Over the last 30 years, much has been learned about how children develop as spellers. During that time, the literary confidence of many kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade children has been damaged by insisting they use conventional spelling when, in their thinking, it is impossible to understand how words can be spelled conventionally. This article offers a glimpse of what the authors have discovered about the spelling development of young children. Using the descriptions offered here, you can easily determine the varying levels of your students.