Spelling Resources

While we encourage you to peruse our miscellaneous spelling section, we strenuously suggest you don't take a miscellaneous approach to spelling. Constructing your own spelling rules and phonograms might be fun, but doing so will severely limit your children's ability to communicate. If this is your plan we can't stop you. But don't blame us when your kids try to spell "psychiatric" and fail.

Seriously though, spelling bears a systematic approach. That doesn't mean, however, that you have to treat it like its own separate subject—many advocate an wholistic approach to language arts, meaning that topics like spelling and vocabulary are included in broader studies like reading and writing. If children see the correct spelling of a word enough times, eventually they'll know it (or so the reasoning goes).

Spelling is important in both directions: students need to be able to read correctly spelled words in order to understand what they're reading, and they need to be able to spell words correctly on their own in order to communicate effectively. So whether you cover spelling along with other language arts subjects, or teach it separately, we hope you'll agree that teaching kids to spell properly is essential.

Most of the books you'll find in this section are meant to reinforce or fill gaps. Worktexts have kids write words over and over; reference guides remind them of the phonics rules.A few books are written primarily to parents and teachers, but the important thing is that the kids know the rules, remember them, and are able to use them in their own writing.

Don't freak out if your six-year-old can't spell perfectly yet. There's plenty of time to get him or her up to level, and one of the best ways to do so is to not stress out about it. Also, take an organic approach: when your kids are reading (anything, really, from history to comics), stop them occasionally and make sure they know why specific words are spelled the way they are.

Or make spelling lists that cater to specific problems they may be having; or point out signs as you're in the store or driving; or have your kids help compose the shopping list, making sure they spell each word correctly. There are a billion ways to turn kids who can't read into excellent spellers, you just have to be open to alternatives to the workbook routine. Kids learn best in real life, and since spelling is a real-life skill, what better way to teach it than through their everyday experience?

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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Parent Categories
Spelling Resources
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35 Items found Print
1001 Commonly Misspelled Words
by Robert Magnan & Mary Lou Santovec
from McGraw-Hill
for 10th-Adult
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
ABC's and All Their Tricks
by Margaret M. Bishop
from Mott Media
in Reading Reference (Location: REF-READ)
$22.99
All About Homophones
by Marie Rippel
from All About Learning Press
for 1st-8th grade
in All About Spelling (Location: SPE-AAS)
$21.95 $15.50 (1 in stock)
Alpha List
by Wanda Sanseri
from Back Home Industries
for 1st-4th grade
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
$33.00
Apples
by Susan Kemmerer
from Schoolhouse Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
Apples 2
by Susan Kemmerer
from Schoolhouse Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
Dr. Dooriddles A1
by John H. Doolittle
from Critical Thinking Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Dr. Funster & Dr. Dooriddles (Location: LOG-DR)
$10.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Dr. Dooriddles A2
by John H. Doolittle
from Critical Thinking Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Dr. Funster & Dr. Dooriddles (Location: LOG-DR)
$10.99
Dr. Dooriddles A3
by John H. Doolittle
from Critical Thinking Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Dr. Funster & Dr. Dooriddles (Location: LOG-DR)
$10.99
Dr. Dooriddles B1
by John H. Doolittle
from Critical Thinking Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Dr. Funster & Dr. Dooriddles (Location: LOG-DR)
$10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Dr. Dooriddles B2
by John H. Doolittle
from Critical Thinking Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Dr. Funster & Dr. Dooriddles (Location: LOG-DR)
$10.99
Greek & Latin Roots Keys to Building Vocabulary
by Timothy Rasinski, Nancy Padak, Rick M. Newton, Evangeline Newton
from Shell Education
for Adult
in Classroom Teacher Resources (Location: HSR-CTR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Handy English Encoder Decoder
by Harvey Bluedorn
2nd edition from Trivium Pursuit
for All Ages
in Reading Reference (Location: REF-READ)
$15.00
How to Spell Like a Champ
by Barrie Trinkle, Carolyn Andrews, Paige Kimble
1st printing from Workman Publishing
for 1st-8th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
How to Teach Spelling
by Laura Toby Rudginsky & Elizabeth C. Haskell
from Educators Publishing Service
for Adult
in EPS Spelling (Location: SPE-EPS)
$56.79
It Is Up To Me
3rd edition from AVKO Educational Research Foundation, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in AVKO Sequential Spelling (Location: SPE-AVKO)
Measuring Scale for Ability in Spelling
by Leonard Porter Ayers
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Natural Speller
by Kathryn Stout
from Design-A-Study
for All grades
in Design-A-Study (Location: HSR-DAS)
$16.00
New England Primer
by David Barton
from WallBuilder Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
Painless Spelling
by Mary Elizabeth
3rd edition from Barron's
for 7th-12th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
Sound Spelling
by Benjamin Ludwig
from Wordsmiths
for 5th-12th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
Spell to Write and Read - Core Kit
by Wanda Sanseri
from Back Home Industries
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
Spellbound - Teacher Manual
by Elsie Rak
from Educators Publishing Service
for 3rd-8th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Spelling Dictionary for Beginning Writers Book 1
by Gregory Hurray
from Educators Publishing Service
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in EPS Spelling (Location: SPE-EPS)
$9.19 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Spelling Dictionary for Writers Book 2
by Gregory Hurray
from Educators Publishing Service
for 3rd-4th grade
in EPS Spelling (Location: SPE-EPS)
$17.09
Spelling DooRiddles A1
by Don Richardson
from Critical Thinking Books
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
$9.99
Spelling DooRiddles B1
by John Doolittle
from Critical Thinking Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
$9.99
Spelling Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 4th-Adult
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
Spelling Rule Cards
by Wanda Sanseri
from Becky's Bouquet
for 1st-4th grade
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
$12.00
Spelling Wisdom - Book 1
by Sonya Shafer, ed.
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 3rd-4th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Spelling Wisdom - Book 2
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 5th-6th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Spelling Wisdom - Book 3
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 7th-8th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Spelling Wisdom - Book 4
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 9th-10th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Spelling Wisdom - Book 5
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 11th-12th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Tricks of the Trade
by Gayle Graham
from Common Sense Press
for 3rd-9th grade
in Spelling Resources (Location: REF-SPE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)