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Progress Over Perfection: When Spelling Errors Are a Good Sign
456 Plays25 days ago
Episode 84: A parent of a second grader recently asked a question I hear all the time:
“Do I need to care that much about spelling if my child is improving—even if there are still lots of errors?”
Her child recently started spelling MY correctly (it used to be MI), which is real progress—but the writing sample still includes plenty of misspellings. The child wrote it independently, without adult prompting, and that raised an honest question: Should we correct spelling every time? Or is there a moment where confidence matters more than accuracy?
In this episode, I break down:
• What gradual improvement in spelling actually looks like in second grade• Why MY instead of MI is a meaningful developmental leap• The difference between practice writing and performance writing• When spelling accuracy does matter—and when it really doesn’t• Why over-correcting can shut kids down as writers• How to “hold kids accountable for what they’ve learned” without nitpicking• What spelling errors can tell us about phonics, orthography, and growth• Whether it’s controversial to care less about spelling sometimes
We’ll talk about how spelling develops over time, how it connects to reading, and how parents can support progress without turning every writing moment into a correction session.
If you’ve ever wondered:
• “Am I being too chill about spelling?”• “Should I fix this… or let it go?”• “Is my child behind—or just learning?”
This episode will give you clarity—and permission to focus on what actually matters.
Links Mentioned:
Episode 54 "When do I start correcting my child's spelling?"
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/play-on-words/id1689430556?i=1000674429262
Episode 77 "How to correct your child's spelling without crushing their confidence"
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2kOasZMODEnnv68TNsj0kL?si=XtyxlUSCSHmzONrdynaxpQ
About the Host
Miss Beth is a reading specialist, early childhood educator, and the founder of Big City Readers. She supports parents in raising confident, capable kids through research-backed literacy and development strategies.
Follow Miss Beth:
• Instagram: @bigcityreaders
• Website: bigcityreaders.com
• Podcast: Play on Words from Big City Readers
Recommended
Transcript
Subtle Language for Self-Correction
00:00:00
Speaker
And here's what I do. It's really subtle. These little shifts from saying you forgot your capital to check your sentence. What do you need the beginning and the end is going to go from feeling criticized and embarrassed to empowered. After they catch themselves, if they're missing that capital letter or that period, then I'm like, see, you don't even need me.
00:00:23
Speaker
You knew to do that on your own. And What's even better than doing it perfectly the first time is being able to self-correct. You are a problem solver. And that is what makes a really good reader and writer.
Introduction to Play OnWords Podcast
00:00:36
Speaker
Play OnWords! This is Play OnWords from Big City Readers.
00:00:42
Speaker
And this is Beth. Hello and welcome back to the Play on Words podcast from Big City Readers. I am your host, Miss Beth, and today I'm so stoked to be jumping into a listener question that is all about second grade writing. We talk a lot about inventive spelling and people ask a lot of questions about correcting their child's spelling and what to do if their child doesn't take the... um I don't know how to do this, and you say, just stretch it out or do your best, and they really want to know if it's right. We talk a lot about this in some other episodes that we will link in the show notes.
00:01:18
Speaker
So today we're going to dive really specifically into the question, do we need to care if our second grader isn't spelling very well yet as long as we're seeing gradual improvement?
00:01:31
Speaker
So this is a question from a listener, but you might have this specifically to your child, whether they're in kindergarten, first, second, or third grade. That's kind of the area we're going to be sticking to today as we dive into
Parental Concerns About Spelling
00:01:43
Speaker
this topic. So I can tell you right now, if you're wondering this question, you are a thoughtful parent and you are already involved in your child's developmental reading, writing, academic journey. So take a little bit of an exhale for a second before we dive into what you should and shouldn't do here.
00:02:00
Speaker
I know you probably feel like you don't want to nitpick, but you also don't want to miss something. And spelling is really tricky. I often am giving examples of how to correct if you have a five-year-old that is writing C-O-T for cat and how to fix that middle sound or why that's developmentally appropriate depending on your child's age. But I know it can get a little bit trickier and more confusing as your child is in second and third grade. We don't want to see as many errors, but
00:02:34
Speaker
you're probably not a teacher or reading specialist and don't know what they have learned in school, unless you are like super parent and can have like memorized every spelling rule that has come home.
00:02:47
Speaker
it can be kind of tricky to keep up with what they should know. Like one of the spelling rules that you're going to learn in second grade is T-I-O-N, like caution. And before that, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for your child to be able to spell it correctly.
00:03:01
Speaker
So in this episode, we are going to talk about what matters in second grade spelling, what doesn't matter yet, and how to respond without killing your child's confidence, and when support is helpful and what kind for your child.
Spelling Patterns and Developmental Appropriateness
00:03:17
Speaker
Okay, so this parent sent me a picture. So I'm going to talk a little bit about some of the spelling patterns I'm noticing in this picture. So it's really cute. It's a I am grateful for list. And it has a list of 11 things. It says my family, my stuffies, my teddy bear, oh my Barbies, my bed, my pillow, my blanket, my food, and my room.
00:03:40
Speaker
This mom asked this question. So do we need to care whether our child is not spelling very well yet as long as we're seeing gradual improvements? For example, in this list, I'm glad she's finally spelling my correctly. It was MI up until recently.
00:03:54
Speaker
But obviously there's lots of other spelling errors. Like she listens to the podcast. She's very involved. And she says, I know... that I'm supposed to hold them accountable for what they have learned, but what beyond that should I know? This writing sample was something she did on her own initiative, so i was not going to nitpick the spelling, but it got me wondering if I even should care that much.
Celebrating Wins in Teaching
00:04:14
Speaker
Is that controversial?
00:04:16
Speaker
So if you've ever felt this way, you are not alone. I always start with the win. Spelling my the right way is a huge win. That is a high frequency word or a sight word that is pretty tricky. And for this child to have learned how to do that and corrected over the last few months is a big deal. So when I'm looking at the work with the child, I'll always start with celebrating what they've done well. So I do this with little kids and big kids. So if I'm working with a child and I give them a decodable sentence to write, a decodable sentence means it follows the phonetic patterns that we have already talked about. So that might look like the shark jumped very high. That child has learned E-D-S-H-A-R.
00:05:10
Speaker
They've learned... I-G-H. So I'm only giving them this sentence because I've already taught them these spelling rules and practiced them in isolation. So I know that this is what I can hold them accountable for.
00:05:23
Speaker
When they show me the sentence, I'm going to look for a few things first. i'm going to look for a capital letter and a period because that is something that we start in kindergarten. We should start noticing and that we have a capital letter and a period at the end of our sentence. So those are two easy things. And here's what I do. It's really subtle. These little shifts from saying you forgot your capital to check your sentence. What do you need at the beginning and the end is going to go from feeling criticized and embarrassed. to empowered. After they catch themselves, if they're missing that capital letter or that period, then I'm like, see, you don't even need me. You knew to do that on your own.
00:06:03
Speaker
And what's even better than doing it perfectly the first time is being able to self-correct. You are a problem solver. And that is what makes a really good reader and writer. So if you have someone who's like a little...
00:06:17
Speaker
embarrassed if they're failing or has like that pushback because they want
Creative Writing vs. Spelling Corrections
00:06:21
Speaker
to do everything perfectly and they kind of shut down and you feel like you can't even have the lesson with them, this is the route to go. It's a really subtle shift from look, you forgot your capital to check the beginning and end of the sentence.
00:06:36
Speaker
If they already did that, that's the first thing I'm going to name. Oh my gosh, I noticed you did that. The second thing I'm going to name is something that we have been working on that they are doing well. So this might be my for this child.
00:06:48
Speaker
Also, backing up, if someone comes to you, if your child comes to you with this thing that they've done creatively on their own, this is not usually the time that I am going to focus on correcting.
00:07:00
Speaker
I'm going to notice their errors in this thing they do independently. And then I'm going to bring that into some writing practice that we might do the next day. So I might the next day say, hey, let's practice writing some sentences together.
00:07:12
Speaker
I am going to give you a sentence to write and you're going to give me a sentence to write and then we're going to correct each other's work. So then it takes away, like we want to make sure that Their creativity and their spelling don't conflict. So I like to separate them if possible. So that might look like we have spelling and word work practice, and then we have creative writing. And you don't touch that creative writing. You just make a mental note of it or a physical note of it about the spelling patterns you're seeing that they're struggling with in their creative writing. I'm a big fan of letting them create freely and not feeling so constricted.
00:07:48
Speaker
The writing process can be really overwhelming. There's so much happening when we write one single letter. We have the fine motor movements. We have the connection between our creativity and processing what we want to write. We have to think about how we spell that word. We have to think about how the sentence is formed. There's so much happening in that split second of a child writing the letter.
00:08:10
Speaker
And this is why it's really important
Physical and Phonetic Learning Methods
00:08:12
Speaker
to teach the letters the right way the first time. Starting at the top, top down, left to right. That's how we write. That's how we read in English.
00:08:22
Speaker
I had a friend who was like, why is my four-year-old writing backwards? He literally writes right to left, but the word is spelled correctly. And I was like, Arabic or Hebrew? Like, is it a different language? And she was like, actually, it could be. My dad, she was talking about her dad, his grandpa does write in Arabic. So...
00:08:42
Speaker
You never know. Okay, so I am going to praise that they did this on their own. I'm going to say oh my gosh, I love how thoughtful you are. I love how creative you are that you made this gratitude list. This is so cool. Do you want some feedback are you just showing me?
00:08:55
Speaker
So let them, if they're in first or second or third grade, they can have the buy-in. They can let you know. Often I like to keep the creativity and the instruction a little bit separate.
00:09:06
Speaker
Two, look for the things they did well. Celebrate that. Oh my gosh, you remember the capital letter. You remembered a period at the end. Sometimes I forget the period. It can be so hard to remember.
00:09:17
Speaker
And hey you have been working on the word my and you felt it properly in all of these sentences that you made. I might even put a heart or a star next to that because if we think about how we're correcting, we're often like circling the negative things, but we're not circling the positive things. So if you can put a little star or a heart next to things they do, do well.
00:09:41
Speaker
Okay, then I'm going to look at maybe one or two things. I'm not going to correct too many things at the same time because if we just correct them and tell them how to spell the word, We're not really making an impact. We're just correcting them. They're like, okay, got it. Oh, yeah, I remember. So I like to pick just two or three at a time, unless
Training Kids to Self-Check
00:10:01
Speaker
the pattern is the same.
00:10:02
Speaker
For example, if it's I-G-H and they spelled I-G-H, like they wrote the word might, M-I-T-E, or light, L-I-T-E. I'm going to say, going to take a dry erase board and going to let's look at this word. Remember that pattern that says I-G-H, I-G-H, I-I-I? These words light and might have that long eye Then going to tap the word with them with my three fingers. So I'm going to go Thumb and pointer.
00:10:28
Speaker
m Middle finger and thumb. i Ring finger and thumb. mite And then I'm going to say, okay, write the first tap. mm What letter spells? m m Write the second tap. What were we just talking about? How we spell long I. i g h last one.
00:10:49
Speaker
You could also do this with three boxes, sound boxes, and you could just have like a rectangle and put two lines in the middle so it has three boxes and have them practice putting that word in the boxes. That stores it in our brain in a different way that we need for for more rapid recall when we're reading and writing.
00:11:07
Speaker
So I might just do that. I might just pick those two words. Because if we just look at like every error, they're going to look at how to correct it. They're just, we're going to lose the opportunity to focus on learning a spelling pattern or reminding ourselves how to check our work. And the last thing I do is I say, before I start correcting, I say, look at some of the words.
00:11:29
Speaker
I think some are spelled wrong. ah like how they're sounding. But I know that you know some of these patterns. So check your work before I check it. We want kids to get in the habit of checking their own work.
00:11:41
Speaker
So they've given us the consent. They're like, actually, yeah, give me some feedback on my spelling. Then we say, okay, you check it first. And then we're going to pick just a few to talk
Phonetic Spelling and Parental Guidance
00:11:50
Speaker
about um the spelling patterns. We're not going to just talk about all the spelling patterns at the same time, unless they're up for it. But I think that would be kind of a lot if they have...
00:11:58
Speaker
Let's say they spelled T-I-O-N wrong and they spelled I-G-H wrong and they spelled magic E wrong. So they missed all of these rules. That's kind of a lot to process in that one moment of them bringing their creative work to you. So pick a few things. That doesn't mean we ignore them forever. That means we're just focusing that in that moment. You're going to take a note.
00:12:17
Speaker
that they were struggling with a few other patterns, and come back to that. You can either bring it to parent-teacher conference. You can ask the teacher. I've noticed that she is spelling all words with I-G-H the wrong way. Is there something I can do at home? So just make a little note about what you see and what patterns seem to be a struggle if it is a pattern that they're always getting that I-G-H wrong or they're always getting T-I-O-N or they're always getting A-R mixed up with yeah E-R, R r versus ER.
00:12:47
Speaker
See if you note that and you can ask their teacher if they have seen that in the classroom and if they have any advice. I always like to think about errors as information, not as failure. And if you can get that message into your child's head, that is going to be a game changer for how they talk to themselves and feel about themselves when they're writing.
00:13:09
Speaker
So i'm going to use this example. So one of the words they spelled that they were thankful for is family, but they spelled family F-A-B-I-L-Y instead of F-A-M-I-L-Y.
00:13:21
Speaker
Now this I would technically consider still phonetic spelling, Because a lot of times kids don't actually know the sounds. And this is why phonemic awareness is so important. So if I notice that error or an error that you you can kind of go, okay, she's writing family. She's kind of like making it a little nasally have her watch your mouth or look in the mirror or use the phone if they're obsessed with screens like most kids are. Use it to your advantage and say, let's watch our mouths when we say the word family.
00:13:54
Speaker
family, fab-a-ly. Our lips still come together for both of those sounds. But do you hear any difference or feel any difference in your mouth when you go, mmm, b, mmm?
00:14:08
Speaker
So the big difference between M and B is M is a continuous sound. That means you can keep holding it until you run out of breath. And B is a stop sound. So mmm,
00:14:21
Speaker
You can keep holding it, but but you have to let the air out because if you kept holding it, that sound, buh we're adding an extra letter. We're adding that sound afterwards. So it's not but family.
00:14:36
Speaker
fab uli So see if they can kind of notice that on their own. Take the time. I know it seems like tedious, but this is actually going to help in the long run to look in the mirror, to talk about the sounds, to look at each other's mouths. And you can be silly about it. You can say like, oh my gosh, that
Teaching Spelling Rules
00:14:52
Speaker
feels like it's like vibrating on my lips. It feels so silly. Does it feel weird to you?
00:14:56
Speaker
The more fun you're having, the more it's going to stick. Okay, another thing about this list that this parent sent me is the errors are all pretty consistent. So family versus family is phonetic spelling. There's not a lot of signs of random letters or avoidance of letters. So this writing shows me that the child is applying what they know and they're not wildly guessing or just giving up. So if you see like FAM for family, they're kind of giving up. They're saying either it's too hard or they're too frustrated. If they're just randomly throwing random letters, a lot of kids do this. I see this a lot with first graders.
00:15:34
Speaker
They start just throwing a random E. And if I say, okay, like you wrote the word suck, S-O-K, something is missing. And I know that you know this pattern. Let's tap it out. And they go, I know, I know, I know. And they add an E or they add L-E.
00:15:50
Speaker
They just start thinking of any spelling rule they've learned, not actually putting it into context the right way. So they're like S-O-K-C-E. And they're not really thinking about it. So I have to remind them to slow down and tap the word out with me. Sock.
00:16:07
Speaker
So they were closer when they had just S-O-K. But of course, then I would say, remember C and K both make the K sound and they both make the K sound when they're together. That's usually at the end of a word. And especially when it's a one syllable short vowel word like sock or sock.
00:16:25
Speaker
or c clock. We hear that short vowel sound and then we know, I like to say it like, the vowel is short. It needs both C and K to protect it. So it can't just be ending in C. It can't just be ending in K.
00:16:38
Speaker
But usually when it's a long vowel, like poke, it just needs the K. It doesn't need C and K. And usually when we hear the sound at the end of a word, it's not going to be C. That's usually more toward the beginning of a word.
00:16:52
Speaker
So this is a rule that they will learn in first and second grade. Actually, some in kindergarten, depending on the
Spelling Development in Second Grade
00:16:58
Speaker
curriculum. And then you can remind them of that. So you don't just throw the rule at them without having taught it to them in the first place.
00:17:04
Speaker
And if you're like, how do I even know what I'm supposed to know to teach them? My first grade boot camp course is the best option for you. There are 20 lessons, over 20 lessons, and they are all about 15 minutes that I go through with your child all about spelling and how to correct. And I teach them the self-talk that they need. And I teach you as well. There's also a whole ah parent section that comes with it. And there's 20 spelling rules that you learn and practice and master in that course. So check it out at bigcityreaders.com. If this sounds like you would love to have someone support you through this, this is exactly why I made our first grade bootcamp course.
00:17:46
Speaker
Okay, so let's talk about what's developmentally appropriate really quickly. So second grade is a transition year. Kids are moving from phonetic spelling to spelling patterns, and they have some memorized spellings, and there's just a lot going on in second grade. It's a big year.
00:18:01
Speaker
Actually, for kindergarten, first, and second grade, I think are all basically two years. Like it just moves so fast and there's so much learning happening. So what gradual improvement actually looks like? There are some concrete markers like same word spelled closer to correct over time. So maybe it's fabily today, but two months ago it was like F-A-B-I-L-E.
00:18:30
Speaker
i l e So is it getting closer to the spelling over time? Are there fewer omissions or they changing or leaving out letters? Are they beginning to self-correct?
00:18:43
Speaker
And is there an increase in their writing volume? So progress doesn't necessarily mean fewer mistakes every week. It just means better attempts. Okay, so again, I'm just going to address the accountability question. Should parents correct this?
00:18:56
Speaker
I think that there are two buckets we have. We have the creative time and then we have the time to nitpick. And you can make those two buckets how often or frequently as you want. But when they're doing creative time, I like to separate it into two different things. Creative time, I'm not correcting your work. I just want to see all of your ideas. I want to know what you're thinking. I'm so proud of you.
00:19:21
Speaker
I'm still proud of you when you make mistakes and when we're doing dictation where I give you sentences to write. But in that time, I'm going to look at your spelling patterns and I'm going to hold you accountable. So when I pay closer attention or here are some red flags, if you will, if the same simple words aren't improving over months and you have worked on them, so like that word sock being spelled S-O-K, and in that moment saying let's tap it, talking about the rule of CK at the end of the word,
00:19:50
Speaker
And then it continues to be spelled S-O-K or clock is spelled C-L-O-K. Like that pattern that you know you've talked about and you've practiced isn't improving over time.
Focus on Spelling Patterns and Parental Support
00:20:02
Speaker
That's something I would pay attention to Spelling errors that don't match the sounds at all. Definitely pay attention to that. If the child avoids writing or has meltdowns around it.
00:20:14
Speaker
And if you're noticing that their reading and spelling are significantly behind. And I know that's tricky to to know what that means. What does behind mean? And I don't want you to compare them to a friend or a sibling.
00:20:28
Speaker
If you don't know, like your teacher will should tell you. Although I did just work with a family this week who they said that the child was where they needed to be, but he was two and a half years behind after my assessment. So I was very disappointed to hear that because the parents knew. They were like, this isn't, I know that he's not where he needs to be.
00:20:45
Speaker
So if you have questions, ask your teacher. If you don't feel like you got the answer, ask me. I always have my DMs open, big city readers on Instagram. DM me a picture of your child's independent writing and I will direct you on what you need to do, what you need to ask, and if that looks normal. So please, please, please take advantage of that. I want you to have all the resources that you need.
00:21:06
Speaker
Okay, so all those things I just listed, one alone does not raise alarm bells. Those are just a few things to pay attention to. Okay, so how can you support your child without becoming the spelling police?
00:21:20
Speaker
dictation over worksheets. Don't do worksheets, do dictation. What I just told you, take some decodable sentences. If you don't know, take a decodable reader that came home from school and just give them that as a sentence. So like look at the book and say the sentences like the shark jumped high.
00:21:36
Speaker
Give them that sentence. Say, I want you to think about the sentence. I want you to think about the spelling patterns. I want you to do your best work. And I am going to look at it with you and we're going to see how you did. And they're probably going to give me another one. Kids, I find love dictation.
00:21:49
Speaker
Again, message me if you need more sentences. Word study, not word lists. Study word patterns, not memorizing word lists. And talk about words out loud. Say, what sounds do you hear when you're just driving and you think of a new word? And ask them, does that look right?
00:22:06
Speaker
Get them thinking about how to check their own work and not just ask the adult if it's correct. So I hope this helps a little bit. You don't need perfect spelling to raise a strong writer.
Encouragement and Resources for Parents
00:22:20
Speaker
You need safety, practice, and time. If you have any questions about this topic or anything else, I will link some more blog posts where we dive deeper on my website, Big City Readers. I'll link those in the show notes. I'll link a few other episodes about writing in the show notes, but...
00:22:40
Speaker
Send me your questions, email hello at bigcityreaders.com or send me a DM, bigcityreaders on Instagram. But you have what it takes. You are your child's best teacher and you don't need to be an expert speller to help them feel successful.
00:22:55
Speaker
You got this and I got your back. I'll see you next time.