One of the most dreaded traditional school activities is the weekly spelling quiz. Did you know that only three to five students in any classroom get A's consistently on the weekly spelling test?
I was one of those students. As a child, I would see a word once and know it for the rest of my life. On the rare occasion that I ran across a really tricky word, I would write it a few times, picture it in my head, make a clue for it, and presto! That was the end of that!
Why could I do that so easily? Because I am a Print/Writing learner. I was born with my brain already set for reading and spelling. But the majority of students (who grow up to be the majority of adults), are not Print/Writing learners. They are Picture or Hands-On learners, or some other type.
To these students our language doesn't make sense. It doesn't matter how many times you explain that there are rules; there are so many rule-breakers that the rules are not trustworthy!
I am going to give you a strategy that works for many of these students. But first, it is important to understand what doesn't work and why:
In an ideal learning environment, students who are not natural spellers would not have spelling workbooks and wouldn't have to memorize 10 to 20 words every week that have no consistent pattern. They would be taught word families first, then gradually one or two "strange" words per week, using strategies that work for their learning styles.
If you are homeschooling, you can ditch the spelling workbook:
If your child is in traditional school, follow these steps:
Here's the strategy:
Choose a word and make a game out of thinking up memory tricks for that word. For example, to remember "etc." you might notice that the first two letters are ET (as in the cute alien). Most people that misspell this word reverse the order of the "c" and "t." But once they realize that "ET" is in there, it's easy to tack the "c" on at the end and they never misspell it again!
Or how about "friend"? The i and e cause the most trouble. Try writing on a card: fr I end. Then draw a face and hair on the big I, adding arms and legs. And finally, say, "I am a friend to the end."
Five-by-eight cards are great for this. Each word gets its own card. You might need to get your child started by working together at first, but have the child make his own cards. The tricks can be anything; have lots of colored pencils and crayons available and have fun!
And, remember, it's not the end of the world if you're not a great speller. It only becomes a handicap if your child feels bad about it. Be your children's Success Coaches by acknowledging and encouraging what they are good at, and they will grow up to be confident and successful, because they will know they are valuable, and are gifted to do something special in the world.
Thank you to Mariaemma Willis, M.S. for sharing with us this week.
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