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We all remember the horrors of taking a spelling test when we were young - literally almost everyone has taken a test before. Such method of learning how to spell is the usage of rote-memorisation - where children will correctly spell out words that they memorized under a controlled environment, hoping to score the highest by spelling the most amount of correct words.
But this begs the question, are spelling tests really necessary to teach preschoolers how to spell?
After all, most children are only able to spell conventionally when they reach 10 years old and beyond - that means, it is only then when they are able to spell most words accurately.
For Preschoolers however, they will most likely be at the stage where they are only able to spell words out as they sound (also known as the Phonetic speller). It is at that stage where they will blend the various letter-sounds to spell the words that they know. Furthermore, they will also be able to correctly spell most one-syllable words accurately, as they learn about simple word families (for example, -at, -ap, -an, -un).
There are many other ways to develop preschoolers' spelling. Spelling tests are not fun, creative, and interesting for children. Using such a boring method will cause children to hate learning how to spell and the English language as a whole. That outcome is definitely not the outcome that we want our children to achieve.
Spelling tests are only appropriate once preschoolers already have developed their spelling skills using other methods, and spelling tests are used solely for the purpose of assessing their capabilities
So, what other methods are there to aid in developing preschoolers' spelling skills besides spelling tests?
Write common stories together.
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An easy method of writing common stories is to write about a shared experience. To facilitate this, invite your child(ren) to be vocal with their experience (for example, what they saw, felt, heard, touched).
Upon building the base of having a shared common experience, you can start writing the story based on the various sequential details that your child had shared with you! Invite them to think of a title for their story and some sentences of the story as you scribe them out. Once you write out the story, read the story to your child(ren) with varied expressions. You may take it up a notch by asking children to single out some high frequency words, letters, or any words of interest!
This experience will allow children to understand the “bridge” between spoken and written language - effectively helping children to eventually recognize how to spell certain words with ease.
“Construct a word” game.
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Using cut-out letters*, invite children to spell out any words that they know. Usually, preschoolers are only able to spell one syllable word easily, so ask them to construct appropriate words in accordance with easy word families.
As they construct the word out, correct or wrong, read the word that they have constructed. This will help your children to foster their letter-sound correspondence. Such is because your little ones will learn that a slight change to the word just by a single letter will alter the spelling and pronunciation of the entire word, which in the end will help children to foster their spelling skills.
*If you do not have any cut-out letters, that is fine too. You can just ask children to spell out any words that they know creatively through any mediums of art such as play dough or kinetic sand!
Have a word wall!
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A word wall does not need to be elaborate at all. Simply find a spot within your abode, and hang a board with a collection of high frequency words that your child often talks about. It is best to change the words on the board every week so that your child can see the different spellings of the high frequency words. Do read the words on the board to your child from time to time.
Word walls are the easiest way to build spelling skills. This is because a word wall will provide a permanent model of high frequency words for children to view. Furthermore, the words displayed on the wall will help children to see the patterns and relationships of letters within words. Such will help children to build their phonetic and spelling skills, and even provide children with a visual guide on the various spellings during any reading and writing.
Ultimately, instead of relying on rote memorisation for children to develop their spelling skills, there are other alternatives that can help children to develop their spelling skills. Such includes fostering their letter-sound correspondences, allowing children to see the relationship of letters in words, and recognise high frequency words that children commonly speak!
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