Spelling Tips

Spelling tips can be a lifesaver when you are trying to teach your children to spell. No matter what the problem is, you need to remind yourself (sometimes over and over) that...

All children can learn to spell - it's just a matter of finding the right spelling tip for your child.

I have four children. Out of the four, only one was a natural speller. This was especially difficult for me, because I'm a natural speller.

I just couldn't understand why it was so difficult for them.

During my 16 years of homeschooling my children, I have learned that the "natural" spellers are strong visual learners. They have the ability to "see" the word in their mind. When they write a word, they can tell if it "looks" wrong and write it until it "looks" right.

This is just fine for visual learners like me, but what do you do with those children who aren't visual learners?

Here's what I did.

First, you have them practice the words in a way that they can picture the word in their mind. This takes training for those children who aren't visual learners, but it can be done.

I've done it and you can too.

Second, after you teach them the word "visually" you need to let them also practice the word using their other learning style.

Spelling Tips - Step #1

Take any word you want your child to learn to spell.

Example: Connection

Write the word for them using different color markers.

Con nec tion

Your aim here is to teach your children to break words up into manageable "bites". Look for ways to divide the words up by:

• Small words with in the word - Ex: together = To get her


• Prefixes - Example: Export = ex port
  

  Example: Transcontinental = Trans con tin en tal

• Suffixes - like "tion," "ing," "ed," etc.

Spelling Tips - Step #2

When you first start teaching your children like this, you need to divide the word for them. Then go over the word sounding out the different colored chunks.

Spelling Tips - Step #3

Have them write each word three times, Monday through Thursday. Friday is test day.

At first have them write just the word itself. When you've done this for several weeks and they are catching on to this technique, then have them start writing out the entire definition.

Spelling Tips - Step #4

Let them start breaking the words into chunks and color coding the words themselves.

Spelling Tips - Step #5

After they have success spelling the actual spelling word, then move to writing out and spelling the entire definition. By the time you reach this step, they will have gained enough confidence that this no longer seems impossible to them.

Step #6

Start with simple definitions. Don't overwhelm them with definitions that are two to three senteces long.

Step #7

Once they can spell the word correctly and write simple definitions, increase their word list.

Step #8

Once they have succeeded at this, make the definitions a little bit longer.

Step #9

If they have mastered all of the above, start teaching them how to look up the words themselves in age appropriate dictionaries. At first, have them do only two or three words per week.

Eventually, you want to to look up the definitions for all of their words themselves, but depending on the age of your child, this could take all year or even several years.

Touch/Tactile/Hands-on Learners

These can be fun...messy...but fun.

Let them write out their words in:

• Shaving cream - buy cheap shaving cream and spray it on your kitchen counter. Smooth it out and let the kids write their words in it.
• Sand - write the words out using their fingers or a stick in the sandbox. During winter time or bad weather, keep a plastic container (with a lid) filled half-way with sand and let them write their spelling words in the container.
• Finger paints - same idea - just use finger paints
• Paint dots - you can buy these at your local school supply store or art store. It's individual bottles of paint colors with a sponge on top. When pressed on paper, it makes a dot that color. Have them write their words in color dots.
• Stamps - buy a stamp set and let them stamp their words out on paper
• Magnetic letters - spell the words using these letters on the refrigerator or a cookie sheet
• Chalk - spell their words in gigantic colorful words on the driveway
• Water - Fill an empty dish detergent bottle with water and let them spray their spelling words in water
• Computer - Let them type their letters on the computer

Hearing/Auditory Learners

• Tape recorder - Let them record their words (saying them in chunks) and listen to them over and over
• Songs - Some kids - especially girls - like to make up songs and rhymes for their words
• Cheers - Break the "chunks" into cheers...Give me a "Con" Give me a "nec" Give me a "tion" What have you got? CON NEC TION!!!!

  Yes, this can get loud.

Activity

This is for those kids who learn better while moving...if you've got one, you know who I'm talking about :)

• Trampoline - jump while saying or SHOUTING their words
• Cheers - Same as above but fits into this category too
• Dance - Let them dance around while they spell their word chunks. They can have a dance movement for each "chunk"

I hope this article has helped you see that there are many different ways to teach spelling. By using words they have in their other homeschool subjects, they are learning to spell words that have meaning to them.

By writing out and spelling correctly the entire definition, they are learning to spell everyday words.

Try these ideas and see if these spelling tips don't work better for you than a traditional spelling curriculum.