Sharing the Secrets: Teach Your Child to Spell

Agnes C. Farrell is an elementary-school teacher in Richmond, B.C.

This book offers a step-by-step series of lessons parents can offer
their children to help them understand the “secrets” of English
spelling. The book provides a series of 42 lessons, beginning with the
short vowels and continuing to the special challenges of silent letters
and unusual vowel combinations.

Unfortunately, the authors do not stress the importance of maturation
in the acquisition of spelling skills. Few parents are able to assess
their children’s spelling ability objectively. Most expect spelling to
be learned as easily as the multiplication tables, and are shocked when
their children make spelling errors in the second grade. If English
spelling were as consistent as the multiplication tables, we would have
few students with spelling problems. Parents who begin a program such as
this prematurely may succeed in developing only anxiety and frustration.

Parents with children over 8 who are having difficulty distinguishing
the short vowels, or who have not learned the rules about adding endings
and forming plurals, might find this book useful, but only if they are
prepared to spend a considerable amount of time helping their children
learn to spell. Those parents who do not have the time (or patience) to
embark on such a program can be assured that encouraging their children
to read regularly can significantly improve spelling skills.