Dear Parents and Carers,

Let’s talk about spelling, as we certainly don’t stop just because it’s Term 4! As parents, we’re always helping our children with spelling! Whether it’s sounding out words for homework or correcting tricky spellings when they’re writing a story or a birthday card, or simply reading a street sign. Spelling is such an important part of your child’s literacy development. So let’s take a look at how spelling is taught in the early years (K–2) and the upper years (3–6), and the learning we implement at Sacred Heart to help your child build strong spelling skills.

In Kindergarten to Year 2, spelling instruction focuses on phonological knowledge and phonemic awareness, the building blocks of literacy. These skills help children understand the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes), setting them up for success in both reading and writing. This approach, aligning with the NSW Syllabus outcomes, provides all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations needed to become successful readers and writers. The structure ensures that students develop key skills in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. The explicit, systematic approach of the syllabus outcomes supports every student in building the necessary skills to confidently spell, read, and write.

Here’s a simple example of phonemes (the individual sounds in a word) and graphemes (the letters or groups of letters that represent those sounds): In the word "spoon" the Phonemes are: /s/ /p/ /oo/ /n/ (four distinct sounds). The Grapheme "s" represents the /s/ sound, "p" represents the /p/ sound, "double o" represents the /oo/ sound and "n" represents the /n/ sound.  Each phoneme (sound) is represented by a grapheme (letter or letter group) in the word. There are 5 letters in the word spoon.

As students move into Years 3-6, their spelling skills continue to develop, and instruction becomes more comprehensive, focusing on phonological (sounds), orthographic (spelling patterns), and morphological (word parts like prefixes and suffixes) components. At Sacred Heart, our spelling program supports this growth by introducing more advanced concepts, such as prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots. Each week, each grade has a spelling  focus on a specific, more complex grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC), which helps students refine their spelling accuracy and understanding of word structures.

In addition, students learn to identify and apply derivational suffixes such as -able, -ness, -ian, and -ment. These suffixes are added to a base word or root to change its part of speech and meaning. For example, students learn that the adjective "sleepy" can be transformed into the abstract noun "sleepiness" by adding the suffix -ness, with the spelling rule of replacing "y" with "i" before adding the suffix. Understanding these rules helps students correctly spell and use words in different contexts.

Aligned with the NSW syllabus outcomes, the 3-6 spelling program also emphasises understanding the origins of words, which helps students break down and make sense of more complex vocabulary. For instance, knowing that words like "architect" and "orchestra" come from Greek helps students remember and understand their meanings. As they progress through primary school, the focus gradually shifts from simple sound-letter relationships to mastering these more advanced spelling skills. These strategies not only meet the NSW syllabus outcomes for spelling, vocabulary, and writing but also equip students with the tools they need for long-term literacy success.

Supporting Spelling at Home  

Parents can play a big role in helping their children become confident spellers with a few fun, and supportive activities at home. Start simply by encouraging regular reading, having fun with word games, or even discussing new words they come across. Games like Scrabble, Boggle, or even simple crossword puzzles can make spelling practice fun.

Give your child opportunities to write for pleasure - whether it’s a short story, a letter to a relative, or even a shopping list. The more they write, the more they’ll practise their spelling. Praise their effort and correct misspellings gently, focusing on learning rather than perfection.

There are plenty of apps and websites designed to make spelling practice engaging for children. Look for interactive spelling games or activities that reinforce phonics, word families, or tricky words for K-2 students and for 3-6 students, you can search for spelling apps or websites that include challenging word lists, vocabulary building, and more complex phonics and grammar patterns. Some keywords to try include, ‘free spelling apps for early primary students’ or ‘free interactive spelling games for Year 3-6’ or ‘free vocabulary-building games’. These searches should give plenty of engaging and suitable options! You’ll find great games for the upcoming school holidays, which will be so beneficial for retention of spelling strategies learnt throughout the school year!

By incorporating these activities into everyday life, you’ll not only help your child become a more confident speller, but you’ll also make spelling a fun and rewarding part of their learning journey. When children see spelling as something they can master, it makes the process so much more enjoyable!

Nerissa McCartney

Leader of Teaching and Learning