Helpful Strategies To Develop Or Improve Spelling: Instructional Strategies For Teaching Reading

Helpful Strategies To Develop Or Improve Spelling: Instructional Strategies For Teaching Reading

As a school psychologist, I have worked with many children who have trouble with spelling. Common spelling mistakes include:

1. Using the wrong consonant (e.g., spelling cat as kat)

2. Using the wrong vowel (e.g., spelling seat as seet)

3. Leaving out consonants (e.g., spelling kicking as kiking)

4. Leaving out a vowel (e.g., spelling plain as plan)

5. Writing only one consonant, when a consonant should be doubled (e.g, spelling butter as buter)

6. Leaving in an "e" that should be dropped (e.g., spelling riding as rideing)

7. Leaving out the "silent e" (e.g., spelling kite as kit)

8. Using ys instead of ies (e.g., cherrys instead of cherries)

9. Spelling words phonetically when a specific suffix should be used instead (e.g., spelling vacation as vacashin)

10. Using an "s" instead of a "c" or a "c" instead of an "s" (e.g., absense instead of absence or offence instead of offense)

11. Forgetting rules like "i before e except after c" (e.g., spelling receive as receive)

The errors above are the most frequent ones I have seen in my career as a school psychologist; however, there are many more types of spelling errors a person can make.

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Below is a list of strategies children (or anyone struggling with spelling) can use to develop or improve their spelling skills.

Keep in Mind that the strategies in this article are recommendations. Please do not try to pressure a child into using all or any of these strategies. This can lead to frustration which can turn your child off to spelling practice. Every child is different and you have to examine his/her level and frustration tolerance when imposing academic tasks.

Strategies for Beginners or Those With Low Level Spelling Skills

1) Practice Phonemic Awareness. Children with phonemic awareness know all the letters and the different sounds they make. There are specific articles on the internet to guide you to teach phonemic awareness. Try a Google Search on this topic.

2) Allow Beginners to Spell Phonetically - When first learning to spell, allow children to spell words exactly as they hear them. Teach them to say each each sound in a word and write down the letter or letters that represent each, until they have spelled the word. For example, if the word is brush, they can say the /b/ sound and write b, the /r/ sound and write r, the /u/ sound and write u, and the /sh/ sound and write sh.

3) Teach Children to Notice Chunks in Words - Chunks are more than one letter together that normally make the same sound (e.g., ch, sh, br, ple, all, ate, at). Have your child practice writing several words that use the same chunks to establish a sense of word families (groups of words that have a common feature or pattern). For a fun and effective way to teach sound chunks and spelling, let your children or students practice with the game Didax Chunks: The Incredible Word Building Game which can be found on Amazon.com.

4) Practice Rhyming Words - Teach children about rhyming words and provide them with several examples. After teaching them how to rhyme, give them a word and ask them to come up with rhyming words. Once they have the hang of it, encourage them to tell you a word and list several words that rhyme with it. Encourage them to write rhyming words down as well. Allow them to start with a common word pattern such as "all." Show them how adding a letter in front of "all" and changing that letter produces a list of several rhyming words (e.g., e.g. all, ball, call, fall, hall, mall, tall, wall). For children who have trouble writing, allow them to spell using magnetic letters or by typing on the computer, if they are able to do so.

Strategies for More Advanced Spellers

The strategies below are for students who have gotten the hang of phonetic spelling and are ready to or struggling to move to the next level.

1) Learn Spelling Rules - See a list of some common spelling rules below

1. Short -Vowel Rule: When a one-syllable word has a vowel in the middle it is usually a short-vowel sound (e.g., hat, set, pit, lot, nut)

2. Doubling Consonants: If f, l, or s comes after a vowel, the letter is often doubled (e.g., stuff, call, grass)

3. Two-Vowels Together: If two vowels are together, the first vowel is usually says it's name and the second vowel is not heard (e.g. seat, rain, tie)

4. Silent e: When a short word has a vowel, a consonant, and then an "e" or a longer word has that same pattern in the last syllable, the first vowel is usually long and the e is silent (e.g., cake, kite, vote, mute, meditate, debate

5. y as a long i: When the letter y comes at the end of a short word with no other vowel in the word, it makes a long i sound (e.g., dry, cry, sty, pry)

6. y as a long e: When a word has two syllables and the second syllable is composed of only a y or an ey, the y makes a long e sound. (e.g., honey, money, bunny, sunny)

7. I before E: The rule is "i before e except after c (e.g., receive, receipt, deceive, conceive) or when sounding like 'a' as in neighbor or weigh."

8. Words with "ch": Use "ch" at the beginning of words (e.g. chair, cheese, chin) and "tch" at the end (e.g., watch, witch, patch)

These are only some of the rules in spelling. You can do a Google Search for common spelling rules to learn more. Please remember there are always exceptions to spelling rules, meaning that these rules will not apply to every word in the English language. It can also be difficult and cumbersome to remember these rules.

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Strategies for remembering common spelling rules include the following:

1. keep the rules in a place where the child/student can easily refer to them when spelling, such as in his desk or in his notebook

2. discuss the rules when reviewing spelling errors with the child (for instance, if you and your child are editing his work and you see he spelled catch as cach, give him a gentle reminder "remember it is ch at the beginning of words and "tch" at the end" or have him read and say the rule out loud)

3. after reviewing the rule, have him rewrite the word he misspelled

4. make flash cards of the rules (you can do this on index cards), with the name of the rule on the front and the definition on the back as shown below:

Front of Card:
Short -Vowel Rule

Back of Card:
When a one-syllable word has a vowel in the middle it is usually a short-vowel sound (e.g., hat, set, pit, lot, nut)

After creating the flash cards, make a game out of it, to make it more fun for the child. For example, take turns (first you show the front of a flash card and have your child state the rule. Then have him show a flash card and you state the rule)

2) Teach Children to Use the Dictionary - Teach children how to look up words in a dictionary to confirm spelling. This may be hard for children who do not yet understand the concept of alphabetical order. For children who do not understand alphabetical order, look on with them as they look up the word, providing assistance as needed.

3) Teach Children to Use an Internet Dictionary - Use a site like dictionary.com. There your child can type in the word he is unsure of in the search box. If he spells the word wrong, but the spelling is somewhat close, the site will ask "Did you mean _________?" For example if you spell "vacashin" in the search box, a question on the bottom of the screen pops up that says "Did you mean vacation?"

4) Teach Children to Edit Their Work and Use Repetition - Encourage children to review their work carefully and rewrite a word five to ten times when they find a misspelling (ten times is recommended but this may be too much for some children). It is much easier to notice spelling errors when rereading work, than to notice them the first time around when the mistake is made. Many times spelling errors get in grained in one's memory after repeating the same mistake several times. Writing the word several times in a row helps to retrain the child's memory. You can try to make repetition more fun by turning it into a game. To do this, take turns with the child. (e.g., have him write the first word 10 times while you watch, then you write the next word 10 times while he watches - or any other turn taking variation).

Side-Note * Some children with disabilities such as autism are more willing to complete this type of task when they can see a visual of how many times they are expected to write the word. For instance, number the paper 1 to 10 or draw ten lines on the paper.

5) Show How Different Sounds Can Be Represented in Different Ways - For example, the /k/ sound can be represented with a c as in cat, a k as in kangaroo, a ck as in kick, or a ch as in school

6) Teach Children to Test Their Spelling - Create spelling lists or spelling flash cards on index cards. You can create them for your child, with your child, or encourage your child to create them himself. You can also purchase spelling flash cards or search for free spelling lists on the internet.

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Teach Your Child To Test Their Spelling Using These Four Steps
1) Look at the word and pay attention to the spelling and what the word looks like

2) Cover up the word with his hand or turn the flash card around.

3) Visualize the word in his mind, and then spell the word aloud, in his mind, or on paper

4) Check the flash card or list to ensure his spelling was correct

You can show your child an example of how to do this and then let him practice on his own.

Additional strategies for Learners of any age

Read with your child and encourage your child to read as much as possible. When you come across a word with a certain pattern or rule, you can point out the word to your child/students and reiterate the rule. For example if you see the word vacation you can remind your child that many words that end with a "shin" sound are spelled with the suffix tion such as creation, medication, or fiction or if you see the word "cat" you can remind your child that several three-letter words end with "at" such as bat, hat, and, mat. Teach your child to try to pay attention to these types of patterns when reading.

1. Use spelling workbooks that are highly rated by parents and educators. You can find spelling workbooks on Amazon.com

2. Allow children to practice spelling words on a dry erase board (whiteboard) with dry erase markers or on a chalkboard with chalk. This will allow them to write words and erase them as many times as they want. You may also want to purchase chalkboard erasers and whiteboard erasers.

3. Allow children to practice spelling in sand in a sand tray or in shaving cream on a table (again, this will allow them to write words and erase them as many times as they want)

4. Use the iPAD. The iPAD is an excellent tool for spelling practice. There are several spelling apps, which are highly rated by parents and educators, that allow children to have fun while learning to spell or improving their spelling skills. Children who are resistant to traditional writing are sometimes willing to write on an iPAD. They can write with their finger or with an iPAD stylus such as the Kidori Children Stylus Pen.

Although some parents have complained about it's durability, the Kidori Children Stylus Pen is recommended by experts as the best stylus for working on pencil grip with children. If pencil grip is not a concern for you, try browsing through alternative kid friendly styluses on Amazon.com.

Side-Note * Keep in mind that every child is different. Some respond to several strategies, others respond to a few, while others may not respond to any of these strategies. If your child is significantly struggling with spelling or acquiring other academic skills, despite consistent practice and guidance, talk to your child's school and/or doctor. They should be able to refer you to the appropriate professionals to determine what might be interfering with your child's progress and what additional strategies might help.

Remember to always stay calm when working with a child or student, even if you think they should be getting something that they are not getting. If you get frustrated with them, they may start to feel anxious, angry, inferior, stupid, etc. which will lead to a less productive learning session. Keep practice sessions short (5 to 10 minutes for younger children or children who get easily frustrated and 10 to 15 minutes for older children or children who can work for longer periods without frustration), unless the child is eager to keep going.

Pay Close Attention Here-

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Sadly, math is perceived as one of the most difficult subjects to master. Children are almost "expected" to struggle with it and more often than not live up to this very negative expectation.

Math is not really the "enemy" here and if the child's "teacher" takes the time to present this awkward subject in a fun and interesting way there is no limit to what the child can learn and accomplish.

Like anything in life, all that we need is for someone to show us how it is done, in a way that we can understand. Once this has been achieved there is no more difficulty and success is guaranteed.

Now, the best way to make math more enjoyable for your home schooled preschooler is to teach them without them knowing that they are learning.

1. Build a good foundation

The first step of math tuition is knowing numbers and what they mean.

Begin by teaching your child to count from 0 to 9. Soon your child will begin to recognize numbers and notice them everywhere; on your clock, on the TV, in a book, etc. By knowing 0 - 9 your child will soon be recognizing and counting numbers to 100 and beyond, as all numbers are made up of these basic ones.

2. Teach your child what it means

Once your child can count their fingers, you can then teach them what it means in different contexts. You cannot just assume that they will know that one finger is the same as one slice of toast.

Make a game of it and see how many different types of things your child can count. Remember, you will have to teach them and remind them constantly, but by turning the whole process into a game your child will be learning without knowing that they are learning.

3. Use every opportunity to teach your child math

Next you can begin by teaching your child basic addition and subtraction. Begin by teaching them that one finger plus another finger makes two fingers.

Once your child begins to understand the concept, begin by applying it to household chores, for example, "Darling, please put one slice of bread in the toaster for Daddy and one slice for you. How many slices of toast must you put in the toaster?"

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4. Use the language of math

Math has a specific language that uses terms like "plus", "minus" and "equals". Make sure that these are the terms that you use as this allows for a much smoother migration when teaching them advanced mathematics.

Remember to use whatever terms are relevant in your country or state.

5. Accelerated learning techniques

An accelerated learning technique is anything that helps your child to learn a subject faster, retain the information and allows your child to feel like they're not learning at all because it is so much fun.

There are few people who know about and use this incredible learning tool. I have used it very effectively to teach my 4-year-old son to count (and read the numbers) from 1 - 100 in less than 10 days. I have also used this technique to teach him addition and subtraction with incredible results.

6. Teach your child to play Chess

Recent scientific studies have shown that children who play Chess can have grades of up to 25% higher in math than their peers who do not play. Numerous studies have proven this effect and for this reason many countries and states have now adopted Chess as a mandatory part of their school math curriculum.

My husband plays Chess with my son regularly and he has so much fun that he often likes to play by himself too.

What better way to improve your child's mathematical ability then to teach them to play a game?

Teaching your home schooled preschooler math is a lot easier than you might imagine. We see numbers all around us and by following the simple steps above your child will learn to love math.

By establishing a love for math at an early age your child will never have to be confronted with the problems most children face in math class these days and math will be easy and fun forever more.

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Absolutely the best time to teach your child to read is right from birth. By reading from birth we don't mean literally reading from birth in the sense of reading words. What reading from birth means is preparing the way for making reading easy when the time is right for your baby to begin responding to the printed word and reading what the letters say. The crucial thing to know is that your baby's brain is most responsive and ready to learn language in the first three years of life. With this in mind don't waste a single moment in stimulating your baby's brain so that lots of strong connections are made in the first three vital years. So how do we prepare your baby to be ready to read easily? Here are ten steps to follow.

1. Talk to your baby from day one. Describe and explain in a warm loving voice. This attention will make your baby feel good and attune baby's ear to your voice and native tongue. Also it teaches sounds and words in the baby's native language.

2. Give your baby time to respond to you. The youngest baby can imitate facial expressions such as tongue sticking out and copy sounds. Pay attention and encourage your baby to 'talk' back. This is the very beginnings of conversation.

3. Read to your baby from day one. Make reading a daily habit which your baby will learn to love. It is a great time for closeness and bonding. Use exaggerated enthusiastic voices and big bright books to keep baby's attention.

4. Show your baby black and white images from birth. Babies can focus on these better than anything and it teaches focus and eye control needed for reading later.

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5. Sing to your baby. Buy a CD of rhymes and songs and play it to your baby. Your baby will soon learn them and be singing along before you know it.

6. Learn poems with lots of rhyme. The ability to rhyme words is essential later on when using phonics as a way of de-coding words.

7. Babies who have a good sense of rhythm have been found to be good readers too. So rock your baby to music and the rhythm in words to develop this sense.

8. Show your baby pictures and posters of the alphabet and any colorful objects such as animals, vehicles, food etc. Point out the letters of the alphabet and the names of the objects. This will help you baby to use their eyes, focusing on and familiarizing themselves with the printed word.

9. Encourage your baby to reach out for toys or any interesting object you place in their field of vision. Move a toy slowly from side to side and let your baby 'track' the object with his eyes. This teaches the tracking skills needed to follow a line of printed word later on when reading.

10. Always respond to your baby. Any sounds your baby makes, including crying should always be responded to. That way your baby learns the she is 'heard' and acknowledged. She learns that vocalising is a good and positive thing and that will encourage more. And, that is the beginning of speaking which is the most important of all human capabilities.

If you follow these ten steps your baby will find reading will come naturally and easily as all the foundations and pre reading skills will be learned.

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Learning the alphabet letters is an important part of early childhood education but it can be fun, too. Here are some fun suggestions to make alphabet fun for your child.

A Fun: Make paper airplanes and fly them around, or line up chairs in 2 rows and pretend it's the inside of an airplane. Make up your own tickets, provide flags to wave when the runway is clear. Pretend to be alligators in a swamp.

B Fun: Make bead or button necklaces. Play with balloons or beach balls. Paint butterflies: Fold white construction. paper in half - cut out a butterfly shape. drop small amounts of tempera on one wing - fold and press together.

C Fun: Make cotton ball art projects. Paint clown faces on you and child. Play with clay. Play with cars.

D Fun: Color or paint pictures of dinosaurs. Play with stuffed dogs or real dogs (if you have them).

E Fun: Decorate envelopes to mail to a friend or grandparent. Pretend you are elephants. Pull out an art easel and make art. Make up your own episode of "Elmo's World".

F fun: Go fishing (for real or pretend). Pretend to be a frog. Decorate fish. Make foot prints.

G Fun: Cut a green sponge in the shape of a G. Wet the sponge and place in a shallow pan. Add water as needed to keep the sponge wet, but not soggy. Let the child sprinkle on the grass seed and watch the grass sprout and grow. Make art with glue and glitter. Make gingerbread people out of paper or cookies.

H Fun: Make hats from construction paper and decorate them with stickers or cutouts of things beginning with the letter H. Play a hopping game (frogs, rabbits, whatever you like)

I Fun: Go on an insect hunt and record your finds by drawing pictures. Have them make an "I" collage that is all about them and their favorite things. Ice cookies or freeze juice to make special ice cubes. Make or play with musical instruments.

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J Fun: Make jewelry by stringing beads. Paint or finger paint with Jello. Play jumping games such as jumping races, jumping rope, jumping over things, jumping jacks. Pretend to be jet planes and zoom around.

K Fun: Make paper kites and decorate. Crown a "King" for the day. Make "kisses" on paper. Color or pain kangaroos.

L Fun: Make a lollipop tree with Styrofoam. Paste cotton on a lamb picture. Make a "love" collage of things they love.

M Fun: Make masks. Make a "Me" book. Make or play with magic wands. Make macaroni necklaces.

N Fun: Have some fun with names. Make necklaces. Make a "night" collage. Make up a bedtime story for the night.

O Fun: Trace a big O and a little O on a piece of paper then glue Fruit Loops inside the O's. Make an opposite book. Have an orange day (wear orange clothes) and find orange colored items around you. Make owl puppets or color owls.

P Fun: Make puzzles out of cards, postcards, photos or artwork. Make popcorn. Paint. Have a pajama party.

Q Fun: Make a Queen for the day. Paint with q-tips. Quack like a duck. Play quiet and loud.

R Fun: Let the child draw/color rabbits and add a cotton ball tail. Make rabbit ear head bands and give your child a cotton ball tail and pretend to be rabbits for a day. Paint with radishes. Make rainbows. Have a "Red" day.

S Fun: Sprinkle a painting with salt so it dries all sparkly. Make cloud pictures with white chalk or cotton on blue paper. Play Simon Says.

T Fun: Decorate T-shirts with fabric paints or do Tie-dye. Have a tea party. Build a tower with blocks. Play with trains, pretend to be trains, color pictures of trains, tell stories about trains.

U Fun: Make "U" shapes with pipe cleaners or play dough. Throw balls underhand. Go up stairs. Draw pictures or tell stories about uncles. Listen to the story of The Ugly Duckling. Draw, color or glue a unicorn picture

V Fun: Make Valentines. Find various velcro objects in your home. Make vests from the large size paper shopping bag or an old piece of cloth and decorate with glitter, ribbon, fabric scraps, vegetable stamping, etc. Talk about, color and/or eat different vegetables.

W Fun: Make a mural using wallpaper samples. Make a "W" using watermelon seeds. Using pipe cleaners and googly eyes, and lots of other imaginative doodads, make a pet/monster/whatever that has Whiskers using the "W" anyway they want.

X Fun: Max X-traordinary puppets using paper bags. Have a treasure hunt with a map where "x" marks the spot. Make or play xylophone music.

Y Fun: Have a "yellow" day. Make a "yellow" scrapbook using old magazines. Paint yellow flowers.

Z Fun: Use rick rack to make a "Z" mural. Play zany zoo animals. Walk in a zig zag.

Poor reading ability and literacy skills lead to reduced opportunities in life, and worse yet, "being illiterate is a guaranteed ticket to a dead end life with no skills and no future." For a step-by-step, easy to follow, and easy to understand lessons along with stories, rhymes, and colorful illustrations to make you and your child's learning to read process a fun, engaging, and rewarding experience - Click Here

When reading to your child, read slowly, and point to the words that you are reading to help the child make a connection between the word your are saying and the word you are reading. Always remember that reading should be a fun and enjoyable activity for your children, and it should never feel like a "chore" for them. Click here to help your child learn to read