{"id":695,"date":"2014-12-13T04:22:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-13T11:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/?page_id=695"},"modified":"2015-05-20T11:03:16","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T17:03:16","slug":"spelling-those-tricky-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/spelling-those-tricky-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Spelling Those Tricky Words"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"3kids_Louisa_Ammon_Emily\"

My 3 youngest: Louisa, Ammon and Emily<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spelling correctly is just as important as doing your hair!<\/strong><\/p>\n

How’s that?<\/p>\n

Well, it makes quite a first impression, whether on a job application or in a love letter.<\/p>\n

Spelling is not something that we stop learning the day we graduate from high school, or college even. I am a good speller, and I like spelling, so just for fun I took a spelling test this morning. I discovered that I could not spell quite a few of the most commonly misspelled difficult words in the English language . . . which surprised me a bit. I thought I’d have it down by now!<\/p>\n

Where to start? Students can make great spelling progress by learning these 12 tricky spelling combinations<\/strong>. These are among the most frequently used (and misused and misspelled) words in the English language. Just having these mastered will make quite a different in their daily writing!<\/p>\n

1. Its \/ It’s<\/h4>\n

2. No \/ Know<\/h4>\n

3. Principal \/ Principle<\/h4>\n

4. Quite \/ Quiet<\/h4>\n

5. There \/ Their \/ They’re<\/h4>\n

6. To \/ Too\/ Two<\/h4>\n

7. Through \/ Threw<\/h4>\n

8. Weather \/ Whether<\/h4>\n

9. Where \/ Wear<\/h4>\n

10. Which \/ Witch<\/h4>\n

11. Write \/ Right<\/h4>\n

12. Your \/ You’re<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have taught my kids to figure out these words with little memory clues<\/strong>. I’ll share some here with you:<\/p>\n

Its \/ It’s<\/h4>\n

It’s is a contraction of the words it is<\/em>. So, when confronted with which one to use, try to replace the word it’s (or its)<\/em> with the words it is<\/em>. If that sentence works, then make sure to use the it’s with the apostrophe. For example, “It’s<\/em> five o’clock” can be also stated, “It is<\/em> five o’clock”. But this sentence does not work: “The cat licked it is<\/em> paws.”<\/p>\n

Principal \/ Principle<\/h4>\n

The principal<\/em> is a man who could be your pal<\/em>. See the word pal<\/em> in principal?<\/em><\/p>\n

There \/ Their \/ They’re<\/h4>\n

There<\/em> is a location, a place. You are either here<\/em> or there<\/em>. Can you see the word here<\/em> in the word there<\/em>?\u000bThey’re<\/em> is a contraction of the words they are<\/em>. You can replace the word they’re<\/em> with they are<\/em> as a test to see if it works.<\/p>\n

To \/ Too<\/h4>\n

Too many cookies is the phrase I use to help my children see the word too<\/em> means additional, also or excess<\/em>. You can draw chocolate chips in the letter o<\/em> in the word too<\/em> to help them remember!<\/p>\n

Where \/ Wear<\/h4>\n

Where<\/em> is another location or place word. When you ask the question, “where?”<\/em>, you are either here<\/em> or there<\/em>. Look for the word here<\/em> in the word.<\/p>\n

Which \/ Witch<\/h4>\n

The witch<\/em> that rides a broomstick has her broom in the middle of the word (the letter t<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Your \/ You’re<\/h4>\n

The word you’re<\/em> is a contraction of the words you are<\/em>. Teach your children to replace the word your\/you’re<\/em> in a sentence with you are<\/em> and they can discern if it is a contraction or not.<\/p>\n

Now, for contractions!<\/em><\/h4>\n

By the way, if you haven’t taught your children about contractions yet, that is a fun lesson! Using two index cards, write the separate words of the contraction, one per card like this:<\/p>\n

can\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0not<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Have your child read the separate cards to you. Hold one card in each of your hands. Then show them how to make a crash of the two word cards (big appeal with boys) so they bend back and only show these letters:<\/p>\n

can\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0t<\/span><\/h4>\n

On a third card, draw a “comma-up-in-the-air” (apostrophe). Tell them the crash knocked out some letters and so you stick this mark right where the letters are missing to show they once were there.<\/p>\n

can’t<\/span><\/h4>\n

Works with every contraction except won’t (will not)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Have fun with spelling today!<\/em><\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May I recommend:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"IMG_6036-150x150\"
\nSpelling Clues
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"3kids_goldmine\"<\/a>
\nQuirky English
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"1788\"
\nTeach Any Child to Spell
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Spelling correctly is just as important as doing your hair! How’s that? Well, it makes quite a first impression, whether on a job application or in a love letter. Spelling is not something that we stop learning the day we graduate from high school, or college even. I am a good speller, and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[190,9],"tags":[168,107,112],"class_list":["post-695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-spelling","category-what-articles","tag-how-to-teach","tag-spelling","tag-teaching","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/3kids_Louisa_Ammon_Emily.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6IrRN-bd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2056,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/natural-speller\/","url_meta":{"origin":695,"position":0},"title":"Natural Speller versus Has-to-Be-Taught","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"My children: Ammon, Julianna and Mark Will the \u201cnatural speller\u201d please stand up? Having homeschooled 7 children, I eventually figured out that either kids come as \u201cnatural spellers\u201d or they don\u2019t. And if they don\u2019t, you have to teach them to spell. The natural speller can\u00a0see\u00a0the word in their head.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English: Spelling"","block_context":{"text":"English: Spelling","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-spelling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ammon's journal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/1775-239x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":677,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/spelling-clues\/","url_meta":{"origin":695,"position":1},"title":"Spelling Clues","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 English is a beautiful language! It is the language of the Kings James Version of the Bible. It is the language of Shakespeare. Then, why\u2014oh, why can't we spell? Over the years of teaching my 7 children to write, I wonder if perhaps I have seen nearly every misspelling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spelling"","block_context":{"text":"Spelling","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/spelling-what-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG_6036.jpg?fit=854%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG_6036.jpg?fit=854%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG_6036.jpg?fit=854%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG_6036.jpg?fit=854%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":559,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/tricky-english\/","url_meta":{"origin":695,"position":2},"title":"Quirky English","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"No wonder English is so difficult to learn! \u00a0 We must polish the Polish furniture. He could lead if he would get the lead out. The farm used to produce produce. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. The soldier decided to desert in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spelling"","block_context":{"text":"Spelling","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/spelling-what-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/3kids_goldmine.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/3kids_goldmine.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/3kids_goldmine.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":663,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/spelling\/","url_meta":{"origin":695,"position":3},"title":""I" Before "E", But Not After "C"","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a product of the public schools of the 1960's. I was taught the spelling ditty: \"i\" before \"e\" but not after \"c\", and a host of other rules. Spelling rules seem to be made for the logical, perhaps, mathematical minds (not mine), but I am a good speller.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spelling"","block_context":{"text":"Spelling","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/spelling-what-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/rat-440987_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/rat-440987_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/rat-440987_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/rat-440987_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/rat-440987_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1099,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/kids-cant-spell\/","url_meta":{"origin":695,"position":4},"title":"Kids Can’t Spell?","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"It is an all-too-common problem. Kids can\u2019t spell, teenagers can\u2019t spell, even many adults can\u2019t spell. Thank goodness for spell-check on the computer. It has helped the problem enormously! Learning to write is pretty important, as we use if daily in our communication.\u00a0Nothing blows \"lookin' smart\" faster than misspelling a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English: Spelling"","block_context":{"text":"English: Spelling","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-spelling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ammonsbeet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ammonsbeet-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":265,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/writing-in-my-homeschool\/","url_meta":{"origin":695,"position":5},"title":"Writing in My Homeschool","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Come take a peek inside my homeschool. Here's how I teach writing! And it works\u2014one of my sons got a perfect score on the English portion of the ACT test for college. Journal Writing Each day I expect my students to write a journal entry. I use the number of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English: Writing"","block_context":{"text":"English: Writing","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"emily_journals","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/emily_journals-234x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7330,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695\/revisions\/7330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}