When it comes to tricky words, these are usually learnt last. These are the words that most children struggle with, the irregular spelt words, or the lengthy ones.

To help children with their ability to adapt their phonics knowledge for these difficult words, there are certain steps to take to make them feel more confident.

• Say it aloud – Encourage the child to say the word out loud, sounding out each phoneme. Just like e-l-e-ph-a-n-t. Once they can say it slowly, with practice they will get quicker.
• Mnemonics – Using mnemonics for longer words is a very helpful for children. For words such as because, it can be remembered through, Big Elephants Can Always Upset Small Elephants.
• Read, cover, write, check – Get the child to look closely at the part of the word they are struggling with. The more attention they give this section, the more chance they will remember it when they try and write it. Get the child to cover the word and try and write it again. Finally, get them to check to see if they were successful.
• Joined-up Writing – Once the child is confident in their writing and letter formations, it is very much encouraged that they begin joined up writing. This further improves their spelling due to the fluidity of the writing.