About a year ago, my niece arrived home from first grade with a homework assignment that included directions for the parents. The directions stated that the children were to write five original words to the best of their ability. The teacher stressed that parents were not to correct spelling.

When my sister read this she rolled her eyes and began to rant about her daughter’s teacher. “I don’t get this Invented Spelling thing – shouldn’t we be encouraging our children to spell correctly?”

This frustration has been echoed many times by parents of young children who are struggling to understand the logic behind an instructional method that seems so counterintuitive.  But here are five things you should know about why it's actually right to let your kids spell wrong:   

1) Invented Spelling is a method that encourages children to use what they know about the sounds that letters make in order to spell words.

You may see first graders spelling words like mommy as momee, or summer as sumr.  In fact, the story I began with about my niece continued as follows: 

Alexandra: Look, I wrote pizza [she wrote peetsa].

Mom: Great honey!

Alexandra: Is it right?

Mom: Yes, that is exactly what your teacher wants.

Alexandra: But, is it RIGHT?

Mom: Alexandra, you did exactly what your teacher wants you to do, good job.

Alexandra: But, is this what it says on the box in the freezer?

This example illustrates the frustration that most parents (and kids) experience with "invented spelling" when neither understands the purpose of the exercise.  In this case, my sister expressed that her daughter was doing the assignment "right' but didn't asnwer her question about the word being spelled "right." Next time (per my advice!), I recommended that my niece be told that yes, there is a "right" way to spell words but that the assignment calls for her version and that's what's most important!   

2) Schools use invented spelling to support phonetic awareness (sounds and the way letters fit together). and allow space for creativity in writing.

When children use invented spelling the teacher can really see what they understand about how letters sound and fit together. If the child’s version is logical the teacher knows that the child has a solid understanding of the relationships between letters and sounds. Then, the teacher can help students understand all of the exceptions in our very difficult language.

3) School use invented spelling to allow space for kids'creativity in writing.

Instead of children struggling over the perfect spelling for every word, they can use their energy to create characters, add details and articulate the wonderful imaginations they have on to paper. Many children are filled with so much anxiety about getting it right that they never express their creativity.

Once children get their ideas on paper then teachers take them through the writing process. The writing process ends with editing and publishing and will be free of all of the original misspellings.