How to Teach Spelling That Actually Sticks
Teach spelling through patterns, not rote lists. Phonics-first, then spelling rules, then irregular words — with free worksheets and games.
Weekly spelling tests are mostly theatre. A child can memorise 'Wednesday' on Friday and misspell it on Monday, and the test doesn't catch this. Real spelling instruction teaches the patterns underneath the words — "words ending in -tion", "words with silent k" — so the child can spell words they've never seen.
The structure that works: teach phonics first (this covers about 80% of English spelling), then the common spelling patterns (doubling rule, magic-e, soft-c, -tion), and only then the genuinely irregular words that have to be memorised. Drilling random word lists from the top down just produces anxiety and doesn't transfer.
One rule I wish every primary school would adopt: never test a word your child hasn't read in a real book. If the word isn't part of their actual vocabulary, memorising its spelling is pointless.
Practise With These Free Games
Printable Worksheets to Go With This Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Are weekly spelling tests useful?+
Only if the words are taught in patterns and revisited later. Isolated weekly lists with no follow-up produce short-term recall that fades within a week.
What's the 'magic e' rule?+
When a word ends in a consonant + e, the e is silent and the previous vowel says its name: 'cap' → 'cape', 'hop' → 'hope'. It covers hundreds of words and should be taught explicitly around Year 1.
Why is English spelling so irregular?+
Because English has borrowed words from dozens of languages, each with its own spelling conventions. About 50% of English words follow predictable phonics rules, another 36% are predictable if you know the word's origin, and only around 4% are genuinely irregular.
How many spelling words should a child learn per week?+
5 to 10 in the early years, 10 to 15 from Year 3 onwards. More than that is usually memorised for Friday and forgotten by Monday.