With;so;many;phonics;rules;and;exceptions;in our;English;language,;many;children;have;a very;difficult;time;acquiring;spelling;skills. However,;you;can;put;the;brakes;on;this;prob-lem;because;there;is;an;easy;way;to;teach;spelling.
Here’s;the;key:
1. Teach only the reliable phonics facts
This;means;teach;only;one;sound;for;each;letter;or;letter;com-bination;and;don’t;focus;on;exceptions.;What;does;this;accom-plish?
a.;You’ll;get;an;immediate;response;to;each;letter;or;letter;com-
bination;because;only;one;sound;is;known.
b.;The;reliable;phonics;facts;cover;about;90%;of;the;phonics;in-
formation;needed;to;spell.
c.;When;the;children;have;90%;of;the;phonics;facts;needed;to
spell;at;their;fingertips,;they;can;easily;figure;out;that;small
10%;of;exceptions;on;their;own,;as;will;be;shown.;But;when
an;attempt;is;made;to;teach;that;small;10%;of;exceptions,;it
just;confuses;the;total;100%;of;words.
Following;is;the;90%;of;reliable;phonics;facts;that;will;be;uti-
lized;to;spell;words.;Chances;are;that;your;child;has;already
learned;most;of;these;sounds:
Consonants:
B;(ball);L;(lion);V;(vase)
C;(cat);M;(milk);W;(wagon)
D;(dog);N;(nest);X;(box)
F;(fish);P;(pie);Y;(yoyo)
G;(girl);Q;(queen);(my)—end;of;2-or-3-letter;word
H;(house);R;(ring);(baby)—end;of;more-than-3-
J;(jar);S;(seal);letter;word
K;(kite);T;(top);Z;(zebra)
Consonant Blends:
Teach;the;students;to;blend;the;following;consonants.;This;will
provide;the;skill;to;blend;any;other;consonants,;and;it;will;be
easy;because;they;already;know;the;consonant;sounds:
bl,;br,;cl,;cr,;dr,;fl,;fr,;gl,;gr,;pl,;pr,;sc,;scr,;sk,;sl,;sm,;sn,;sp,;spr,;st,
str,;sw,;tr,;tw
Digraphs:
ch;(chin);th;(the);sh;(she);wh;(what)
Short Vowels:
a;(apple);e;(Eskimo);i;(igloo);o;(octopus);u;(umbrella)
Spelling and Phonics
How;to;Lose;Those;Spelling;Blues!
It;is;important;to;recognize;the;fact;that
the;purpose;of;spelling;skills;is;to;lead
into;written;language. By;Mary;Pecci,;M.Ed.
