how do you teach spelling?

[rymo]

Hi! I am a graduate student working on my Masters Project and I am trying to get different view points from around the country on how elementary teachers teach spelling. If you could spare a few moments to answer a very short survey, please e-mail me at gkrise@twcny.rr.com or post your e-mail here and I will send you the survey. Thanks so much to anyone that can help!

[Unregistered]

I have begun using sign language to help teach spelling sight words. I teach the students the sign. We then give the sign, say the word, and spell it orally. When I give tests, I give the sign when I say the word. This seems to help a lot of children add an extra connection. I even see them repeat the sign before they write the word down. I also use the sign when we are reading and a student forgets the sight word.

[Unregistered]

I have heard this works for lots of students.
I have also heard that Tuckers Signs was the best, funnest, and easiest to use. Do you know where I can get info. on Tuckers Signs?

[Unregistered]

you teach spelling by showing examples, darling.

[Unregistered]

Many words such as "to, too, and two" are spelled differently but have the same pronunciation.

In addition to text book approaches to spelling, many people use memory cues like the ones on this page.

http://www.gate.net/~labooks/xLPspelling.html

This is not just for homonyms but for other words which people often don't spell right like the difference in "dessert and desert" or how to remember the right spelling for the word, "together."

[Unregistered]

I am also a graduate student, and I've been teaching for 5 years. The way that I've seen Spelling be the most successful is through teaching my kids chants for the different words. I have the words up on the board everyday for a week. The first day we learn the chants. The second day we write them and chant them as we write. The 3rd day we use them in sentences while we chant them, and then the 4th day we play a game with them. After the game we have a word wall ceremony. I play music and we turn out the lights. We use a flashlight for our spotlight and then the students make a tunnel with their bodies and hands. Then students run through the tunnell with cards that have the spelling words on them. We then decide where on the wall the word should go alphabetically. We chant them one last time.
It has really been an enjoyable way of learning for the kids.
Andrea

[Unregistered]

Writing or printing the words a certain number of times can help if it is done correctly. I recommend 5 times for younger children and 10 times for older ones but it is very important that they write them correctly. If they write the word wrong 5 times, this is reinforcing the visual image of the incorrect spelling. Everytime the word is copied incorrectly, they should have to erase it and copy it correctly.

[Unregistered]

Teaching spelling (like anything else) should be related to the child's everyday life. Writing words 5 to 10 times each is just having them memorize the word for the test, but not truly know the word and how to use it to build their vocabulary.

1. Write in journals using the some of the spelling words
2. I have my students write their spelling words two times for homework, but then put their spelling words in a sentence.
3. Make sure the children really know the definition of their spelling words. This is a perfect opportunity to teach dictionary skills.

[Unregistered]

Teaching spelling (like anything else) should be related to the child's everyday life. Writing words 5 to 10 times each is just having them memorize the word for the test, but not truly know the word and how to use it to build their vocabulary.

1. Write in journals using the some of the spelling words
2. I have my students write their spelling words two times for homework, but then put their spelling words in a sentence.
3. Make sure the children really know the definition of their spelling words. This is a perfect opportunity to teach dictionary skills.


You're the smartest one of them all!

[Unregistered]

The very best way to teach spelling is to teach spelling rules. Students who learn the spelling rules tend to retain the knowledge of of the words that they have studied much better than students who have written it five times. The Saxon phonics program is a fine example of teaching spelling most effectively.

[Unregistered]

What rubbish ! the saxon phonics system is out of the ark!. Make the words you are teaching relavent to the student's lives and shout WRONG ! a lot.
The lillte darlings soon get the message.

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

the saxon phonics system is out of the ark!.

Sounds like another good reason to use the Saxon system.

[Unregistered]

Instead of a list of words each week, my kids (1st graders) and I create sentences together. A list of words is just a list of words, but 3 theme related sentences each week helps the kids with sentence structure, punctuation skills, numbering sentences, and creativity. Each week I decide the theme. We start off with kindergarten words and build from there. The kids help me create the sentences so they feel like they have some sayso in what words they learn. With this way of teaching spelling, the words are reused more than just for one week. For example - my first week's theme was centered around the word RUN. Our sentences were
1. I can run.
2. My cat can run.
3. My dog can run.
We had 6 words to learn that week.
Week 2 had 3 sentences that related to a CAT/RUN theme. CAT and RUN was a review from Week 1.
1. My cat and I can run.
2. We can play.
3. My cat can ____ . (They learned any word they wanted to choose to fill in the blank. Some examples are: lick, jump, sleep, go, climb, etc.)
Week 3 involved sentences with SUN (rhymes with run from week 2- short vowel u)
Each day of the week we do different things in class and for homework to practice for our test on Friday.
I keep track of all the new words in my 'spiral' dictionary so I can check on the progress. With this way of teaching spelling, the words are reused more than just for one week. This idea took several years to fully develop. I find this quite successful for my kids and it makes teaching spelling more enjoyable.

[Unregistered]

Rote learning is not the way
When poor spellers begin with the written word, they often try to memorize a spelling word as if it were an arbitrary letter string. Arbitrary strings are terribly hard to remember; think how long it takes to learn a phone number, and then imagine trying to learn 88,500 phone numbers--the estimated number of words in printed school English!

Encouraging invented spelling in draft writing to extend the use of vocabulary choices is a good idea for emergent spellers, but by their second year at school, children should have the skills to edit spelling themselves.

A random selection of words a student has spelt wrong previously will not do either. Yes, these words are relative to their needs, but can we expect students to memorise 10 different spelling rules each week? So how do we provide for "interesting, appropriate, and engaging word study"? We begin by changing our thinking about spelling: Learning to spell is not simply a process of rote memorization. Our brains are not cameras that "take pictures" of words, though in the past the methods we have used to try to teach spelling have often proceeded as if this were the case. We would tell kids to "write your spelling words five times each" (or ten, or fifteen, etc.), as if through successive repetitions the image of the correct spelling would burn itself upon the grey matter of the brain. Research shows that this is the least effective instructional strategy!

I very much like Spelling Instruction that Makes Sense. Spelling is a skill of constructing words, not memorizing them; a good speller has a sense of what is probable, possible, improbable and impossible in English and then predicts how the word is likely to be spelled. That is why learning to spell in word families is so effective. Getting to know words in groups helps kids to acquire a kind of intuition of what words should look like.

A bright young boy, called Kristian, had trouble with making sense of seemingly unpredictable spelling rules. He always wanted to spell “won, two, three...” and “nun” in stead of “none”, until he met the following group of words: “one, none, gone, done”. Can you see how word families would make sense to struggling spellers?

Children often comment on how ‘do-able’ spelling suddenly seems when they work on www.spellingfun.com. That is the whole aim of Spelling Instruction that makes sense – If we can make children feel hopeful of becoming better spellers, and then our job is half way done!

[Unregistered]

Along with the things mentioned above we write words five times on Monday, write sentences with the spelling words on Tuesday, put the words in abc order on Wednesday, find them in a word search on Thursday. Also, I give the class a "test" on the words on Monday. The children use red pens or red pencils and the children check their own papers, we go over one word at a time, I write them on the overhead or board as we discuss spelling rules. If a student misses a word , they circle the missed word and write it correctly beside it. At the end of the test they count up how many words they missed and write it on their paper. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we also do spelling tests with the students checking their own papers writing how many words they missed on their paper. They keep their "test" papers in a folder at their seat and they are proud of themselves for seeing immediately their improvements from beginning of the week until the end. Most everyone makes 100 on Friday!

[Unregistered]

Hi from Australia! We are currently focussing on our teaching of spelling as a staff, and looking at ways to improve what we do,
a rubric is a great way for kids to look at where they are and where they want to be !
Also we have listed the various strategies the kids could use, and lessons focus on teaching these strategies eg stretching; syllables; what does it rhyme with? listening for sounds; blends; spelling rules;: there are soooo many strategies a good speller uses.
I guess the bottom line for us, in short, is excellent modelling through modelled writing; shared writing; conferencing; lots of fun games; writing words all the time throughout lessons, on the white board, so that children are surrounded by the correct spelling; lots of encouragement and praise, and getting the kids to re-check work; also, pairing kids up - strong speller with weak speller; asking kids to verbalise why they spelt it that way - kids learn best off each other, and it is amazing how suddenly the light bulb will switch on, when kids hear " how I did it " from their peers.

[Unregistered]

I saw this information at www.rubypayne.com

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

Ruby Payne has some good stuff. I attended one of her seminars and learned a lot.

[Unregistered]

I teach spelling to two fourth graders and two first graders. Each child is at a different level of ability. Each child has her own list of words according to her ability. The spelling lists are compiled of words that follow a similar pattern. For example: short vowel sounds (one sound per list), silent e, double vowels, two vowels "walking," digraphs, etc. We follow the same basic routine with some variations.

Monday - I put the lists on the board and go over each list with the respective child. She must then write the word five times. The words must be written neatly and spelled correctly or the assignment has to be repeated. (When I go over the list with the girls I ask them what they think the word means. They are encouraged to define the word and/or use it in a sentence. I will also use the word in a sentence or elaborate on their definition. Any words they are unfamiliar with they must look up in the dictionay, write it with diacritical markings, give the part of speech and write the definition.) I also make sure they understand the rule being used.

Tuesday - We have a variety of activities that the girls may use on any given week. A few of these are: spelling the words with refrigerator magnets either on the refrigerator or on a cookie sheet, see/say/spell/say, see/say/close eyes-spell/say/open eyes and check, look at the word/close eyes and picture the word in your head, etc.

Wednesday is pretest day. I give the word and use it in a sentence. Any missed words are then corrected. They must write a sentence using the missed word.

Thursday - This is another practice day. Sometimes I have the girls quiz each other orally. They can play games using their words (they can benifit from all the lists so they are able to play together.) The creative options are endless.

We watch for our spelling words in the books we read, on road signs and in other places.

Friday is test day. Any missed words are carried over to the next week. That way the girls don't just pass over a word that they miss.

By the way, I hate creative spelling. My oldest two were taught in their first two years of school to use it and now they have a hard time correcting their practiced mistakes. I would much rather help my child look up a word or ( if that isn't possible and if she cannot look the word up on her own) tell her how to spell it when she asks.

Hope this helps!

Brandi

[Unregistered]

By the way, I hate creative spelling. My oldest two were taught in their first two years of school to use it and now they have a hard time correcting their practiced mistakes.

Ditto! My rule is, "Never let a child reinforce something that is incorrect."

[Unregistered]

I am not a "teacher", but I am a Mother of 4 (spelling bee winners, too!), and a former Microbiologist (obviously, good spelling is a "must" in that line of work!).
Learning to spell correctly is very much like learning to play the piano...
1. Learn the basics -the rules of the game -sounds, letter combinations, etc.
2. Begin with simple exercises - common, familiar words (high degree of success for the children)
3. Practice, Pratice, Practice - remember...Practice doesn't make perfect...PERFECT practice makes perfect! I learned this by working with my oldest son who has Down Symdrome - never let him practice something the wrong way, or it is reinforced wrong, and it will be extremely difficult to "unlearn"!
4. Learn the exceptions to the rules - this takes some time!
5. Make beautiful music....write lots of stories - by hand, not computer! (with a computer, you don't know whether you have a spelling problem or a typing problem - like me!)

MY recommendations...as a Mom:
Send practice work home:
Monday - COPY each word 5 times, don't "write" them - the child may try to rely on memory, and do it wrong 5 times!
Tuesday - organize the words in alphabetical order - still copying
Wednesday - use each word in a sentence - still copying
Thursday - word games, practice spelling bees, word puzzles (visual, auditory, and hands-on)
Friday - test, grade immediately, correct and rewrite any mispelled words.
Offer "Challenge" word lists or extra credit words for the children who are ready for a bit more.
Write the words in cursive, if handwriting is another skill in progress.
The English language is HARD - are you up to the challenge?
Make it fun - spelling IS fun! Make a game of it and enjoy!

Oh, and make them write out each new word 1000 times!

[Unregistered]

I am from China. Kids in my class hate the spelling time at all. 60 students in one classroom, no enough time for them to practice, no language learning enviroment after school. They found it is really a heavy burden for them to spell or remember those words in their textbook.

[ibchele]

I have begun using sign language to help teach spelling sight words. I teach the students the sign. We then give the sign, say the word, and spell it orally. When I give tests, I give the sign when I say the word. This seems to help a lot of children add an extra connection. I even see them repeat the sign before they write the word down. I also use the sign when we are reading and a student forgets the sight word.
Thank you for this great idea. I'm going to start trying it with my second graders. I think it will make spelling fun for them, as well as help some of the more visual learners.

[Jeff]

I agree.. Sentences are the way you get them to understand spelling -- always a part of spelling tests.

Jeff
www.educatorsbookbag.com

[Unregistered]

Teaching kids "creative" spelling is a recipe for disaster but right up the alley of all those PC teachers out there putting in their time to get their beloved tenure and ultimate pension. I'm glad when I went to school I was taught the proper way to spell. I cannot believe this is an accepted way to teach. Instead of teaching this way, maybe teachers should focus on why they all dress so horribly. Who said it is acceptable garb to wear jumpers? They are not students anymore, so they should quit dressing like grade schoolers.

You are not preparing children for the real world when you let them spell this way. Shame on all of you out there teaching this garbage! If these kids do not learn the proper way to spell, they will have a tough time getting a decent job. I guess McDonald's doesn't care how you spell, though.

I hope by the time these teachers retire, pensions will be a thing of the past. If they are teaching this nonsense, they certainly deserve to be fired.

[Unregistered]

SRA Spelling Mastery, especially done in conjunction with SRA Reading Mastery & training, will practically guaranty spelling success. It is scripted so many teachers are turned off. However, it is the children that come first, not teachers.

[Unregistered]

SRA Spelling Mastery, especially done in conjunction with SRA Reading Mastery & training, will practically guaranty spelling success.

Hmmm... so are you filing for a refund?

[JeffM]

More importantly, there has to be a push for the parents to participate in spelling. My 7 year old gets his spelling list each Monday and it has become a dinnertime routine to review the spelling words for the week. He makes high marks and even won his class spelling bee.

The parents are the key, not just the teachers. Now how do you drive that one home?

Jeff

[Unregistered]

You teach spelling most effectively by not only telling the child how to spell the word, but also telling them what it means. Making the word real to them so they can understand what they are writting and therefore they learn to spell and broaden their vocabulary.

[Unregistered]

Try:
http://www.spellinglab.com/
It is designed for 3rd graders, but my friend's daughter who is in the 2nd grade found it worked for her as well. And even as an adult I was able to use the concept to help with my spelling.

[Unregistered]

The parents are the key, not just the teachers.

We cannot rely on the parents helping. It is all on us.

[Unregistered]

I make word finds using my first grader's Spelling words. The kids love to work on them as a team building activity. It also allows me a little time to clear off my desk while they are working independently.

[Unregistered]

Make up different teams, by tables and have a weekly spelling bee.

[Unregistered]

Phoenitically is best!

[Unregistered]

I agree.

Wanda Sanseri's books offer a method of learning to read that begins with spelling. Using Romalda Spalding's phonograms taught in The Writing Road to Reading, Mrs. Sanseri has expanded and adapted the technique to create a program that is thorough and will last from the earliest years through the end of high school.

[Unregistered]

I have been teaching for 20 years. I have found no better program than Words Their Way. It has over 20 years of unviversity research behind it and it teaches children to spell the way they learn: by sorting! Spelling is developmental. I assess my students 3 times a year using a spelling inventory and the program provides several of these. I have 3 different sort groups in my classroom. My children also have sight words on the word wall that they are responsible to be able to read and spell. I have eliminated weekly spelling tests that do nothing but test short-term memory and provide a quick score for a grade book. I grade my children on how they implement their sorting words in their writing. For the first time they retain their spelling words beyond the Friday spelling test.
I'd look into it if I were you!
Denise

[Unregistered]

Spelling Practice Suggestions

All children do not learn in the same way. There are many different ways for children to practice their spelling words so that they are more easily memorized. For spelling practice, choose three of the following activities from the categories that most match your child’s learning style. Practice the words from the previous page. Circle the activities you chose.

**Remember, keep it interesting! Try new activities from different categories.
If your child is good at:

Math, reasoning, logic, problem solving, patterns:
-Write each word, count its letters and write the number of letters next to it.
-Categorize word cards, sort by number of letters, similar vowel pattern, beginning sound, etc.

Spatial activities such as: Puzzles, reading maps, charts and drawing:
-Write the sight word in large letters and decorate the paper with drawings that remind you of what the word means.
-Go on a word hunt and search for the spelling words in any book or magazines.
-Write the word on a piece of paper and trace the outline of the word shape and

Music, singing, and rhythms:
-Clap and chant in a rhythm the letters that form the word.
-Find the words in a child‘s song or song book.
-Sing the letters or make up a song.
- Make a rhythmic pattern with the letters. Example: Say the vowels and whisper the consonants. Clap when you say the consonants and snap when you say the vowels, etc.

Speaking, reading, and writing:
-Use the sight word flash cards
-Rainbow write the words.
-Write three or more words that rhyme with the word.
-Write a message to someone using your words.

Kinesthetic activities like: athletics, dancing, crafts, and using tools:
-Write the words in a salt or sand tray.
-Form words out of Playdough, beans, rice, yarn, pasta, etc.
-Paint your words using watercolors or fingerpaints.
-Trace words with finger on a textured surface, rug, back or sandpaper.

Interpersonal activities like: communicating and enjoying interaction with others:
-Games found in the sight word reading practice packet are also excellent for practicing spelling words.

Intrapersonal activities like: working alone, and studying quietly:
-Write a sentence using the spelling words and illustrate it in their personal journal..
- Give quiet time to study the words independently.

[Unregistered]

Hi
I have been teaching for the age group 5.I have found out that by writing the word three to five times helps them to remember very well In addition to that a child must say what they are writing i mean if a child is writing the word 'red' when they are writing 'r' they must say 'r' ,when they are writing 'e' they must say 'e' and 'd' when they are writing'd'..A child has a tendency of spelling the word at one time.They must say whay they write.This makes the word easy for them.
thankyou

[Unregistered]

I teach spelling using spelling sailboats. For Example: spelling


s
sp
spe
spel
spell
spelli
spellin
spelling

Have the children draw a sailboat around each word. Its fun and they love it!

[Unregistered]

Teaching kids "creative" spelling is a recipe for disaster but right up the alley of all those PC teachers out there putting in their time to get their beloved tenure and ultimate pension. I'm glad when I went to school I was taught the proper way to spell. I cannot believe this is an accepted way to teach. Instead of teaching this way, maybe teachers should focus on why they all dress so horribly. Who said it is acceptable garb to wear jumpers? They are not students anymore, so they should quit dressing like grade schoolers.

You are not preparing children for the real world when you let them spell this way. Shame on all of you out there teaching this garbage! If these kids do not learn the proper way to spell, they will have a tough time getting a decent job. I guess McDonald's doesn't care how you spell, though.

I hope by the time these teachers retire, pensions will be a thing of the past. If they are teaching this nonsense, they certainly deserve to be fired.


so are any of you teachers? Do any of you know what it's like in the classroom? And why can't teachers dress the way they want to as long as it's not trashy? Come on, there;s other issues to discuss.

[bbondo]

This text is pretty much a copy of a post I made on a SightWords thread....

At our school all K-2 teachers use a website called sightwordswithsamson.com. We have found 3 major benefits to this approach:

1. Tracking for all work done by every student is automatically compiled and easily readable. This helps identify slow learners and troublesome words that you can focus on in class.

2. Since it is a website, students can also use it at home which involves parents in the learning process.

3. Self directed software allows advanced learners to move at their own pace.

There is a free trial available to check out the product. If you do try this in your classroom try to post how it worked for you. I am interested to see how your results compare to those at our school. Good luck, Bill - Montpelier, Vermont

[Unregistered]

The site with memory cues for spelling is at a new URL.

http://www.learningbooks.net

Actually I have seen it on several sites used with permission from the site owner who created it. If you want to add some ideas of your own, she takes suggestions.

[Unregistered]

I do an activity each day with our spelling words. Here are a few examples:
Rainbow write the spelling words.
In centers they use stamps to write their spelling words.
We write spelling words in shaving cream.
The children spell the words with letter tiles.
We spell the words aloud during transition times.
I try to make chants for specific words like fri-clap-clap-clap-end-clap-clap-clap
They do write their words three times each.
I put the harder words on our door and as we leave our room they have to spell the word out loud to my helper.
During the winter we have a snowball toss. Scrunch up a piece of paper and in teams of two they toss the snowball each time saying a letter of the word I call out. During spring and summer we write the words with chalk outside and paint the words with water.

[Unregistered]

I have just seen your question re: teaching spellings to children, which you had posted a long time ago. Here's are some methods I use in class so as to cater to the multiple intelligence levels of children.
First, write out the word on the board in a bright colour. If it is a long word, break up the syllables into different colours. e.g. in/tro/duc/tion
Have the class look at each syllable and chant out the spelling at least 5 times.
Next, ask the children to stare at the word for some time and then close their eyes and 'see' the word in their minds. (here's where the colour part really helps)
With eyes closed, ask them to chant the spelling again. By now most of the children will have got it.
Finally, ask them to write it down 5 times.
Try and use the word as often as possible in the next few days. Put it up on the classroom wall, preferably NOT in the direct line of sight(so that they don't depend on it totally)
If the word can't be broken up into syllables, try making a joke out of the pronunciation e.g. muscle can be mispronounced as mus cle (as in uncle)
I hope this helps.
Niloufer

[labooks]

Many words such as "to, too, and two" are spelled differently but have the same pronunciation.

In addition to text book approaches to spelling, many people use memory cues like the ones on this page.

This is not just for homonyms but for other words which people often don't spell right like the difference in "dessert and desert" or how to remember the right spelling for the word, "together."

A link was given which needs to be updated. I deleted that from the quote. This is the new link for the same page.

http://www.learningbooks.net/xLPspelling.html Spelling with Memory Cues

You can add your own favorite memory cues. For example, I thought of a cue for the correct spelling of the color, gray. It is correctly spelled with an "a" in the US and with an "e" in many other countries. "Color" is correctly spelled as "colour" in many places. There is a memory cue for that also. There's help with knowing when to use "there's" and "there're" and for the confusion between "their, there're, and there."

Wow! Spelling in English is much harder than in languages such as Spanish. English is a combination of strong influences from many languages. Some are phonetic and some aren't.

[bbondo]

If there is anyone out there like me who goes back to follow up on threads they previously posted on / looked at, I would like to know if anyone tried the website I posted sightwordswithsamson.com. While this is a pay site they have a free trial and they recently added a section with "lesson plans" (not really full lesson plans but detailed step-by-step instructions for sight words activities). I have had great success with this website as a supplement to my reading program and was wondering if anyone else had given it a try.

Hope to hear from you on this post,
Bill - Montpelier, Vermont

[Dondons]

Hi, was just reading about your spelling question. I brainstormed a terrific document years ago, and use if for all sorts of activities to do with words, sight words and spelling.

It is just a really handy resource particularly for early childhood. It lists 101 games and activities you can do with children to help them with word recognition. This may be helpful for you.

The full version is actually available as part of our website membership, but you can download the Top 30 for free and try them out here...

A lot of members have actually used the document to give to parents as a resource of activities for learning words at home...

http://www.K-3TeacherResources.com/word_cards.html

It is worth a look.

Hope that helps abit.

Cheers

[Unregistered]

I teach in a multigrade classroom and I ask my students to call the words out loud first. Then they use their fingers to write the words on top of their desk. After which they will place their words in ABC order, then write words three times. For homework they will fine the meaning of the 1st seven words then use these words in sentences.Next day they fine the remaining seven words and use them in sentences. Each Friday students have spelling word test with all the words. They also choose seven or eight words to use and make sentences. This procedure occur each week.

[Unregistered]

Use Children's Playground Chants found on the Educational CyberPlayground.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com

Look at NCFR the National Children's Folksong Repository
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/NCFR/

Submit your chant and or folksong - Read the Research done.



I am also a graduate student, and I've been teaching for 5 years. The way that I've seen Spelling be the most successful is through teaching my kids chants for the different words. I have the words up on the board everyday for a week. The first day we learn the chants. The second day we write them and chant them as we write. The 3rd day we use them in sentences while we chant them, and then the 4th day we play a game with them. After the game we have a word wall ceremony. I play music and we turn out the lights. We use a flashlight for our spotlight and then the students make a tunnel with their bodies and hands. Then students run through the tunnell with cards that have the spelling words on them. We then decide where on the wall the word should go alphabetically. We chant them one last time.
It has really been an enjoyable way of learning for the kids.
Andrea

[Unregistered]

This has been a hot topic between myself and my daughters school the last two years. They want to give her a spelling test on Friday's but never give her a list to study! They say you simply learn to spell by following the "spelling rules", I say BS! I asked the teacher, the principal and my ex wife in our meeting if they could spell? :"Yes." I asked how did you learn? "I wrote my words 3 times each day in preparation for the test on Friday's." And I said, if it worked for you and it worked for me why are we changing it? The answer I got was that it works better. I said, No it obviously doesn't because were here meeting because my daughter can't spell the words on her Friday test! This has been the jest of multiple meetings. I have given up on the school and have searched the internet for words that 1st, 2nd & 3rd graders should know how to spell and am implementing my on spelling lessons.

[Unregistered]

I teach second grade and I play games with the children..

such as hang man using spelling words

musical chairs.. everyone must spell a word.. anyone misses their word is out.. the one person who didn't get a chair has a chance to stay in the game if someone else misses a word.. I use this with spelling words from previous weeks too.. they love it

I let them take sidewalk chalk outside and write the spelling words on the concrete.. they each write a list of the words inside and then take the words outside to write

they also write the words five times each for homework

and write the words in a sentence for homework

[Unregistered]

If you have ever really used Saxon, it is researched based and very effective in teaching the rules in Phonics and Spelling. Not saying every student learns the same, but it is an excellent tool.

[fotini]

Please look into this program if you have any questions or concerns about teaching English spelling. It works like an absolute charm. The children grasp terminology and concepts readily and it vastly improves their spelling age! Having had a speech and language pathology background, and therefore being aware of the entire range of international phonemes, I was amazed and thrilled to bits that someone has taken the time to develop this system. My own children are excellent spellers using THRASS. (5 and 7 years old) Happy teaching!!

[KMS101]

Teaching spelling is hard. If your in an elementary all your kids need to know there vowls and there verbs, nouns, etc. If they do not know that you are not ready to continue with the process of spelling. Some ways for teaching spelling are spelling them out like for example "refrigerator". Tell your students that when seeing the word SOUND IT OUT! Like this "re-frig-er-a-tor". That is a totally great and easy way to memorize words and to spell them correctly also!

[Unregistered]

I teach 5K and I try to do lots of things to help with spelling. Our class plays the game "Sparkle,Sparkle,Zap" (let me know if you do not know this one). They REALLY like that. We also use alphabet stampers and stamp out the words for morning work. Sometimes we cut out letters for the words from magazines. We also spell the word out loud clapping our hands for consonants and slapping the table for vowels (point out patterns). We also do team games like tic-tac-toe and baseball on the whiteboard. Teammates have to be able to spell the word correctly to do a mark on tic-tac-toe, etc. We also do "rainbow writing" where they trace over the word with 3 different colors (this helps with visual learners). You can also play BINGO with spelling words in the bingo cards. Hope this info helps. We really try to have fun with them in my class!

[infomercialscams]

Hello.....

Do focus on the 44 sounds throughout the year....
Don't just focus on the long and short vowels and beginning and ending consonants...

When you think about ape and apple, long and short come to mind. However, what about the a sound in star and in jaw? Is it long or short? If you're teaching about some of the spelling patterns, be aware of the 44 different sounds.........

[Unregistered]

Britemusic.com/discount/ has a great pre-k phonetic lesson set. It is completely set to music; comes with reproducible coloring sheets and write on wipe off sheets to address tactile learning. The kids see, hear, say, and touch the lessons. Enter code 2070502 for 10 percent off.

For K-adult, I recommend "Johnny Can Spell" by Alice Nine. She took the "Writing Road to Reading" book written in the 50s and created a complete program that incorporates spelling, reading, writing, and grammar. There are complete lesson plans with scope and sequence, games, and resource ideas. Many schools have used this program with much improvement in test scores. I think it is johnnycanspell.com but you may have to google it or Alice Nine. She also will come to your school and train your teachers. There is also a free part of her website where kids can practice the phonograms.

[Unregistered]

Our school has used the SITTON SPELLING series. Our students' writing skills have improved from using this series.

[rando]

Tips you can use to start improving a child's spelling right now:

Tip #1 Supplement learning with something interesting and interactive

Writing out spelling words over and over, or completing long spelling tests can be helpful - if your child is motivated to do it. However, most kids learn much faster when they are actively engaged in what they are learning.

Tip #2 Keep track of which words your child has mastered, and focus on the problem areas.

We estimate that the time required to perfect spelling can be cut by 90% using this simple method. You should have at least two lists. The first should should contain all the words your child has mastered. The second should contain their problem words that need to be studied regularly until they can be moved to the "mastered" list.

Tip #3 Try using modern spelling software to accelerate learning

OR you can try checking this site out for more information and spelling software download!

http://www.ultimatespelling.com/

[Unregistered]

I know how you teach spelling.

All you have to do is say the word, and its helpful if you write it down.

Once you have been through all the words, ask the children to swap their paper/book with the child around or next to them, so they dont cheat.

Say each word again, but this time, spell it out to them, so the child can tick or cross the word.

Once you have been through them all, the children who have got them all right, (this is optional), gets a housepoint, award point, merit, team point etc.

Regards
Chloe Davis

[shubh]

One of the important components of teaching spelling is discussion of spelling patterns. Transitioning to proper spelling is another critical point in the process of teaching spelling. The most important traits for teaching spelling are patience and compassion. It is important to keep away or take away any stigma associated with the problem.

[annieanne]

Hi,
I've got a young class and am always searching for new ways to teach spelling. I use kid friendly sites such as www.themouseclub.co.uk and use the stories to teach. Children love to read along, I often find if there is purpose then kids are more likey to try. There is also a blog on the site aimed at children which is updated a couple of times a week, often with corrasponding activities to it.
Hope this helps!