How to Help First Graders With Spelling Words
Assess students' spelling knowledge., Teach in small groups., Prioritize spelling instruction., Teach word knowledge, not just spelling., Demonstrate usefulness of spelling., Integrate strategies for independent spelling., Encourage all writing...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Assess students' spelling knowledge.
The best teaching practice starts with learning what the student already knows.
Take a moment to check the students' knowledge of spelling by asking them to spell a list of common first grade words.
Assessment allows you to start teaching at the area of your students' competence.Words found at the first grade level are short, 1-4 letters long.
They are 1 syllable words.
Examples of first grade words are: a, to, at, boy, bad, dip, cat, nest, sand, play.Assessment continues by analyzing students' independent writing.
Provide opportunities for your students to write, whether in art projects or academic activities.
Continue assessing throughout the school year.
Ongoing assessment is vital for effective teaching practice. -
Step 2: Teach in small groups.
Most teachers are aware of the disparity between their students' abilities and know that small group instruction is preferred when possible.
In helping first graders with spelling, it's essential to teach in small groups.
Group assignments should be based on what you've discovered through your spelling assessments, so that students of similar spelling abilities can be taught at the same time.Be aware that some students' reading and their spelling abilities may be quite different.
Don't base spelling assessments on students' ability to read.
Have other students engage in word-related activities at their seats, or participate in literacy activities in the classroom's centers, will help you manage the other students while working with small groups.
Having an assistant or a classroom volunteer can be helpful to managing the small groups of students. , You'll need to find the time to assess and teach spelling to your first graders.
This can be difficult to manage, because it requires individualization to the child's learning ability.
Plan ahead to include spelling instruction every day, multiple times per day.Consider creating inclusion of spelling words in different areas of study.
Invest a little time every day in independent word work and individual or small group instruction. , Teaching sight words, words that the student is likely to encounter often, helps the first grader with spelling.
Post familiar words around the classroom.
Teach students to consider why the word is spelled as it is.
Teach the rules behind the spelling.For example, teach the reason for the silent e, and how it affects the sound of the word.
Adding an e to a simple 3-letter word usually makes the vowel long, rather than short.
Teach sight words that don't usually fit the standard first-grade curriculum, if you find the students' using these words frequently.
Post these words around your classroom, and refer to them when they naturally arise in other teaching.
These sight words might include: because, are, again, said, friend, were. , Students will be more motivated to learn to spell if they understand its importance.
A first-grader must be taught the connection between reading words and proper spelling.
By teaching students to recognize the power spelling has over understanding, you'll help them transfer their spelling knowledge into other activities of their life.Group activities can have multiple fill-in-the-blank opportunities.
Mad Libs is a great activity for teaching spelling.
Teacher scaffolding can help support beginning learners.
Reminding the student what she already knows, strategies she might try to complete a spelling word, and providing hints and encouragement all support a first grader with spelling. , When you're helping your first graders, say each word you want them to spell slowly.
Teach your first graders to listen for the sounds they hear (initial sound, middle sound, final sound).
Help them identify any part they might know, e.g., br in brought.Encourage students to notice how words come together to make a larger word.
For example, putting fun and silly together to make funny.
Students might enjoy clapping the syllables, then writing letters for each syllable.
Help the students identify different spellings of rhyming words, such as space and place, or here and there.
Students need lots of opportunities to try the correct spelling to see if it looks right.
Provide resources around the classroom
- dictionaries, calendars, charts, word walls, etc. , Writing and spelling are two different academic areas.
Having students write, without worrying about their spelling, will help them become more confident writers and spellers.Provide opportunities for students to write about things that are important to them: football games, video games, school outings, or pets are popular topics.
These learning opportunities are found throughout the students' day.
Make games out of writing about new topics. , The more a child is exposed to written words, the more likely he is to internalize the spelling of the word.
If you're working on particular spelling words, point them out in books, magazines and online.
Highlight with a marker to emphasize that the word he's learning is also found in the "real world" if possible.Students may enjoy "proofreading" for spelling mistakes.
First graders may appreciate reading the same stories over and over again.
If this is the case, take advantage of this repetition to highlight different words found within the same story. -
Step 3: Prioritize spelling instruction.
-
Step 4: Teach word knowledge
-
Step 5: not just spelling.
-
Step 6: Demonstrate usefulness of spelling.
-
Step 7: Integrate strategies for independent spelling.
-
Step 8: Encourage all writing
-
Step 9: regardless of spelling.
-
Step 10: Expose students to written words.
Detailed Guide
The best teaching practice starts with learning what the student already knows.
Take a moment to check the students' knowledge of spelling by asking them to spell a list of common first grade words.
Assessment allows you to start teaching at the area of your students' competence.Words found at the first grade level are short, 1-4 letters long.
They are 1 syllable words.
Examples of first grade words are: a, to, at, boy, bad, dip, cat, nest, sand, play.Assessment continues by analyzing students' independent writing.
Provide opportunities for your students to write, whether in art projects or academic activities.
Continue assessing throughout the school year.
Ongoing assessment is vital for effective teaching practice.
Most teachers are aware of the disparity between their students' abilities and know that small group instruction is preferred when possible.
In helping first graders with spelling, it's essential to teach in small groups.
Group assignments should be based on what you've discovered through your spelling assessments, so that students of similar spelling abilities can be taught at the same time.Be aware that some students' reading and their spelling abilities may be quite different.
Don't base spelling assessments on students' ability to read.
Have other students engage in word-related activities at their seats, or participate in literacy activities in the classroom's centers, will help you manage the other students while working with small groups.
Having an assistant or a classroom volunteer can be helpful to managing the small groups of students. , You'll need to find the time to assess and teach spelling to your first graders.
This can be difficult to manage, because it requires individualization to the child's learning ability.
Plan ahead to include spelling instruction every day, multiple times per day.Consider creating inclusion of spelling words in different areas of study.
Invest a little time every day in independent word work and individual or small group instruction. , Teaching sight words, words that the student is likely to encounter often, helps the first grader with spelling.
Post familiar words around the classroom.
Teach students to consider why the word is spelled as it is.
Teach the rules behind the spelling.For example, teach the reason for the silent e, and how it affects the sound of the word.
Adding an e to a simple 3-letter word usually makes the vowel long, rather than short.
Teach sight words that don't usually fit the standard first-grade curriculum, if you find the students' using these words frequently.
Post these words around your classroom, and refer to them when they naturally arise in other teaching.
These sight words might include: because, are, again, said, friend, were. , Students will be more motivated to learn to spell if they understand its importance.
A first-grader must be taught the connection between reading words and proper spelling.
By teaching students to recognize the power spelling has over understanding, you'll help them transfer their spelling knowledge into other activities of their life.Group activities can have multiple fill-in-the-blank opportunities.
Mad Libs is a great activity for teaching spelling.
Teacher scaffolding can help support beginning learners.
Reminding the student what she already knows, strategies she might try to complete a spelling word, and providing hints and encouragement all support a first grader with spelling. , When you're helping your first graders, say each word you want them to spell slowly.
Teach your first graders to listen for the sounds they hear (initial sound, middle sound, final sound).
Help them identify any part they might know, e.g., br in brought.Encourage students to notice how words come together to make a larger word.
For example, putting fun and silly together to make funny.
Students might enjoy clapping the syllables, then writing letters for each syllable.
Help the students identify different spellings of rhyming words, such as space and place, or here and there.
Students need lots of opportunities to try the correct spelling to see if it looks right.
Provide resources around the classroom
- dictionaries, calendars, charts, word walls, etc. , Writing and spelling are two different academic areas.
Having students write, without worrying about their spelling, will help them become more confident writers and spellers.Provide opportunities for students to write about things that are important to them: football games, video games, school outings, or pets are popular topics.
These learning opportunities are found throughout the students' day.
Make games out of writing about new topics. , The more a child is exposed to written words, the more likely he is to internalize the spelling of the word.
If you're working on particular spelling words, point them out in books, magazines and online.
Highlight with a marker to emphasize that the word he's learning is also found in the "real world" if possible.Students may enjoy "proofreading" for spelling mistakes.
First graders may appreciate reading the same stories over and over again.
If this is the case, take advantage of this repetition to highlight different words found within the same story.
About the Author
Natalie Rivera
Writer and educator with a focus on practical organization knowledge.
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