Writing a spelling word ten times looks like hard work. Mostly, it is copying, with the word sitting right there to follow. Then the test comes, and the word is gone. If that keeps happening at your table, you are not doing anything wrong. Your child isn’t broken; their brain is learning differently.
FROM THE VIDEO
Key moments from Learn to Read and Spell with Dyslexia: Mastering the Spelling Routine:
- 01:45Say the word, then write it while naming each letter: S, A, T. Not the sounds.
- 03:18Made a mistake? No judgment. Look at what kind of mistake it was. “Practice makes improvement.”
- 06:54Give the words in rhyming groups. Turn them into a card game your child wins.
- 11:16Build the routine first. New letters come only once it is smooth.
Common questions from parents
Is writing spelling words over and over a good way to practice?
Should my child sound out spelling words or name the letters?
What should I do when my child spells a word wrong?
Does my child need a diagnosis before we practice spelling at home?
No amount of sounding out tells a child "their" from "there." The routine that fills the gap: spell from memory, check, name the letters.
Why Doesn’t Writing It Ten Times Make It Stick?
Copying feels like work. The pencil moves and the page fills up. But the word is in view the whole time. So your child never practices what the test asks for. That is getting the word back with nothing to look at.
Researchers have tested this with spelling. Jones and colleagues (2016) ran three small studies with children. One group wrote each word from memory, then checked it against the right spelling. Another group copied the words, a drill called rainbow writing. In all three studies, the from-memory group came out ahead.
The groups were small, so how big the gain is stays an open question. The direction matches older memory work, though. Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that recalling what you studied helped it last. It helped more than studying it again.
That is the whole idea behind spell, then check. Your child pulls the word out of memory first. Then they look at the right spelling and fix it on the spot.
No sound skill tells your child whether the word is their or there.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Why Should Your Child Say the Letter Names, Not the Sounds?
The usual advice is to sound it out. Sounds matter a lot. They do most of the work. They are also the only way into a brand-new word. This one-page guide to hearing the sounds inside words covers that side. But sounds alone do not settle every spelling.
Take their and there. They sound the same. No sound skill tells your child which one goes in the sentence. That takes a second route. It is memory for how the whole word looks, letter by letter.
Niolaki and colleagues (2023) tested this with 641 children. Whole-word measures predicted spelling accuracy better than sound-based measures. That held at every age they tested.
Phonics is necessary. It was never sufficient. That is why the routine has your child name each letter while writing. For sat, they say S, A, T, not the three sounds. The teacher in the video puts it plainly. Naming the letter reinforces the letter you are writing down. None of this means less phonics. Keep the sounds for reading new words. Add the letter names when your child spells.
Key takeaways
- Spell first, then check: Writing from memory, then checking, beat copying in small studies.
- Name the letters: Saying S, A, T while writing keeps attention on the letters.
- Sounds are not enough: No sound skill tells a child their from there.
How Do You Run Spell, Then Check at Home?
Spelling does not soak in on its own. Like reading, it has to be taught. The International Dyslexia Association describes strong literacy teaching as explicit and systematic. Spelling is part of that. Here is the routine from the video, step by step.
- Pick a few words that rhyme. Start with sat and pat, then tap and nap.
- Say the word. Your child says it back.
- Your child writes it, naming each letter out loud.
- Show the right spelling. Put it on a card right next to your child, not on a screen.
- If a word is wrong, look at what kind of mistake it was. Then move on.
The teacher stresses rhyming groups. Sat and pat share one pattern. So your child practices one pattern twice, not a pile of unrelated words.
Mistakes get no judgment. The teacher’s line is worth keeping: “Practice makes improvement.” A wrong word is a clue about what to practice next.
To make it a game, cut the words into cards. Your child keeps every card they spell right. You keep the misses. The teacher says of the children, “They always end up with more than you.” She adds that it is good for confidence.
Go slower than feels natural. The teacher holds off on new letters until the routine is smooth. If reading feels like a fight too, see our guide to dyslexia. For more on spelling itself, read why spelling is hard and what helps.
A wrong word is a clue about what to practice next.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
You want your child to own each word, not borrow it for one test. The old habit of a list to copy ten times works against that. You don’t need a credential to be your child’s first teacher. You already are one. Our free screener asks what you see at home; it does not diagnose. Start with the free Dyslexia Screener.
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Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
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A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
