Spelling Quiz Practice

How Can I Help My Child With Spelling?

When a child has difficulty spelling, weekly spelling tests can be dreadful and intimidating. However, there are ways to help. Encouraging your child to read more and providing practice spelling tests after school can guide him or her in the right direction.

Using online resources is a beneficial way to help your son or daughter understand spelling and gain the skills necessary to become more proficient in the English language. Many spelling-focused websites are available, including sites that offer interactive spelling games as well as practice tests for beginning, intermediate and advanced spellers.

Three Spelling Practice Activities

Prefix/Suffix Go Fish

This activity follows the same premise as Go Fish. However, this version is slightly more advanced for students focusing on root words, prefixes and suffixes. To start, review your child's spelling words to find which are appropriate for the game. Then, on separate index cards, write the root words, prefixes and suffixes.

Instead of trying to get four of a kind like in the game of Go Fish, you and your child will try to get matching pairs. For example, if the word is 'acting' and your child has the card that says 'act,' he or she will ask you for the suffix '-ing.' If you don't have it, your child will fish for a match. Continue until one player has matched all of his or her cards.

Word Search

Word puzzles can be a fun way for children to practice spelling words, and technology makes creating custom games especially easy. Although you can create a word search yourself, several free websites will automatically create the puzzle when you enter your child's spelling words. Word searches will keep your child actively looking for the properly spelled words, giving him or her additional practice before the quiz. Similar options include spelling word scrambles and crossword puzzles.

Magazine Cut-Outs

Repetition is the key when learning new words, and this activity requires your child to actively search for each letter of each word before moving to the next. To get started, you'll need to set up a small stack of magazines for your child to browse through and cut. Although you can use newspapers for this activity, magazines provide a more colorful and diverse set of lettering options. After your son or daughter has cut out all of the letters for every spelling word, have him or her create the spelling list by pasting the letters on a piece of poster board.