What each grade works on
In kindergarten, spelling is mostly listening: say a short word slowly, hear each sound, and write a letter for it. In 1st grade children start spelling common words that do not follow the rules, the same words they are learning to read by sight. In 2nd grade the focus is on patterns, such as the silent e that makes a vowel long, two vowels that work as a team, and endings like -ing and -ed.
From 3rd grade on, the words get longer and the spellings less predictable. Silent letters, odd vowel spellings and doubled consonants take over, and the useful skill becomes noticing which part of a word is the tricky part, then remembering just that part. By 4th and 5th grade the standard simply asks children to spell grade-level words correctly and to check a dictionary when they are not sure.
How to give a spelling test at home
- Print the test for your child鈥檚 grade. The first page has numbered lines; the second page is the word list and answer key for you.
- Read each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, then say the word once more. Your child writes it on the next line.
- Go through the answers together straight away, while the words are fresh. Circle the part of each misspelled word that went wrong rather than the whole word.
- Put the misses on next week鈥檚 list, alongside a few new words, and test them again in a week.