The Secret to 1st Grade Spelling

Handwriting, reading and of course, 1st grade spelling are among the basic things your child learns in school. These three are very important as your child’s learning capacity with regard to these three aspects can make or break his learning habit and his learning desire as he matures. The earlier your child is taught and is made accustomed to writing, reading books and spelling his first-learned words, the earlier he is able to nurture good attitude and behavior towards learning.
Particularly, learning 1st grade spelling words are very crucial to a child’s development. Spelling bees are common school or classroom activities and for first graders, having won or even merely having participated in 1st grade spelling bees is already an achievement. It’s good to reward your child (not monetary though) if he won or got chosen to be a part of 1st grade spelling bees so that they would be delighted to learn more 1st grade spelling words.
On the other hand, when your child gets scorned when he is not able to spell his 1st grade spelling words right, he or she may be discouraged to go to school everyday or to go in front of the class to present, to talk or to participate in another 1st grade spelling bee. That’s how crucial 1st spelling words are—they are foundations of your child’s education and thus, you have to invest enough time and effort in helping him or her learn his 1st grade spelling words.
To help you teach your child 1st grade spelling words enjoyably and more effectively, you can try the following tips and suggestions:
1. Spelling lists – In schools, teachers usually ask first graders to bring home spelling list, which they have to read and review over the weekend. These 1st grade spelling lists are usually list of word families—that is, the words included in the list have similar features such as a common syllable or sound. You can use these 1st grade spelling lists in helping your child practice his spelling skills. You can ask him to write short sentences using the words or you can ask him to read short stories that have these words. In that way, he’ll get familiar with how the words are pronounced and are spelled.
2. Books – Books are excellent ways for you to teach your child the basics in reading and spelling words. As your child reads, he gets familiar with the spelling of the words and the sound of each letter or combination of letters. You may read together with your child or let him or her read after you read each line or sentence. It would be best to use books with colorful illustrations so that your child can better understand the meaning of the words and consequently, the story.
3. 1st grade spelling dictionary – It would be fun to list all the words your child has learned every week or every month in a personal dictionary. Letting your child show how well he progresses can encourage him to learn more. Also, his personal dictionary can serve as his guide or reviewer so he would always remember the 1st grade spelling words he has earlier learned.