Hi Parents,
Over the last few weeks, our kids have been working hard on their writing skills. They have been free writing on various topics. They have been sounding out words they have never seen before and using their phonetic knowledge to write the words. Their spelling will improve the more they practice.
Free writing is one of those abilities that I look at as we approach the end of the year to determine how successful our year has been. It involves bringing together multiple concepts that the children have learned throughout the year. Now they are being asked to have confidence in themselves, be creative, and write about whatever comes to mind when given a topic of interest.
I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with our children’s writing ability and how they are sounding out words to write on their own. Please continue to encourage them as they write at home.
Here are some examples of creative spelling words that you may see from your child which should be completely acceptable at this time. The correct spelling is on the left with the possible/acceptable phonetic spelling variations on the right.
- truck = chruk
- drive = jriv
- beautiful = butifl
Please notice how the words on the right-hand side above are misspelled. However, they are phonetically correct. At this point, we want the children to be excited about writing. We want them to use what they presently know about letters sounds to write their words.
As our children read more throughout the next few years, their spelling will improve. They will recognize many of the common sight words and remember how to spell them.
If you see your child writing on their own at home, please celebrate it. Let them know what a great job they are doing. If they are missing a sound in their writing, you can assist them by identifying their missing sound.
Congratulations and Thank You Parents,
Mr. B
