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Spelling Help for Older Students and Adults

Two hands hanging on to the top of a wall with the words HELP coming from behind the wall

If you need spelling help, you're in the right place. Come out from hiding and get the assistance you need to become a better speller! I've gathered a variety of activities and lessons from across this website that are especially suited to adults and older learners.

Click the links to find the resources you need most. You'll find full-length printable versions for the lessons on each page.

Spelling Help

NEW! 300 Commonly Misspelled Words - Skim this long list of words to find the ones you misspell the most often. Then follow the tips on this page to master their correct spellings. Why make the same mistakes over and over again when you CAN improve your spelling skills?! A free printable page is included, along with many additional helpful resources.

Step-by-Step Lesson for Doubling Final Consonants When you add -ing or -ed to the ends of words like sit, begin or prefer, do you double the final consonant in the base word in the base word, or not? Go through this 8-step lesson and you'll soon be spelling these word with confidence!

Step-by-Step Lesson for Spelling Help with IE/EI Words Follow these 10 steps at your own pace to master these tricky words. We present the rule, and you practice it, step by step!

10 Spelling Strategies Here's a condensed version of 10 of the most frequently-used spelling strategies. Find out which ones you already know, and which ones you need to practice.

5 Common Spelling Mistakes Beware of these common spelling errors, and learn how to fix them! Learn that this is A LOT of money, not ALOT of money. Master the apostrophe, remember to proofread, and more.

Troublesome Homonyms Explained, Part 1: Improve spelling skills by choosing the correct homonym. Definitions and examples included for homonyms beginning with A - P. Free pdf.
Troublesome homonyms Explained, Part 2: Here's more help with homonyms. If your/you’re ever to/too confused to use the correct homonym, print out this free, handy reference tool! Homonyms beginning with P - Y.

It's also helpful to review frequently misspelled words. Skim through the list, make a note of the ones that are troublesome for you, and then determine to learn them, a few at a time.

Codes and Crosswords!

Solving codes is another way to build spelling skills. People of all ages enjoy uncovering a hidden message. You can find cryptograms for all year round on our other website.

blindfolded cartoon man trying to feel his way forward

Which One Is It? Here's a fun crossword puzzle, but don’t try to solve this while you’re blindfolded. Instead, use what you know about correct spelling! Choose the one word that is spelled correctly and write it in the puzzle.

Seeing Double - You'll be seeing double when you complete fun, free printable crossword! Every answer has at least two pairs of double letters.

For some challenging fun and spelling practice,
try our Level 2 Brain Teasers!

Here are three of my favorites!

The Message & Reply - Two REALLY difficult letters, written to and from a detective, with hidden messages. Good spelling skills are the key to decoding them! How long will it take you???

An Impossible Brain Teaser? - Sure, the directions are tricky, but adults and upper grade students can solve this the first time, right?

Travel Teaser - One of our most difficult logic brain teasers. Can you figure out who went where and when?

I've just added some challenging crosswords that are great for adults and older students. This 5-Letter Anagram puzzler is one of my favorites.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Excellent spelling skills are not developed in a day, either! This is especially true if English is not your first language. With hard work and perseverance, however, your spelling will improve. Don't give up!

Please note that I'll be adding more spelling resources from time to time. Please contact me to let me know what you'd like to see.

Ann Richmond Fisher is a longtime published educational writer, a former classroom teacher and a former homeschool teacher. Ann's spelling bee resources, graded spelling word lists, spelling games, worksheets, and other language arts resources have become respected around the globe since she launched Spelling-Words-Well in 2010.

Ann is also the creator of www.word-game-world.com.

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