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LisaTX · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2012 10:57 pm

For younger kids, did/do you correct their spelling on everything? I'm not talking spelling tests or stuff where the primary focus is on spelling correctly. But things like a science journal where they're just writing the answer to questions? Do you make them correct every word spelt wrong on things like that?

I'm trying to have ds do more writing this year. Last year I did a lot of him dictating to me and me writing down the answer. But I'm kind of a perfectionist and get afraid of having him write the answers to things because I'm afraid he'll spell things wrong and I'll have to make him correct all the wrong words. But my goal is just to get him writing more, writing sentences, learning to put his thoughts on paper, finding his "style" of writing, etc. We do a spelling program and he has spelling tests. I just don't know if I need to worry so much about things not related to spelling.

Anna1111 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm **Posts:** 8115

Well, there is a lot of controversy on this topic.

In educational psychology, they say that the best thing for a student to learn is to always see and always give the right answer. If you keep repeating something wrong, you will memorize it wrong. (if you say 4x6=20 over and over, it gets stuck in your head that way, and you have a hard time switching to 24.

Because of this, my feeling is that early writing should generally be spelling practice and taking dictation of words that are/should be mastered. Not trying to figure out how to spell "satellite" so that you can tell the outerspace story you're imagining.

And, stories and retelling the lesson for comprehension are best done verbally for a while. (If you have to constantly correct spelling of words you have not taught yet, that can be quite discouraging). Or, the child can ask how to spell words that are not taught yet. He can start figuring out words that are phonetic, and you can discuss those together (it has an F sound - what are the ways to spell f? f, ph, gh. This word uses "ph")

Of course, many others like to stress creativity, problem solving, etc, that can be nourished by writing one's own story. But, that's my take on it.

Mom2SHZC · **Posted:** Thu Sep 06, 2012 1:18 am

The way I handle this is that I draw a line through the word that is spelled incorrectly and write the correct spelling either above or below it. I have my kids skip every other line so I have room to do this. I don't make a big deal out of the incorrect spelling, but I make sure the child sees the work and the correct spelling of the word.
I agree with Anna that if they continually see words spelled wrong they will have a hard time rememberig the correct spelling.

Martha R. · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:45 am **Posts:** 2924

Sometimes I had them write the word correctly three times, but I definitely always had them correct it. We didn't do a spelling curriculum so copy work, phonics, and correction were the preferred methods.

Pam in Colorado · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:58 pm **Posts:** 1095

We've done it differently over the years. The way that allowed them to see the correct spelling but did not seem to frustrate them to the point they did not want to write, was my making the correction and they then could refer back to that next time.

With my two youngest, I rarely corrected them when they were younger. They are very good spellers now, because they have seen words written correctly in what they read, they ask or look up correct spelling now on their own and they have not been confused by writing things incorrectly as they grew and knowing correct spelling now.

LisaTX · **Posted:** Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:31 pm

Thank you guys for the input! I have heard of them memorizing the wrong spelling, but I'm not sure how much I believe that, based on my own experiences. I think of the papers I've written as a young child and how I misspelled a lot of things and obviously the teacher couldn't sit there and tell me the spelling of each word when he/she had a class full of kids. As I got older, my papers had less and less misspelled words. In HS, English turned out to be my best subject and I don't think I'm a bad speller. So, I have thought about that theory, but I don't know how much stock I put into it. I guess every child's different, though.

I was also thinking about him seeing the correct spelling in reading, too. I don't want him to get too discouraged. He doesn't like writing, so I don't want to sit there making him correct every single word. But then again, when I had him writing answers by himself the other day, I noticed on some of the words he wrote it wrong and then went back and fixed it on his own after he remembered the correct spelling. He also frequently asked me if he'd spelled anything wrong and really wanted to make sure he was spelling things right. So, maybe it will not be discouraging to him, like I thought it would be. He's in 3rd grade so he does definitely need to start writing more.

Anna1111 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm **Posts:** 8115

Well, for whatever it's worth, I remember vividly struggling with spelling in second grade - our school really pushed it. And, I wasn't really ready for it yet, simply because I hadn't had enough exposure to the written word (IMO), having only been reading proficiently for less than a year.

So, my feeling with DD is to give her 2 or 3 years to read, read, read before *pushing* spelling or writing. (I know the current phonics philosophy is the opposite, but this is what I've chosen to do) All of the sudden, now, little DD is really into spelling (thanks to watching hours of word world, LOL) She's spending hours with her magnetic refrigerator letters on a cookie sheet, making words (in her "free time" not during school!) But, I still don't plan to push it for a long time yet. Let her push it ; )

Pam in Colorado · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:58 pm **Posts:** 1095

Lisa, waiting to have your son do more writing might actually be beneficial to him (and you), as fine motor skills are still developing at his age and writing takes fine motor skills. Also, he will have lots of writing opportunity in the years to come, so if you wait a few more years, he may actually do a lot on his own, as it will be when he is ready, how he wants to do so (one of my dd's used to write diary entries for her stuffed animals, and wrote stories about her stuffed animals) she wrote more during that time frame than I would have expected from her if we were doing any formal writing. I never corrected her writing unless she asked me, and she is my most proficient writer/speller.

LindaS · **Posted:** Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:05 pm

With DD when she was in elementary grade, we did the rote route. Memorizing words from a list we found on the katy school district list for each grade, each week for a year.
She had to get 90 or better.
Use it in a sentence , and sometimes write a story with the words in it.
As she got older , she had her vocabulary words and and they were also her spelling words.

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