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Spelling Assistance

Spelling has never been my strong suit. I still remember the third grade spelling bee, and I was eliminated in the first round. The word was, macaroni, and I still hesitate to this day when spelling it. Funny how somethings stick in your brain. Thankful that spelling bees and popcorn style spelling are not as popular as they used to be in today’s schools.

Spelling can be challenging, especially with our students that struggle with reading. That is why equipping students with spelling accommodations is so vital. Let’s remember, as adults, we rely on spell check and auto text predicting. So, providing students with spelling assistance during writing takes the challenge away from spelling so the focus can be the writing content.

No matter the stage your students are with spelling, they will benefit from a way of housing words to refer to when writing. Creating their own personal dictionary or word wall provides spelling independence for students. Instead of asking the dreaded, “How do you spell…”, they now have a tool to use!

There are many different spelling assistance options. The spelling dictionary above has commonly used sight words that are provided for students. Each letter consist of a combination of frequently used sight words from Fry and Dolch word list. Blank spaces are provided for students to add words as needed.

Spelling assistance is an accommodation that is added on many students IEP’s. There are many different ways to provide spelling assistance to a student. Some options included spelling software and text prediction. While these options are helpful, they do not provide students with any independence with spelling.

I have found that is it more beneficial when students take ownership of their spelling and are challenged to write the word correctly in their own word walls or dictionaries. You can grab these spelling dictionaries and word wall for your students HERE!