Spelling is a multi-skilled process that progresses through stages that eventually integrate to create a competent speller.
The stages are:

• Phonetic spelling is the early sounding level of spelling, but is necessary at every spelling stage. At this stage the student is using his ears to hear the sounds of words.
• Visual spelling relates, as the name implies, to the eyes. At this stage, the student looks at the spelling word to make certain that the correct combination of letters is used. In simplistic terms, this means if the sound,/c/ is needed the student makes decisions visually about whether it is a c or a k that is needed or even ch. The child uses his eyes to discriminate.
• Morphemic spelling is a form of spelling knowledge that focuses on the meaning of words in its smallest form (morphemes) and how they change when making compound words or using suffixes and prefixes.
• Etymological spelling is the study of word origins.