Do I correct his spelling?

[TormundGiantsbabe]

Ds (5) has homework involving writing a story. He has drafted it out on his own and has spelled some words wrong e.g. goastes, roten, horrble, spoocky.

He has been a reluctant writer until now but he has been very excited and enthusiastic about this story, so I'm not sure if I should just let him get on with it or get him to correct the spellings?

[SirChenjin]

Apparently you shouldn't correct because at that age story writing is about focusing on creativity.

[NickNacks]

At this stage I would just look at the high frequency words. Pick one or two not every incorrect spelling and certainly not if they are phonetically plausible attempts.

[Acornantics]

I'd work with him on spellings as I think seeing the correct spelling written down will help reinforce the shape words take.

Maybe find a time to do spellings work away from the story writing exercise so he doesn't associate getting things 'wrong' (spellings) with the process of writing, especially if he's been reluctant up to now.

[Whathaveilost]

I would but sensitively. I would only do one or two words and once I'd read the story back to him with praise.
I'd say something like ohhhhh, look, you nearly got that word right, you just needed to add a 'h' there. Or 'That word can be a bit tricky to get right but you were almost there, swop the letters around and it's right!' That sort of thing. What do you think? Would that work with your child.

[NotCitrus]

I'd just encourage in Reception. In Y1 they start more focus on "OK, now you know lots of ways to spell the sound X, let's look at the spellings we use in different words". But if it's writing for pleasure then let them get on with it - he'll probably ask for spelling help soon.

[Fresta]

I would only correct words he should have spelt correctly like the ones from the Y1 spelling list. Any less common words, which he mis-spelt but in a phonetically plausible way, I would leave.

[Wolfiefan]

No don't correct it. Next year he will start to work on spelling. He has been a reluctant writer but enthusiastic about this project. You risk sucking all the fun out of him and making him feel that the work wasn't good enough.

[Winewinewinewine]

No don't correct it. If he is reluctant and unsure what he needs is to be told that his story is fab and how proud you are.
Let the teacher see the mistakes so he/she can see what he needs to learn.
Enthusiasm is key at this age and that's what you need to encourage.

[nessus]

Sounds like a fantastic story OP :) And all those key words tells me he has a very clear idea of the story he is telling and can order his thoughts on He might be reluctant but sounds like a natural writer and I would leave his spelling as is. It will also let you and teacher see which letter sounds he has pinned down and which he is still working on and needs help with as he gets older. The silent 'h' take a while to settle in his mind and the extra letters naturally drop off. They will start doing spelling drills in the next year so no worries.

DD loves reading those early writings and finds her attempts at spelling delightfully hilarious!

[claraschu]

I definitely wouldn't correct him. I think the most important thing is for him to be enjoying writing and using adventurous vocabulary (not sticking to easy words he knows how to spell already); then it is important to understand phonics, the last thing on my list would be to learn the intricacies and foibles of English spelling.

It is great that he had fun writing, and I wouldn't do anything to tarnish that. If he asks you whether he has spelled a particular word right, I would take a look at it and say something like: "I like how you spelled it- that spelling makes a lot of sense, but English spelling can be a bit silly sometimes and actually people spell it "knee". Maybe this sounds overly fussy or try-hard to people, but I had a lot of fun with my kids' writing when the were little, and they do all write (and spell) well (in my very unbiased opinion).

I am also a bit of a pedant about spelling and grammar sometimes; I enjoy the funny little details, and had fun showing them to my children.

[TormundGiantsbabe]

Thanks everyone, I'll leave most of the spellings then - I'll probably point out that rotten needs two ts and get him to add the i into horrible, but I'll leave the rest if they're ok phonetically. He's at the end of year 1 now, so he's used to spelling tests and has a good memory for the words he has practiced before. I would hate to put him off his story writing!

[bigkidsdidit]

I have a five year old too. He is similar - what I do is praise his story and leave the spellings. Then the next day or so pick out two of the most common misspellings and get him to practice them. It's far enough away from the story it doesn't ruin his enjoyment.

[EarthboundMisfit]

In Y1 I did correct most. In that I'd ask him to look at rotten and horrible as they'd be the easiest for me to explain with phonics.

[Lurkedforever1]

Any corrections I used to do on at least a 1/5 scale, sometimes more. So for one correction I'd have at least 4 positive things to say. And only ever one or two words per piece of writing.

I also never told her she had spelt anything wrong. Instead I would tell her that her spelling should be correct, but some words are a bit silly and are spelt differently to how we think they should be. So it wasn't her that was 'wrong' it was the words fault iyswim.

[Fairuza]

I would only 'correct' words that aren't phonetically plausible - if you can read it and know what the word is then it's fine for 5.

[PrincessHairyMclary]

I use the squeeble app for DDs weekly spelling list and any I notice her spelling wrong during her homework that way she gets to play a game and practice her spellings. Of course it's better to practice spellings hand writing them but there's other time to do that.