I found this in a book from the Teacher Education Center.  I thought  it had some good ideas. Mrs. Wolfe

Spelling, Phonics & Vocabulary
Spelling is an essential part of good written communication. Those
who learn to spell well become more fluent writers, focusing on content
and creativity rather than struggling with spelling. This year, your
second grader will add greatly to the words she can use in her written
vocabulary.
Second grade is a time of transition. As a beginning writer in first
grade, your child may have been encouraged to use "invented spelling"
or "best-guess spelling."
In second grade, your child will
 continue inventive spelling for some purposes
 learn basic spelling rules
 learn words with irregular spellings
 learn to spell high-frequency words, those words most often used in the English language

Your second grader will also learn
 contractions and their uses
 how to make plural nouns
 how to add prefixes and suffixes
 commonly misspelled words
 common antonyms (opposites), synonyms (similar in meaning),
and homophones (words that sound the same but have
different meanings such as see and sea)

To help your child learn her weekly spelling list, try these tips:
1. Give a pretest. Identify the words he can spell already
and focus on the rest.
2. Help your child look for patterns:
 word families (-an, -ap)
 letter combinations (ch-, th-, sm-, st-, kn-, ow, ou)
 contractions (we≠ll, he≠ll)
 compound words (sunshine, sunglasses, sunlight)
 multiple-syllable words (Saturday, holiday, family)
3. Have your child look for words within words. (Find and in the word stand.)
4. Have her take words apart. (Take off prefixes or suffixes to get to the root word. For example, the root of happiness is happy.)
5. Have him write the words in sentences.

Although it≠s important to spell well on weekly tests, it's more important for your child to observe patterns in words and use what she knows as she writes daily.

To encourage daily spelling practice, write messages to your child, and
have your child write back. Try these ideas:
 Slip a secret message and a treat into her bookbag.
 Place a goodnight note under his pillow.
 Provide a special wipe-off message board or use magnets to post notes
to each other on the fridge.
 Provide notecards, gel pens, and envelopes for responses.

Spell and Tell
Remember those little folded-paper "fortune tellers" you used to make as
a child? You know, the ones where you folded the paper a special way and
wrote messages behind the flaps? They are great for spelling practice.
Here's how to make one:
1. Start with an 8" x 8" square of paper.
2. Fold in all four corners to the center point
3. Turn the folded square upside down.
4. Again, fold in all four corners to the center
5. Fold in half.
6. Place both thumbs and forefingers under the outer flaps and bring all
four corners to touch in the center.
7. Write a spelling word on each of the flaps and write a secret message
underneath each flap.
8. Spell the word and tell the message!

Spelling Dough
Provide play dough, and have your child use it to spell her weekly list of
words. To make each letter, he can roll the dough into a snake shape and
form it into the letter. Or she can roll the dough flat and use a toothpick to
spell the letters in the dough.

Have Fun!!!

Comment On This Page