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4 Ways to Teach Beginning Writers to Spell Words

Inside: Help your beginning writers become more independent, by teaching them 4 strategies that that they can use to spell words.

Beginning Writers Need Spelling Strategies

When it comes to reading, sounding out is not the only strategy we teach children to use when figuring out an unknown word.  There are several others, that work in combination with each other, to help beginning readers to be successful.

It’s the same with writing!

While sounding out words is also an important strategy for beginning writers, there are other ways that children can learn to spell words during this emergent writing stage.

4 Spelling Strategies to Support Beginning Writers

Here are the four strategies I teach my Kinders to use when writing words independently.

spelling strategies for kindergarten beginning writers

Flash Words

These are the words children already know how to spell and can do so quickly (in a flash!).

As I explain to children, “These are words that you have already have a picture of in your head.”

Examples for beginning-of-the-year kinders, might include sight words they have learned (i.e. I, a, the), names of family members, or common words like “dog,” “cat,” and “love.”

The strategy here is to teach them to be conscious of the growing word bank inside their heads and to always use this strategy first over others, as we don’t want them sounding out words that have already become part of their sight vocabulary (i.e. luv vs. love).

Wall Words

Support beginning writers by creating a print-rich environment that supports children in using what’s up on your walls as a resource for spelling.  We call these, “Wall Words,” to remind them to check the room for signs, posters, or labels that might contain the word they are trying to spell.
classroom print scavenger hunt for kindergarten writers
With this strategy, you will want to think ahead about which categories of words your children will use most often and create charts (with children if possible) for them to use while writing.  These might include sight words, color words, names, calendar words, feeling words, and more.  Hang them in spots where they easily be seen and accessed by children.

Look-Alike Words

Look-alike words are those that follow the same spelling pattern.  This is a great strategy to teach while introducing rhyming and/or word families.
word writing for emergent writers
You might say, “If you can spell cat, then you can spell hat.”  “If you can spell look, then you can spell book.”
As you support children in writing, you will ask, “Is there a word you know that looks like this word that will help you to spell it?”
As you teach new sight words, use the words as jumping off points for finding other look-alike words.

Sound Spelling Words

This last strategy children should use if they are unable to use the first three. It involves saying the word slowly, stretching or tapping out the individual sounds, and writing the letters for the sounds that are heard.
poster to show beginning writers how to tap and spell words
This multi-step strategy requires a LOT of modeling and practice before children are able to use it independently.
Phonemic awareness tasks such as segmenting, support children in being able to do this well.
For most children, practicing this skill during authentic writing contexts, such as writing workshop, is not enough, and you will want to provide ongoing practice during your word work block.
We use resources such as a Tap and Write Alphabet Book…
kindergarten alphabet book for beginning writers

and a set of 10 Tap and Write CVC Readers to give children more practice with this skill.

CVC word reader for beginning writers

Write Aloud to Support Beginning Writers

With each of the above strategies, you will want to model them as you write aloud in front of children.

You might say:

“Is it a flash word? Yes, it is! I have a picture of this word in my head and can write it quickly.”

or

“That is a color word. I can find that word on the wall in the art center.”

or

“It’s not a flash word, wall word, or look-alike word. I’ll have to use my sound spelling to write it.  Watch me tap and write this word by saying each sound slowly.”

Teaching Beginning Writers to Spell Words

When children learn the above strategies, they feel empowered to write and are less afraid to take risks. Each strategy is explicitly taught through mini-lessons in Growing Writers Unit 2: Word Writing .
This 12-day plan also includes lessons on concepts of print, such as directionality and spacing, that beginning writers need to spell words independently.
Each lesson includes Google slides that you can use to project the lesson onto your digital white board.
kindergarten writing workshop unit

For more ideas on teaching young children to write, visit the Growing Writers page inside the Roots & Wings Resource Library.  Thanks for stopping by!

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