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How Should I Address Errors in Spelling You See?

Chunking Activities
Work closely with your student when they mark letters for the first time in a lesson. These activities are meant to be a learning exercise. As you check your student’s work, make any corrections together. If an error is made (the wrong chunk is marked), it should be erased and corrected as soon as it is noticed. The student can use their first experience in chunking as a reference when completing subsequent chunking pages during the week.

Copywork Activities
Encourage students to focus on accuracy as they copy the provided passage. The goal is not to finish the entire passage but to copy as much as possible in ten minutes. If a student makes an error, encourage them to erase it and rewrite the word immediately. Remember that copywork emphasizes accuracy over neatness. Students should prioritize correct spelling and punctuation, as this activity focuses on pattern recognition rather than handwriting.

Dictation Activities  
The most crucial dictation aspect is accurate spelling, not completing the entire passage. In levels with two dictation exercises, encourage your student to ask for help, reinforcing the process of correct spelling.

Confident dictation, with minimal instructor intervention beyond word-by-word dictation, should not begin until the student achieves a high degree of accuracy in the first dictation. Our philosophy is that ample assistance fosters muscle memory for visual spelling recall.

Students should cross out misspelled words and rewrite them during dictation exercises rather than erasing them. This process strengthens visual memory for correct spelling. Keep the timer running while the student corrects the word.

Provide immediate, positive feedback when an error occurs, or you notice hesitation—not at the end of the ten-minute exercise. Delaying feedback misses a valuable opportunity to forge connections with long-term memory.

Should I Keep a List of Words That My Student Misses?

No, it is not necessary to keep a list. Words that are commonly misspelled will come up again in future lessons. 

Using this method of dealing with errors should help your student make steady progress in spelling without becoming frustrated or discouraged.

Should My Students Erase During the Copywork Activity? During Dictation Activity?

Copywork Activities: It is important to copy words correctly, so the student should erase them if necessary.

Dictation Activities: When students are completing dictation, it is important not to erase. Have them draw a line through the incorrect words.  If the student hesitates, provide them with a couple of choices for the word they are stuck on and allow them to select the correct spelling. The goal here is to select the word that “looks right.”

Is My Student Allowed to Ask for Help During Dictation Activities?

Yes. It is a positive step when students articulate their questions. Encourage the student to ask if they are confused by something. For example, if they aren’t sure if “cab” starts with c or k, have them ask rather than write the word incorrectly. We want to help the child succeed by eliminating opportunities for mistakes. It is better for a student to have the correct visual image of the letter or word rather than an incorrect one.

Related Articles & Blog Posts

The Value of Dictation in Spelling You See
Five Core Activities of Spelling You See
Parent Involvement in Spelling You See
Handwriting in Spelling You See

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