Expert spelling tips for KS1 and KS2

That's a really good question! Some of my students have become less self conscious about their spelling ability since being able to spell phonetically in text speak. Spelling is often a matter of confidence. Most of my dyslexic students have low self-esteem because they feel they are rubbish at spelling.

Personally, I wouldn't discourage your child using text speak as they will become 'fluent' at writing and will feel at ease with it. But I would ensure they know that they will have to use 'proper' spelling in their school work.

I think the 'ght' combinations, as in 'straight', and the 'ugh' words, including 'thought', 'through', 'although' etc are tricky. I teach 'Ten Tough Words' as a package, representing them in different media. For example, I have letters cut out of leather for 'tough', bubblewrap letters for 'thought', corrugated cardboard for 'through' and sandpaper letters for 'rough'.

Common words that seem to be spelt incorrectly the most in my experience are 'their', 'who' and 'watch'.

I love mnemonics and acrostics but they can cause problems sometimes! I used to teach 'because' with 'Big Elephants Can't Always Use Small Entrances' until I realised that 'always' sounds as though it could be spelt with 'or' at the beginning! So I now use 'Big Elephants Can Add Up Sums Easily'.

It's important to learn an acrostic thoroughly. I ask lots of questions to reinforce it. For example, for spelling ‘colour’ I use, ‘Carry Old Ladies Over Uneven Roads.’ So I might ask:

• Where do you carry old ladies? Answer: Over uneven roads.
• Who do you carry over uneven roads? Old Ladies.
• What are these roads like? Uneven.
• So, what is the whole acrostic? Carry old ladies over uneven roads.
• How do you spell ‘colour’?

With practice, a child should realise when it is spelt ok! If not, devise an acrostic or mnemonic of their own as that gives them ownership of the spelling and they are more likely to remember it.

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