On Spelling Lessons

In the time of AI and spell check, it may be tempting to glaze over spelling lessons1, but I’d encourage you to make spelling a priority in your school aged child’s education. Spelling is a key part of literary development that assists in reading lessons but it’s important to note that reading and spelling are two very different skills2. Spelling has a lot to do with visual word recognition, as well as sound, so wait until a child is reading before you begin to teach spelling.

In the Charlotte Mason world, spelling is taught through dictation. Dictation is the method of reading a previously studied passage aloud to a student and having them write it out. Here is a much more detailed description of how to do dictation.

You do not need to do dictation and have a spelling curriculum but if your child really struggles with spelling, you may want to include both, alternating days.

Goal: to be able to spell words well

Time spent: Beginning around age ten, do 1-on-1 lessons a couple of times a week3. Increase to 3-4 times a week as the child ages. If your child has dyslexia or struggles a lot with spelling, consider increasing the lessons to 4-5 times a week, possibly alternating between a spelling curriculum and dictation.
Spelling lessons should take about ten-fifteen minutes a day.
Spelling lessons are best taught individually.

Planning:

• Decide if you are going to use the method of dictation, a spelling curriculum, or a combination of both.

• The spelling curricula I’ve used has always been open-and-go. Outside of choosing the curriculum, there is not much planning required. It’s a good idea to look over the upcoming lesson before you teach it, though.

Exams

• For exams, we have done a couple of things over the years. One option is to simply assess how your child spells in the written portion of exams. The other is to have a separate unprepared dictation section. You choose a section of a book he has read over the term and without giving it to him ahead of time, dictate the passage and have him write it out. If you do Ambleside Online, dictation is not a part of exams until Year 4. If you are using a curriculum, you could simply do the next lesson during exams.

Ambleside Online: Spelling and Dictation

Ambleside Online: Language Arts

All About Spelling. This was a particularly good fit for my student with dyslexia.

We love Simply Charlotte Mason’s Spelling Wisdom but sadly it is discontinued. It has been combine with other subjects to create Using Language Well, which I have never used. If you can find a used copy of Spelling Wisdom I would grab it!

Simply Charlotte Mason: How to Do Dictation

Phonics Pathways is an integrated reading and spelling program but a very good choice for lessons with older students

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Till next time,

Cindy