A Step-by-Step Way to Help Your Child Slow Down and Spell More Accurately

If your child ever writes “lp” instead of “lamp,” or says “map” when the word is actually “melt,” you’re not alone. Many kids struggle to hear all the sounds in a word, which makes spelling and reading feel frustrating for both of you.

The good news? There’s a super simple, hands-on strategy that helps kids slow down, hear each sound clearly, and spell with more confidence. It’s called Tap, Map, and Write, and you can do it at home in under a minute!

Let’s walk through how it works.

1. Tap the Sounds

Start by having your kiddo tap each sound in a word using written boxes or manipulatives. (Quick side note about manipulatives...I use small themed erasers that I've purchased in bulk. You can use pieces of cereal, legos, paper clips, or whatever you have on hand.)

For example, with the word lamp:

• Tap the first box or manipulative: /l/

• Tap the second box or manipulative: /a/

• Tap the third: /m/

• Tap the fourth: /p/

This helps your child slow the word down and actually hear each sound instead of guessing or skipping. If they skip sounds, have them say the whole word very slowly. llllaaaaammmmmmppppp. In the beginning you may need to point out your mouth shape during the missing sound.

Tip: You’re tapping sounds, not letters. That’s what makes this so powerful for early readers.

2. Map the Sounds

Next, you’ll help your child map one sound per box. You can draw simple boxes on paper or download my free seasonal version here.

Have your child:

• Tap and say the first sound again, then write the letter(s) → l

• Tap and say the next sound again, then write the letter(s) → a

• Tap and say the first sound again, then write the letter(s) → m

• Tap and say the final sound again, then write the letter(s) → p

This step helps your child match a sound to a position in the word, which is a key skill for accurate spelling.

3. Write the Word

Finally, your child writes the word while looking at the boxes they just filled in.

They aren’t guessing. They’re simply writing what they already tapped and mapped.

If they leave out a sound, gently say:

“Let’s tap it again. What sound did we hear after /a/? Oh! /m/ — let’s add that.”

This builds confidence without pressure and gives them a repeatable system to use anytime they’re stuck.

4. Read the Word

Now have your child read the word back to you one time.

Why This Strategy Works

Tap, Map, and Write strengthens:

• Sound awareness

• Spelling accuracy

• Confidence with tricky words

• Independence when sounding out words

• Reading and writing connection

  
  

You can use it with:

• Easy short words

• Longer one-syllable words

• Tricky sight words

Helpful Tidbit

Tricky spellings of sight words: You are going to follow the same steps as above, however, when you get to the tricky or unexpected spelling, you will point it out, discuss it, and then put a heart above the tricky part.

The heart parts are what we have to learn by heart. ❤️

Silent letters: Silent letters get put in a box with other letters. If I was mapping the word 'cake', it would be c/a/ke. Since e doesn't make a sound, it doesn't get it's own box. The same goes for digraphs and trigraphs. The word 'this' would be th/i/s and 'patch' would be p/a/tch.

The most important thing is to practice putting each sound in it's own box. If a word stumps you and your kiddo, use Phonics & Stuff's Word Mapper tool.

Want a ready to use Tap, Map, and Write sheet?

If you'd love some support getting started, my free Seasonal Word Practice Kit includes:

✨ Pre-made Tap, Map, and Write pages

✨ A QR code that leads you to a video of me explaining this

Download the Freebie Here!