Spelling

In second grade we do a lot of writing. One of the first steps is to write the rough draft. Of course, at this point, correct spelling is not important. It never fails, though, that many children will ask how to spell things. I have to keep reminding them that they should listen to the sounds in the word and put them down the best they can. We also have a word wall they can check for the word they need. We discuss rhyming words and how their spellings might be very similar, or they can try to think of another word that means about the same thing but is easier to spell. It seems that these strategies would be enough and I wouldn't get so many requests for how to spell something! Am I missing the boat somehow??!