By Kourtni Sampson, M.Ed., LDT, CALT
Spelling Is More Than Memorizing Words
Does your child study a spelling list all week, pass the test on Friday, and seem to forget the same words later?
That experience can be especially common for children who struggle with reading and spelling.
The solution is not always more memorization.
Effective spelling instruction helps children understand how words work.
This process is called encoding.
Encoding is the process of hearing a spoken word, identifying the sounds within it, and representing those sounds and meaningful word parts in written form.
In simple terms:
Decoding helps us read words. Encoding helps us spell them.
The two processes are deeply connected.
From Sound to Pattern to Meaning
At Read With Kourtni, we want families to think about word study through three connected questions:
1. What sounds do I hear?
The child identifies the phonemes in the spoken word.
2. How are those sounds represented?
The child considers letters, letter combinations, syllables, and spelling patterns.
3. What does the word mean and how is it built?
The child examines meaningful word parts such as bases, prefixes, and suffixes.
That creates a powerful progression:
SOUND → PATTERN → MEANING
Rather than treating spelling as an exercise in visual memory, children begin discovering the structure of written English.
Why Children With Dyslexia May Struggle With Spelling
Spelling requires several processes to work together.
A child may need to:
hear a word accurately;
separate it into sounds;
remember the sequence;
connect sounds to appropriate letters or letter combinations;
recognize spelling patterns;
understand syllable structures;
apply spelling conventions;
recognize meaningful word parts; and
write the word in the correct sequence.
A weakness anywhere in that process can make spelling difficult.
That is one reason a child may read a word correctly but still spell it incorrectly.
Move Beyond “Look, Cover, Write, Check”
Memorization has a place in learning, but spelling practice should also help children understand why words are spelled the way they are.
Instead of simply saying:
“Memorize the word.”
Ask:
“What sounds do you hear?”
“What spelling pattern do you recognize?”
“How many syllables do you hear?”
“Do you see a base word?”
“Is there a prefix or suffix?”
“What does this part of the word mean?”
These questions transform spelling practice into word investigation.
6 Ways Families Can Practice Encoding and Word Study at Home
1. Say It, Stretch It, Spell It
Choose an appropriate word such as:
ship
Say the word normally.
Then stretch the sounds:
/sh/ /i/ /p/
Ask the child to identify each sound and represent it with letters.
The goal is to make the connection:
speech → sound → print
2. Build Words Before Writing Them
Use magnetic letters, letter tiles, cards, or handwritten pieces of paper.
Start with:
map
Change one sound:
map → mat → sat → sit
Ask:
“What changed?”
The child physically sees that changing one phoneme changes the written word.
3. Sort Words by Pattern
Instead of practicing unrelated spelling words, compare words with a shared feature.
For example:
cake – made – name – late
Ask:
“What do you notice?”
Children begin discovering recurring orthographic patterns instead of treating every word as an isolated object to memorize.
4. Tap and Map the Sounds
Say:
chat
Have your child identify:
/ch/ /a/ /t/
Then map each phoneme to its spelling.
This helps children understand an important principle:
The number of sounds and the number of letters in a word are not always the same.
5. Investigate Word Families
Take a base such as:
help
Build:
help
helps
helped
helping
helpful
helpless
Ask:
“What part stayed the same?”
Then discuss how the added word parts change meaning or grammatical function.
This introduces morphology, the study of meaningful units within words.
6. Become Word Detectives
Choose an interesting word and investigate it together.
For example:
unhelpful
Look for:
un + help + ful
Discuss:
the base word;
the prefix;
the suffix;
what each part contributes; and
the meaning of the complete word.
Older struggling readers especially can benefit from understanding that longer words often contain meaningful, recognizable pieces.
What If My Child Spells a Word Incorrectly?
Instead of immediately supplying the correct spelling, identify where the child’s thinking changed.
Suppose the target word is:
train
and the child writes:
tran
Rather than saying only:
“That’s wrong.”
Try:
“You represented several of the sounds correctly. Let’s look at the vowel sound. What pattern have we learned that can represent that sound in this word?”
This gives the child useful feedback while preserving the reasoning process.
Errors can provide information.
They help us understand what a child knows—and what needs additional instruction.
Avoid Random Spelling Practice
Children who struggle with literacy often benefit from instruction that is:
explicit;
systematic;
sequential;
cumulative;
interactive; and
connected to previously learned concepts.
Home practice should reinforce skills a child has already been taught whenever possible.
If a child has not yet learned a particular spelling pattern, repeated testing of that pattern may produce frustration rather than mastery.
Practice should support instruction—not race ahead of it.
Reading and Spelling Should Work Together
A powerful home practice sequence is:
Hear it → Build it → Write it → Read it
For example:
Parent says ship.
Child identifies /sh/ /i/ /p/.
Child builds ship with letters.
Child writes ship.
Child reads ship.
Child reads a short sentence containing the word.
This helps connect oral language, reading, and writing instead of treating them as unrelated subjects.
When Spelling Difficulty May Need More Support
Consider seeking specialized help if your child persistently:
spells the same word differently within one piece of writing;
omits sounds;
reverses sound sequences;
struggles to connect sounds and letters;
cannot apply previously taught patterns;
relies heavily on memorization;
avoids writing;
struggles with both decoding and spelling; or
becomes unusually frustrated by spelling tasks.
Persistent spelling difficulty can be an important part of a child’s broader reading profile.
Structured Literacy and Dyslexia Support
The International Dyslexia Association describes Structured Literacy as instruction that integrates the components of oral and written language, including phonemes, graphemes, syllable patterns, orthographic conventions, morphology, vocabulary, sentence structure, and comprehension.
For students with dyslexia, these relationships often need to be taught directly and systematically.
Read With Kourtni uses evidence-based literacy intervention to help students understand the structure behind reading and spelling.
We want children to move beyond:
“I hope I remember this word.”
toward:
“I know how to analyze this word.”
That shift can be transformative.
Need Help Understanding Your Child’s Reading or Spelling Difficulties?
Read With Kourtni provides specialized dyslexia therapy and reading and writing intervention for students who need more intensive support.
Families can also use the RWK Dyslexia Pathway Navigator to better understand possible next steps when a child struggles with reading or spelling.
Explore Dyslexia Support | Schedule a Consultation | Explore the Dyslexia Pathway Navigator
Frequently Asked Questions
What is encoding in reading?
Encoding is the process of translating spoken language into written language. A child identifies sounds and other linguistic structures within a word and represents them through spelling.
What is the difference between decoding and encoding?
Decoding involves translating written words into spoken language during reading. Encoding works in the opposite direction, translating spoken words into written forms during spelling.
Why can my child read a word but not spell it?
Reading and spelling involve related but different demands. Spelling requires a child to retrieve and produce the correct sequence of sounds, letters, patterns, and word structures rather than recognize them from print.
Is memorizing spelling words effective for dyslexia?
Memorization alone may not address the underlying language skills a student with dyslexia needs. Explicit instruction in sounds, sound-symbol relationships, spelling patterns, syllables, morphology, and other language structures can be important.
What is morphology?
Morphology is the study of meaningful parts of words, including bases, prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Understanding these parts can support vocabulary, spelling, reading, and comprehension.
Can parents help with spelling at home?
Yes. Parents can reinforce already-taught concepts through word building, sound mapping, word sorting, dictation, morphology activities, and short structured practice.