Hard Words to Spell, List of Tricky Words to Practise

Tricky words are often on my little girls weekly school spelling test. She struggles to spell these words because, the spellings of tricky words, can not be “sounded” out. The only way to spell them is to remember the letters in the correct order.

My little girl is dyslexic, so she struggles with memory and order. This means tricky words are even trickier for her to spell. We practise by learning only one word each night, using the “Rule of 10 Card” from my Dyslexic Mum kit.

Tricky Words List Card

The Mooki Cards contains a “Tricky Words” card.  A list of tricky words, ordered by age group. Use the card above on your phone or tablet for free!

This card is based scientific research, on “Phoneme-grapheme Correspondences”.

Further references: “The validity of teacher judgements using ‘Phonic Phases’”.

Tricky Words Difficult to Sound Out

• Tricky words all have in common, that they are difficult to sound out using phonics methods. A non-tricky word such as “Cat”, can be sounded out as “C-A-T”. Tricky words, such as “T-H-E” when sounded out, sound like a different word. So the word can not be read or spelled by the child, by sounding out the letters.
• The only way the tricky words can spelled or read, is if a child remembers the letters in the word in the correct order. Committing this into their long term memory.
• Dyslexic children struggle with memory and order, so find it hard to learn spellings. They can need to learn how to read and write a word up to 10 before they remember it. Using dyslexic friendly teaching methods such a multi-sensory learning.   

Learn more about, “Multi-sensory Learning Methods”.

Learn Tricky Words List

Top Tips Dyslexic Mum

• Learn 1 Word – Practise learning just 1 tricky word with the child, daily or weekly.  Keep practising until they are confident in spelling, reading and writing the word. Do this before moving onto learning a new word, to avoid overwhelming the child.
• Breaks Between Learning – It can take time for the dyslexic mind to process new information. Give the child a day or two, between practising a new word and testing to see if they remember it.  
• Multi-Sensory Learning – Dyslexic children can need to learn new information ten times. Make learning more fun and less repetitive using dyslexia friendly “Multi-sensory Learning”.  

All the cards are available as part of a “Mooki Cards“. Complete with 56 cards and storage wallet. Perfect for using at home or in the classroom. Order your “Mooki Cards” here!