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Parents Ask...
and TN-IDA Answers
We share answers for understanding and support...
Parent Question:
"My 5th grader's reading decoding skills have improved dramatically but his spelling skills are still lagging behind. What should I do to support him?"
Guidance:
Spelling typically does lag behind reading even in typically developing children. Spelling is a more complex skill than decoding, and many students who have learned to read words accurately may require much more practice to accurately spell those same words. A structured literacy approach prioritizes decoding and revisits those same concepts for spelling cumulatively over time.
Understanding the child’s strengths and needs will allow his teachers to target their instruction. A spelling assessment may be given as part of the school’s regular benchmark testing, or it may be given as part of the progress monitoring within his intervention program. Ask your child’s teacher for any data related to spelling and review the plan with his teachers to ensure you are all working together to provide reteaching and lots of practice with the targeted spelling concepts.
If you choose to hire a tutor to support your child’s progress, you can find lists of certified structured literacy tutors here:
Find a Certified Structured Literacy Tutor
Spelling Specific Help & Practice
Helping kids learn to spell high frequency words is another step parents can take. Really Great Reading has good info on this topic. See "free student practice activities button below.
For older students, Bridge the Gap by Heggerty may be helpful as a phonemic awareness intervention for older students. The child build skills to segment the sounds to better spell them.
Here are some activities parents can do at home to help improve their child’s spelling skills:
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