Friday, December 9, 2011
Spelling: It's Not Easy For Everyone
It was hard to come to that realization since my 2 oldest children are very good at spelling. They do a couple of worksheets on Monday just know how to spell the words. Ethan just couldn't do that. After a couple of weeks of struggling along I think we have finally found a system that works for him. Every day as a part of his homework he grabs a notebook (this week it's been the free life journal from Oprah) and I say the spelling word and spell it by grouping the letters together.
Bring
Br ing
Trunk
Tr U nk
He writes them down three times each. I have also been asking him at random times how to spell them. Although this step didn't work at first as he could never remember how to spell them and I think made him angry. The first time that I tried it was back during the soccer season. He had a dollar that he was so excited about spending at the concession stand and when I told him (with a smile on my face) that he was going to have spell family first he pouted for the rest of the night. His stubborn streak is never ending. When I say pouted I mean he refused to speak to me and gave me dirty looks all through the soccer games, dinner and bedtime.
On Thursday's instead of writing them down 3 times each we do a practice test. He spelled them all out loud as he wrote them and I just got more and more excited because he was getting them right! In the end he got 11 out of 12 right.
I decided to celebrate the fact that he has been working so hard with a trip to Cherry Berry. The practice makes perfect person in me really wanted to wait until Friday when he actually took his spelling test at work...but then what if he didn't make a 100? Would he be upset? Would he know that doing the best that you can is all you can do?
Do you have one child that struggles with something the others find so easy? Do you have any spelling tips that you think my help?
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I used to use this method with my 6th graders: Have him close his eyes and picture a TV screen. Spell the word for him and have him picture the word coming up on the screen in red (or purple or green etc) letters--one letter at a time. If it's not too confusing for him, you can then also spell it backwards and have him "watch" it come up that way. Spelling is a visual-auditory skill, and sometimes kids who have trouble with it are more tactile learners, so giving them a visual strategy sometimes helps. It'll create a picture of the word in his head. I hope it helps, but it sounds like he's doing really well anyway! Good for you for helping him with this!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure spelling is a product of seeing the word written enough times that you remember it, and or sounding out the word with the appropriate letters which isn't always reliable.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't stress you kid too much over spelling and only reward good behavior and ignore bad behavior.
One thing that helped my boys learn was educational games..there are some fun learning games at abcya.com and it goes from K-5th grade.This is one of the programs they use in K12 computer school.My boys also used Starfall.com through ECOT and it was great for reading which helped them both be better spellers.Both of these are free sites if you want to check them out.
ReplyDeleteHave him read as much as possible. It doesn't have to be aloud. It doesn't have to be at his reading level. In fact, trying to read a little above his level will help. If he doesn't know a particular word that he comes across, have him write it down and look it up. Make sure that the books he chooses are *interesting* to him. Many kids will be given a book by a parent or teacher to read that they don't find very interesting. They end up staring at the page forever, never reading a word... no matter how hard they try. Imagine someone giving you a novel that just does NOT appeal to you and telling you that this is what you have to read. Not very motivational!
ReplyDeleteI know this sounds more like learning new vocabulary, but he'll get used to seeing the words on the page. You know how, sometimes you write something down and it just doesn't look right? That's what will happen with his spelling. Writing down the new words and looking them up will also help. First, he needs to copy the word down exactly as it's spelled. Next, he needs to look the word up - exactly as it's spelled. Doing this over and over will make his eye a little sharper toward how all words are spelled.
This isn't a quick-fix, more a lifelong learning process that will make spelling easier as he gets older.
Good luck - it'll get easier for him as time goes by. Just try not to make a big deal as best you can. A "C" or even an "F" in second grade spelling isn't going to kill anyone - as long as he eventually makes up for the learning later.
This is our first year dealing with spelling and so far so good. I think your system is awesome and applaud your resiliancy. A treat for acing the practice test was a great idea imo. If anything it probably served as a huge confidence booster for the big test on Friday.
ReplyDeleteWay to celebrate effort!! Grades aren't everything. But effort is huge!!
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