She will OK before the end of this semester. As a parent suggested, let your daughter practice with Starfall.com. This web site is the best for almost everything.

Children are different and they learn differently. My daughter started reading before she was two and continues to spell and read above her grade level and I did not teach a lot, but read, read, read! I think reading and sounding out words are the two most important things that help children learn how to spell.

When your daughter misses a word, let her sound out all the letters, correct her self, or find out why she misses the spelling.

My son who is five in K started everything late, but his creative critical thinking is almost the same level of that of her sister who is 8. He enjoys starfall web site and he is doing so well in spelling with help of this website. This was not the case a few months ago. One of his spelling words this week is seven.

I hope this help and best wishes!

There is a book in either the "Dummies" or "Idiots" series on teaching spelling to children. Great book, it give all the rules and exceptions.

My daughter (overall) is advanced and passed a test to skip a grade. Her point of weakness, that almost prevented her from skipping a grade, was spelling. She was in the lowest reading class in private kindergarten, but her teacher said it was very possibly because she was not introduced to reading on her own earlier. She can read some though. She can spell simple words like cat and car and has been doing that since age 3 1/2. However, she has a great deal of difficulty with long vowels and two or more syllable words. Thanks for taking the time to answer this.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Yes 5 1/2 is very young. Did this reading specialist elaborate why she feels there is a weakness? phonetic decoding? Does your daughter have trouble reading?

Check out www.starfall.com great beginners phonectic and reading site.

I would say and pronounce each letter and say and pronounce each word while she looks at it ,and have her say it back a few times. Then explain what the word means and tell her a sentence w/ the word in it. Afterwards,have her look at the word and take her finger and scroll across the word as you both pronounce it, slowly. You can then cut out squares from paper or use scrabble pieces from Scrabble boardgame if you have one, to help her spell the words using a memory technique (puzzle type). If using paper squares write one of each letter of the spelling word or the words you chose (used) onto a square. Then you line them up to spell the word, say and pronounce the word a few times, then have her study the letters and the orders they go in, or if using Scrabble pieces do the same. Then mix the letters infront of her but, w/out her seeing them. When done ask her to try to line the letters up to make the word. You can keep trying the technique until she gets it down pat using many words. It's kind of like a memory game. Do each spelling word the same way. Then when she gets the hang of it , she should be able to read , say and spell the words. The next thing she has to learn how to put them in a sentences. Write each word on a small slit of paper and put it in a bowl and mix it up. Then have her pick out a word and tell you a sentence using that word. Once she gets the reading down pat she'll have no problem writing them. This was somethings I did w/ my son that help out alot. You could do it similar this way, or your own way, you can even get creative and come up w/ other ways together. Have fun w/ it! We did! I Hope this helps. :o)