Reading is a primary focus at school. We, as parents, are watching to make sure our children are developing their reading skills. At the same time, your child also needs to be developing their spelling skills.
Your child will need to do a lot of the same thinking to spell. It’s actually a little harder though, because when you learn to read you have the context of what you’re reading and maybe even pictures on the page to help you through figuring out all of the words on the page. But when spelling and writing, you really have to know those words. You have to be able to pull those words out of your memory so you can spell and write them.
It’s not uncommon for children to become frustrated when they get to the point where they have to do more spelling and writing in school. One thing you can do to make that transition easier is to use dictation. Say to your child, “You tell me what you want to say, and I’ll write it down.” They can just freely speak their story or whatever it is that they want to put on the page. You are just typing or writing on the paper for them. The trick is that you then dictate it back to them so that they can do the writing, so they aren’t having to think about what to say and the spelling all at the same time. It’s just breaking that task, which can be arduous for some kids, into two pieces.
We hope this helps! Looking for more tips on helping your child become a confident reader? Sometimes, children may avoid reading or become frustrated if they lack confidence in their reading ability. If this sounds like your child, keep scrolling and grab our free guide, 9 Simple Ways to Boost Your Child’s Reading Confidence.
