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At school
Expert help
Kids' Barn
Help with spelling
If you have a child in primary school, the chances are that at some point they have brought home
a list of spellings to learn. Memorising lists of words comes more easily to some children than
others. To help equip you with essential information about how children learn to spell at school
and to make learning spellings as fun as possible, we've gathered together our pick of the
spelling resources on Oxford Owl.
Spelling at school
What to expect each year
Age 5–6
Your child will be using phonic skills to spell unfamiliar words and to spell common and tricky
words too. Some schools might start spelling ‘tests’ and you will be expected to practise these
with your child at home – use board games and online games to make it fun!
Age 6–7
Your child will be expected to use phonic skills, as well as what they know about word structures
more generally, when reading and spelling unfamiliar, common and tricky words. Your child will
also now be able to recognize by sight, read and spell many of the common and tricky words.
Some schools will send home weekly spellings to be learned.
Age 7–9
Children will still need to use their phonic skills to tackle new or unknown words but they will also
be learning about spelling patterns and rules, too, so that they have a wider range of tools to use
when they get stuck.
Some schools will send home weekly spellings to be learned.
Age 9–11
Your child should be able to read and spell unfamiliar and common words using what they know
about phonics and how words are structured.
Spelling FAQs
What are tricky words?
Words which are not easily sounded out are learned by sight. Some schools may send home
these words to be learned using flashcards so that children can practise reading them easily and
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at speed. Make it a game!
Children will continue to build up a bank of tricky sight vocabulary.
What do I do if my child’s attempts at spelling words are just nonsense?
In Reception and into Year 1 (P1/P2 in Scotland) children will make useful mistakes in their
spelling attempts. It’s an important part of the learning process and is sometimes called
‘inventive’ spelling. So long as the guess has a logic to it, then it shows that your child is learning
to use the rules of spelling e.g. spelling hear instead of here shows that your child knows about
the ear sound.
My child learns spellings every week but then makes the same mistakes in their writing?
Don’t worry this is very common. Children can often learn a list of words but then forget to apply
what they have learned in their writing when they are thinking about the creative content of their
work! It’s just a question of reminding them (sometimes), and also providing opportunities to point
out examples of the word in a context. You can also play games to ‘test’ them in a fun way. Car
journeys are great for this quick-fire type game.
Creative ways to help with spelling homework
Read our blog post Five creative ways to help with spelling homework for ideas to help your child
learn their weekly spelling test words and enjoy it in the process.
Spelling games and activities
Younger children (age 5–7)
1. Spot letter patterns in words. Ask your child to point out words that look like they should
rhyme but don’t: home and come; do and no. And words which do rhyme even though they look
different: come and sum; there, bear, hair. This will help with their writing too.
2. Play word/spelling games like Junior Scrabble, Bananagrams and Boggle to focus on
blending letter sounds to make words.
3. Write a word out – it could be a word from the weekly spellings list – cut it up and ask your
child to put it back in the correct order.
4. Use flashcards to help your child remember the weekly spellings and/or write the words out:
look, say, cover, write, look back to check it!
Word Worm game
Play Word Worm, KS1
Collect the right letters to make words, but make sure you don't bump into an X-bot!
Play the game >
© Copyright Oxford University Press 2013
Older children (age 7-11)
1. Help with spelling. If your child is unsure about how to spell a word, encourage them to sound
the word out and write the letter or group of letters (the grapheme) that represents each sound
(the phoneme). Then they will realise that they know how to spell some, most or all of the word
and you can help with any tricky bits as needed.
2. Play games. Many games are really useful for developing the skills that children need as
developing readers. You probably already have a host of really useful games in the cupboard, so
dig out the Scrabble, Bananagrams, Boggle or a crossword, to name just a few.
3. Play around with anagrams to help with patterns and spelling, e.g. make as many words as
you can out of Constantinople (1697 apparently!).
4. Do simple crosswords. Do simple crosswords with your child using a dictionary to help you.
The dictionary tells you what type of word you have looked up (verb, adverb, pronoun, noun etc.),
and you can share this with your child. If your child is unsure about how to spell a word,
encourage them to sound the word out and write the letter or group of letters (the grapheme) that
represents each sound (the phoneme). Then they will realise that they know how to spell some,
most or all of the word and you can help with any tricky bits as needed.
spelling activity sheet
Big Spell activity sheets, Key Stage 2
Have fun with words with these activity sheets from The Big Spell and Oxford Children's
Dictionaries.
Download the spelling activities > [PDF]
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling videos
Charlotte Raby has been a teacher for over 16 years. She is now a teacher trainer and works
with schools to help them improve the teaching of all aspects of English, including grammar. In
these videos she explains how we can support our children's learning at home.
How can I help my child with grammar, punctuation and spelling?
Watch the video
What is the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test at the end of
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Year 6?
Watch the video
Spelling books and resources
Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary
Age 5 – 7
The Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary is an easy home and school reference tool and supports
the teaching of reading and spelling through synthetic phonics. With colourful illustrations by
Alex Brychta and the familiar Oxford Reading Tree characters, this is a fun way to prepare for the
phonics screening check.
Buy on Amazon >
My Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Kit
Age 6 – 7
Containing three workbooks and a set of flashcards, this kit provide lots of spelling and grammar
practice, and a reward chart with stickers helps to build your child's confidence. For children
aged 6 and above.
Buy on Amazon >
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Spelling Games Flashcards
Age 5 – 7
These wipe-clean flashcards with pen are a fun way for children to develop their spelling skills,
and they support the way children are taught to write at school.
Buy on Amazon >
At Home with Spelling 1
At Home with Spelling 1
Age 5 – 7
A fun activity workbook for children, aged 5 - 7 years, to do at home. This first book focuses on
recognizing vowels and consonants, recognizing syllables, prefixes and suffixes, and developing
strategies for remembering how to spell hard words. Comes with stickers to reward your child!
Buy on Amazon >
At Home with Spelling 1
At Home with Spelling 2
Age 5 – 7
This second book helps further build you child's confidence, focusing on recognizing common
© Copyright Oxford University Press 2013
word structures and spelling patterns, knowing when to use double consonants, long and short
vowels, and decoding unfamiliar words.
Buy on Amazon >
Oxford Primary Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Dictionary
Age 8+
The essential primary guide to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. In full colour, it has easy-touse rules and help, plus an alphabetical list of the tricky, and everyday, words including those
most commonly misspelt.
Buy on Amazon >
Bond SATs Skills Spelling and Vocabulary Workbooks
Developed with Oxford Dictionaries, the Bond SATS Skills Spelling and Vocabulary Workbooks
are designed to help establish competent spelling and the confident understanding of the words
expected by National Curriculum tests.
Workbook for 8 – 9 years
Workbook for 9 – 10 years
Workbook for 10 – 11 years
10 – 11+ years Stretch Workbook
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