesting.
Why it matters
Longer words are where spelling mistakes pile up. A fourth grader who can write interesting or especially correctly is a writer who sounds more grown up on the page, and one who is not afraid to use big words, because they can spell them.
Spelling a long word breaks it into parts. A child who learns to see necessary as ne-ces-sa-ry is learning a skill that works on any long word: chunk it, spell each chunk, then check the whole thing. This is more useful than any one word.
Spelling also builds the habit of looking closely. Words like separate and whether have a part that looks wrong until it is noticed, and a child who has learned to notice that part will carry the habit to every new word they meet.
Common mistakes
- Writing the word the way a person says it: "libary," "diffrent," "probly" or "intresting." Say the word slowly and clearly, exaggerating every syllable, and the missing letters show up.
- Swapping the letters in ie and ei words, such as "beleive" or "recieve." The rhyme "i before e, except after c" helps with believe and receive, and it is a rule with exceptions, so use it as a clue and not as a law.
- Doubling the wrong letter, as in "tommorow" or "finaly." Count the m's and l's in each word and check them against the model.
- Mixing up spelling with a different word that sounds close, such as whether and weather. The sentence tells which meaning is wanted.
How to help at home
- Chunk a long word with your child, such as sep-a-rate, and say the odd chunk loudly. Spell it by chunks, then check the whole word.
- Keep a "words I almost spell right" list on the fridge. A child adds one when they catch a mistake in their own writing, which is a good reason to learn it.
- Use the words in a quick letter, like a postcard to a grandparent. Real writing has a real reader, and children take more care.
- Try the printable spelling lists on this site for a weekly list, and spell the hard ones out loud in the car.
Worked examples
These are real questions from the Tutorsaurus spelling: longer words practice, with the answers worked out.
Example 1
Spell the word you hear.
The app reads this aloud: “different”
Answer: different. Different is spelled d-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-t. It has two f letters and the ending "ent".
Example 2
Spell the word you hear.
The app reads this aloud: “whether”
Answer: whether. Whether, meaning if, is spelled w-h-e-t-h-e-r. It starts with "wh" unlike the weather outside.
Example 3
Spell the word you hear.
The app reads this aloud: “especially”
Answer: especially. Especially is spelled e-s-p-e-c-i-a-l-l-y. It is "especial" plus "ly".