Did anyone tell you practice makes perfect? That's only if you're practicing it right. Each time you spell a word wrong, you're 'practicing' the wrong spelling. So, if you're not sure how to spell the word, find out, then practice that spelling. Keep an ongoing notebook of words, so you've got your own personal dictionary and you can see your progress. Start small, though!
Don't try to learn all the words at once
Even if you learn them all in one sitting, practice them a few at a time. Find out what works best for you — it may be one or two words or as many as three or four. Then, add another word to your list, or start on different ones. Each time you learn another word, go back and practice the ones you learned before it, because, after all, practice makes permanent.
Review, and review some more!
If you already know some of the words on your list, practice them once or twice each before you start tackling the ones you don't know yet. It's a good confidence booster (and besides, practice makes permanent).
Practice spelling as if you expect to spell those words right when you're writing
There's more to learning to spell than passing a spelling test. There are lots of ways to get from guessing to knowing what to write down on a test, AND spelling words right when you're writing sentences and paragraphs. You want to train your hands to write the correct letters in the right order when you think a certain word.
Use the words you've practiced
That's the point to learning them, anyway. Have a list of words you're learning handy, in a notebook, and you can look them up to make sure you're spelling them right.
One way to practice spellings
Sorting by rules
Write down the 'rules' and 'rule breakers' onto separate pieces of paper. Write example words vividly and boldly on cards or pieces of paper — and circle the 'hard part' or make a different color than the rest… maybe with stripes on the letters. Read the word aloud and spell it aloud, and sort into the rule or rule breaker pile it belongs to. Remember, the key here is to NOT overwhelm your brain — start with one rule and fewer words and build yourself up.
You can find more ways to practice spellings by clicking here