Every single time my kids hit 1st grade the dreaded spelling tests start. I loved watching my kids use inventive spelling to write their 1st words. Then comes the spelling test era and now learning to read, spell words, and write becomes forced.
I open the backpack and feel stress, feel the pressure as soon as the list comes home. I pull the list out, look at the words and word patterns and cringe. Then my heart beats fast when I see the date. One dreaded week to get the words down pat.
We have dance, we have softball, I have tutoring and meetings…the week goes by faster than a week of vacation.
It’s the night before the test. Review time (secretly dying inside) they keep spelling the same words wrong. The day of the test is here and we survive only to live until next week.
The stress is real!
Why the stress of a spelling list? Why does it matter if my kid is a terrible speller? We ALL use technology.
The short answers are that spelling does not develop naturally it has to be taught.
Spelling mistakes are natural too.
BUT spelling mistakes that are still there despite good instruction can be a symptom of a reading difficulty.
This is why every parent should care about spelling. Spelling mistakes show how your kid’s brain is wired for reading. This is why technology can’t replace the ability to spell.
Spelling and reading site words is a different scenario, too. It is the same because when I see the dreaded site word ring I feel just as panicked as the spelling list. The clock starts and all parents have one school year to help teach a vast amount of words.
Good News is reading ability improves with good instruction spelling almost always does the same.
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