How to Get Your 5th Grader to Practice Spelling

Why Doesn't Your Student Like To Study Spelling?

Your 5th grader is becoming more independent, and you may be struggling with getting them to study spelling. There are a number of reasons why your student may not want to study spelling. Is spelling too boring? Do they study a lot, but still get bad grades? Are they convinced that there is little to no benefit to improving their spelling? We hope to address some of those reasons, and we encourage you to talk to your student about why they don't like to study spelling. Sometimes, just talking it out makes a big difference.

Spelling Doesn't Have To Be Boring

A lot of students these days complain of boredom. They are being asked to memorize loads of information. Memorizing spelling lists doesn't have to be boring. We've created Home Spelling Words to help students through gamification. In other words, we've created a set of unique games that revolve around your spelling words. When students play these games, they are learning at the same time. They are also exposed to each spelling word in a slightly different way. For example, in our Memory Game, you are looking for how the word looks as a whole to match them. In our Word Scramble game, you are putting the letters in order. By playing Crazy Fish, you are focusing on multiple words, only one of which is spelled right. These different types of games force your brain to look at the words differently, which provides variety, which in turn relieves boredom.

Word Chopper Spelling Game

Spelling Help for Students Who Struggle

Some students don't like to study spelling because they traditionally don't do well on spelling tests. Students want to do well and getting good grades helps your child feel like their efforts were worth it. For the student who struggles with spelling, we recommend our Spelling Practice page. Students see the word, hear the word, then type in the word. It gives students a chance to really focus on the word and memorize the spelling of each word on their spelling list. If your student doesn't spell the word right after four attempts, they are shown the word to copy. We've gotten many emails where parents have reported better scores by having their students practice at least three times a week. We recommend practicing until your student learns all of their spelling words.

Create a Reward System

If getting 100% and the pride of being a great student starts to wear off, you can always institute a reward system. For example, you can give your student stickers every time they practice or even mark practices on a paper you keep on the refrigerator. You can tell them if they practice every day of the week for at least 30 minutes, you can go out for ice cream on the weekend. Another idea is to tie studying to allowance. I personally always like to celebrate my children's wins and teaching them that a job well done is valuable and worthwhile.

Your student may not be sold on the idea of studying spelling. I believe that schools and homeschools still include spelling in their curriculum for a few reasons. One reason is that spelling can help young learners become familiar with words and help them to become better readers and writers. Once students become older, studying the subject of spelling helps with improving writing and vocabulary. In addition to that, words tend to become more complex as students get older. Many schools only teach spelling through 9th grade, at which point they tend to focus more on vocabulary and writing. No one can argue with one main point, however, and that is that being able to spell helps you get your ideas across quickly and intelligently. We don't always have access to spell check!

Get Motivated to Study

Get started now by copying our spelling words for 5th grade into your account and start practicing right away. Alternatively, you can use 5th grade spelling words from your school to create custom spelling lists in your account. We are confident that your 5th grader has never studied spelling like this before. Instead of complaining, writing out words and not getting great scores, your student will look forward to playing games and getting better test grades by using Home Spelling Words. We encourage you to let your student test drive the site themselves.

About the Author

Kim A. is a fan of spelling, education, and all things tech. She enjoys writing and reading fun articles, gardening and spending time with her family.