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Reading 101
Spelling
Many people think spelling comes naturally to some and not to others. Actually, good spellers aren't born, they're taught.
Watch a short video clip that shows Tina Scholtes teaching first graders a handy spelling pattern that helps them recognize word clusters.
Learning to spell is built on a child's understanding that words are made up of separate speech sounds (phonemes) and that letters represent those sounds. As they get more experience with words, children begin to notice patterns in the way letters are used as well as recurring sequences of letters that form syllables, word endings, word roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Nearly 90 percent of English words can be spelled if you know the basic patterns, principles, and rules of spelling. Students can use these rules as an aid to spelling unknown words. If a child can spell a word, he or she can usually read the word. Good spellers end up as better readers and writers.
New educational apps for mobile phones and tablets can supplement what your child is learning at home or in school. See our slideshow: Top 10 Spelling Apps >
Reading 101: Educational Literacy Apps | Print Awareness | Sounds of Speech | Phonemic Awareness | Phonics Informal Assessment | Fluency | Vocabulary | Spelling | Writing | Text Comprehension
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