When did your child learn how to spell???

[Jaimee]

DS is 6, just started 1st grade and loves to read AND write....he started at 3- 4, with Dr Suess type books. He now is reading chapter books (Magic Tree House, etc...) on his own. His K5 teacher tested him in the 4th grade reading level last year and he passed just fine. But he can't spell....He loves to write stories, he has several notebooks filled with stories he's written over the summer, but most of the words are spelled wrong. I'm not making a big deal about it with him because I'm just amazed that he has an interest in creative writing (I always hated writing, still do...but love to read) I'm just wondering when it will "click" he can spell basic words, but things like "bike", "turn"...he can't get (beik, trn). And he still writes some of his letters/numbers backwards,,When did your child start spelling/writing correctly?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd couldn't read until the end of Kindergarten. Now she was writing stories like your son at the age of 4 but not reading. Once she learned to read she began to learn how to spell.
She is in second grade and really learning how to spell this year. No more backwards letters or numbers anymore. Her spelling is very different from 1st this year.

Older dd could spell from the get-go & read early.

I think all kids have their own pace.

 

[SnowAngel]

My oldest started to learn to spell better in second grade but even now she has trouble with some words.
2nd dd is in second and having lots of trouble spelling. She loves to write also but writes really big and horrific spelling. She'll give a story she wrote and I have to decipher the handwriting and spelling.

They all learn at their own speed. I failed first grade because my teacer said I couldn't read. I now have a BA in English/Writing

 

[padams]

Second grade is when DSs' school begins to expect correct spelling. DS#1 was a good reader like your child. His spelling didn't catch up to his reading level until 2nd grade. DS#2 is in 1st grade and his spelling is just bizarre sometimes but he can read! I know not to panic with the second child.

 

[CaseyJr]

My DS is 9 and in 4th grade. He's just starting to get the hang of it. He's a smart kid and is making good grades (he's in a magnet school). We don't know if he has an LD (he does have ADHD which he's treated for), or if it's more due to maturity (or a combo of both).

 

[shortbun]

DS is a VERY smart 9 year old and still can not spell. It's his
only weakness-well, that and his writing is almost illegible because he's in such a hurry to get everything in his head onto
the paper. I suspect that's part of the spelling trouble too-too
hard to slow down for correct spelling. We've been working on
editing with him. He's usually done way before his classmates and with a much larger contribution so he does have time to
edit. Ask the teachers about spelling. Ours were not concerned
at all until 2nd grade and only a little more in third. We've decided
DS will have spell check soon and some great secretary working
for him to lay out all his correspondence someday. Is spelling
so important? Can you read what he's written? Food for thought.

 

[tjmw2727]

Creative spelling is accepted here until 2nd grade and sometimes even 3rd depending on the word and the project.. The teacher will wirte or point out the correct spelling but not reflect the grade on it. The exception are words they have had on a spelling list and been tested on.

My 2nd grader gets 8 words a week now and will increase to 15 words a week by the end of school. It is hoped that they will "carry over" these words into the rest of the work and slowly the kindergarten or creative spelling will go away.

Personally I find it a bit sad that my youngest dd's creative spelling is leaving They way she spells some words and explains herself in early writing to me is just precious!!

TJ

 

[SnowAngel]

My second grader gets 20 words and 5 sentances to test on every week. I do think it's a bit much but the teacher is trying to encourage them to do better than the other classes. The other second grade classes only get 10 words.

 

[cats7494]

Well...my brother got straight A's from 1st grade through high school - now in college getting straight A's...he was the class Valedictorian, has his college completely paid for from an academic scholarship...and I tell you the boy can not spell! It is kinda funny..he is so very smart..he is a physics major and aces every test.. he reads all the time...and yet... if he does not use spell check...watch out!

lol!

 

[janette]

I'm still waiting, my 10yo cannot spell and my 12yo can but not great. They both do fine on spelling tests because they memorize them but not the actual spelling.

I wouldn't worry about the spelling or anything else with his writing. My 10yo has a reading disability and she wouldn't write anything until last year. I really think most of it was because she was older when she started and realized that she couldn't spell so just wouldn't try. My older DD was writing very early and wasn't at all concerned about spelling / grammer. The best way to learn writing is practice, just let him write and don't worry too much about the mechanics right now. The creative part is what can't be taught later

 

[RadioNate]

When I was in grade school I was part of a study involving otherwise gifted children who can not spell.

Apparently it's a pretty common learning disability that often is overlooked.

I still can't spell well but what helped me was using different ways to learn the spellings of words.

I can't read something and learn it or memorize it but if someone talks through the information with me I retain it better.

In gradeschool my mom would spell words outloud and I'd repete, then she'd spell them outloud while I wrote them.

Mnomics also helped.

By HS is wasn't too much of an issue because I could use spell-check on papers and where spelling counted on.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

I was a first grade teacher for ten years and I can tell you that every child is different. The vowels are always the last sounds that kids learn to "hear" in words that they spell. It's a developmental process. It's also very common for first graders to transpose letters and, no, it doesn't mean they are dyslexic.

The best thing is to teach them word patterns (hot, pot)
and the phonetic rules of spelling (bike, like). It takes practice and it's doesn't come easy to everyone.

There's a fabulous book called McCracken Spelling: Spelling Through Phonics that many teachers use and it's a great resource for parents too.

Jaimee- "bike", "turn"...he can't get (beik, trn)

It looks like he knows the letters in "bike", he's just not sure of the order. Trn is a common "temporary" spelling of turn. Your son isn't hearing or writing the vowel yet. It's all very normal.