Learning Spelling Defined

Spelling is closely related to phonics and the word attack skills of encoding and decoding. In fact, there is a direct connection between spelling, phonics, decoding, and encoding.

Learning Spelling: Encoding and Decoding

When you are trying to spell a word you usually sound it out as you are spelling it and then check it over once you’ve written it down. That process is encoding. When you come upon a word you don’t know you usually try to sound it out. That is decoding. So working with words whether you are encoding or decoding them, you are actually working with learning spelling. When learning spelling (encoding and decoding) improves, reading improves. You know what it’s like, each week your child comes home from school and has to get ready for another spelling test. You quiz them on the words, because that is what your parents did when you were learning. You might even have your kids write their spelling words down a few times to help them remember them. And often they come home upset because they didn’t do well on the spelling test.