check your word: are you spelling all of the sounds?
​for older students, such as students in second through fifth grade, finding words in a writer’s dictionary or the spelling section of a writing journal is appropriate. looking up words in an old school dictionary is fine, too, especially for non-struggling students in 4th and 5th grade.
at first, your students may fail to use the “circle the word and correct it” strategy, especially if you have been consistently allowing yourself to spell unknown words for them. but don’t lose heart. keep modeling the strategy, keep your expectations high, and don’t give in to automatically spelling words for them when they ask, 