Welcome to the fifth episode of the Writing Tip Wednesday series! This week’s tip is all about sounding out words.
When it comes to writing with our younger learners, we want to make sure we are giving them the tools they need to succeed. If I had a quarter for each time I heard, “how do you spell….” I’d be able to have an extended stay on a private island.
It can be tempting to tell students how to spell a word when they ask but resisting and teaching them how to figure it out on their own is better in the long run - and for your sanity.
One of my favorite ways to teach students to sound it out is to show them to count words or sounds first. Teaching several options for sounding out words means your students will pick the one that works best for them during independent writing.
Let’s say a student wants to write the word macaroni but doesn’t know how. First they will stretch it out into the sounds they hear. With each sound they will either choose to draw a short line to represent the sounds or count the sounds on their fingers. In the case of macaroni they will hopefully count 8 sounds in lines or on fingers. Then they write a letter on each line as they sound it out again.
I like using the method of making lines because it helps students to not miss as many letters when writing tricky words. During phonics time, I ensure students consistently practice sounding out words, helping them connect phonics with their writing skills.
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