During which stage of spelling development do students typically understand letter-sound correspondence?

The phonetic stage is characterized by students beginning to understand and apply letter-sound correspondence in their writing. During this stage, children start to realize that letters represent sounds and can be used to spell out words phonetically. They begin to form words by linking sounds to their corresponding alphabetic symbols, often leading to creative approximations of the correct spelling.

In this phase, students experiment with spelling, often spelling words as they sound, which can sometimes result in misspellings. However, this exploration is vital because it indicates that they have grasped the fundamental concept of how letters and sounds are connected. This understanding lays the groundwork for more advanced spelling skills they will develop in later stages.

In contrast, the other options involve different stages of spelling development, where students either have not yet grasped letter-sound correspondence or are at varying levels of understanding that do not fully integrate this relationship.