Spelling Tricks

Here are some of the visual spelling tricks we use in Syllable Savvy Spelling.

What's the best way to learn to spell? Syllable by syllable!

While Syllable Savvy Spelling emphasizes phonics and spelling patterns, there are some hard words and irregular words.

Spelling tricks to the rescue!

3rd Grade

Here are some tricks we use in Syllable Savvy Spelling 3".

Kids like animals. It also helps them to spell animals if they remember it ends the same as pals.

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You hear with your ear. (Later they also discover you also learn with your heart.)

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Write this sentence on paper or a chalkboard:

Here is where?
Here is there.
Here is there and everywhere.

Students circle or highlight all the here's they can find.

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How do you tell the difference between meat vs meet? We eat the meat, and the e's meet in meet.

With this same trick we can differentiate between great and greet as well. (Vegetarians can say it is NOT great to eat meat, if that helps.)

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Would it take longer to rap a box with a hammer or to wrap a box with a bow? Well then, it takes longer to spell wrap.

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Using the same good logic, which is bigger: your aunt or an ant? Hence the word aunt is bigger.

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Two vs too is easy if you think of twins or twice. Also twelve and twenty. Hmmmm. How do you think "two" was originally pronounced?

The word "too" can be substituted for "also."

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While it might be merry to marry the right person, we will just stick with merry for this couplet. Use holiday holly to join the words merry and berry together, then wish one another a Merry, Berry Christmas.

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Remember that the weak squeak did sneak. Or it could be that the weak sneak did squeak. This gives you a chance to learn to spell weaker, sneaker, and squeaker at the same time.

And you can peek once a week. Those ee eyes start growing on you.

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Put the old snail mail into spelling use. What ails the snail mail? If you say he's slow, you have nailed it.

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Let's expand a previous spelling trick to include two harder words: learn and heart. Can you disagree that you learn with your heart?

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A delicious trick! Who wouldn't want a piece of pie?

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Stuck on break vs brake? Just remember "I brake for snakes!"

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Tricky us, we are working on this page. Come back to discover new tricks of the trade. Or check out our Syllable Savvy Spelling lists for third to eighth graders.

Teach OUGH Words

Our Seven Lessons to Master OUGH words will get your students confidently spelling those tricky, nasty, hard-to-master spelling challenges. It's rough, but you're tough enough!