Focus on one consonant at a time. Teach words that begin with "b" for one lesson, and focus on words with "sh" in them in another. Have students generate lists of words that contain the appropriate consonant or combination of consonants.
Study the different vowel sounds together. Examine the different sounds one vowel can produce, such as the long "a," as in "ate," and the short "a," as in "bat." Discuss how adding an "e" to the end of a word indicates a long "a."
Teach students to look for small words inside bigger words. For example, the word "thin" contains the word "in," so if students can spell "in," then they just have to add "th" to the beginning to correctly spell the word.
Count syllables with students, telling them to spell one syllable at a time. For instance, the word "remember" contains three syllables: "re," "mem" and "ber." Breaking down words this way makes for easier spelling.
Encourage students to think up rhyming words. If a student knows how to spell "bin," then she can also spell "win."
Cover spelling rules and rhymes with your class to help them remember tricky spellings. One spelling rhyme goes as follows: "'I' before 'e,' except after 'c,' or when sounding like 'ay,' as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh.'"
Compare words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, such as "bare" and "bear." Some words also have two different meanings but the same spelling, such as "bear" (the animal) and "bear" (to endure).
Study the meanings of various prefixes and suffixes. "Pre" means before, while "ment" indicates a noun. Many words begin and end with these prefixes and suffixes, and so contain similar spellings: prepare, present, prevent; and excitement, payment, moment.
Practice spelling activities, complete worksheets and play games, such as spelling bees, word jumbles, circling the incorrect spelling, matching words that rhyme, filling in missing letters, word searches and writing words that describe pictures (for example, a student writes "bicycle" under a picture of one).
Assess students using spelling dictation. Teachers can simply read aloud a single word, or they can use it in a sentence: "She gave her friend a blue bicycle." To add difficulty, teachers can include two words with the same pronunciation but different spellings: "Bears bare their teeth when they are angry."