my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

she is in second grade and spells like she hears words if she were hard of hearing. (her hearing is fine, just recently tested).

Example: Im so abarist = I'm so embarrassed.

is it normal for kids in second grade to spell like this.

other words - vanpire (vampire)
restauNant

she says 'don't leave "ABOUT" me' rather than without me. i try to correct her for years now, she doesn't get it.

she likes to write letters / cards, etc... i worry about her spelling and if the teacher will 'catch' it. . .

any opinions?

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

I think it is normal to spell phonetically in the second grade. I have had 9th graders that wouldn't be able to spell embarrassed. I actually just spelled it wrong for this post!


I would write the commonly misspelled words on index cards and hang them around her room. Also, I think reading is very important at that age. try to read to her as much as possible and have her read to you too.

Message edited 10/27/2011 1:46:24 PM.

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

Did they let her do that in kindergarten? The school I worked in last year never corrected their spelling and just encouraged them to write whether it was correct or not. its a method that some schools use.

For example a sentence might be I love school and they would accept

I luv skool.

She might be used to doing that. You might ask her to skip lines when she writes so that you can correct any mistakes she makes. I agree with posting site words around the room and also read read read. Have her read out loud to you and you read to her and have her follow along.

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

You could get her a tutor, one that does Fundations. I have always taught fundations in 1st grade and my kids do not write like that. HTH

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

Some kids just need to be specifically taught spelling rules. Spelling in the English Language is not easy!!!

Oh, and try out www.spellingcity.com. I just found this. Kids can practice and play games with their own words. It's pretty cool!

Message edited 10/27/2011 7:02:33 PM.

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

As a long-term solution: In my experience, the best way to learn to spell is to read as much as possible. Doesn't matter what she's reading. Anything she might be interested in would be good - Beverly Cleary books, maybe, or Archie comics, or picture books about puppies... whatever she'd like. Seeing correct spelling over and over, she'll absorb the written language without the tedium of practicing the rules. Good readers are the best spellers because they have the most exposure to correctly-spelled language.

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

how is her production of words in general?
Does she speak fast?

If she is spelling what she hears the place of production of the sounds is wrong.

like vampire the /m/ should be produced with her two lips where the /n/ is tongue behind front teeth.

same as about the /a/ is a back sound /w/ is in the front very visual sound. (in about)

like if you said she spells what she hers and lets say spells night /nite/ then she's hearing all the letters correctly.

Re: my daughter spells horribly!! - advice?

Maybe it has nothing to do with her hearing. Does she pronounce it the same why she writes it? Maybe she should get tested by a speech pathologist and see what they have to say. My brother didn't speak as soon as he should have and also had some slight problems with his speech. He went to the speech pathologist and by 5 visits MAX, he was much, much better. They can pinpoint it exactly and within a few hours of work be able to clarify what your DD might need. Also, maybe she needs to see it all visually. I would also suggest what I think a previous poster did about having her skip lines and then underneath it right it correctly for her to see it. Or have her practice common misspellings. I'd be less worried about embarrassed or vampire, as I would with don't leave 'about' me (i think you were referring to don't leave 'without' me?). The reason I would be more upset about this is because 1. school is more relaxed about spelling these days (which i find unfortunate though) and spelling generally gets better as they get older and have more exposure to those words but mainly 2. it means she is not understanding those phrases as correctly as you might think or if she does understand it- her teachers/standardized tests might not realize what she means if she misconstrues things like that. In third grade they start getting tested heavily and comprehension is at the top of importance. Hope these tips help! Good Luck!!