Teaching spelling to young children can be tricky, especially if they’re already struggling with basic literacy. You can get them to memorise words by repeating the letters over and over again, or even writing them out several times. However, this is a tedious and boring process. It does not necessarily impart to them an understanding of morphemes and spelling rules. Furthermore, even if your child does pass his/her spelling test, it does not mean they have long-term retention of the words.
Instead, if you want to make spelling fun and effective, try the strategies below.
Related Article: How to Teach Students With Dyslexia
Use mnemonics
Acronyms
Mnemonic (pronounced ni-MON-ic) devices are strategies used to help store and retrieve information by drawing associations with other ideas. Here is an example:
The above is a simple example of a mnemonic device that converts the word “because” into an acronym. The phrase “big elephant can always understand small elephant” is not only silly and fun, but it is also memorable for the child because it carries semantic meaning. Compare this to just memorising the letters “b-e-c-a-u-s-e”, which lacks meaningful associations and is just booorrring!
Chunking and storytelling
Besides acronyms, another form of mnemonics that works well with struggling learners is chunking and storytelling. I like to break up a complex word and make a story out of its parts. For instance, when teaching students to memorise the word “business”, this is what I tell them:
One day, I was on my way to conduct some business. While in the bus, I was looking at the driver. Her name was Ness.
By using storytelling and chunking, your child associates parts of a word with mental imagery. Because of the association, he/she taps on certain pathways in the brain that are more organically able to store and retrieve this information. Thus, it helps with both short-term and long-term memory retention (Dresler, Shirer, et al, 2017).
So, the next time you notice your child or student constantly forgetting how to spell a word, or even transposing its letter sequence (e.g., spelling “because” as “becuase”), give mnemonics a shot. See if it helps them to self-correct their mistakes.
To read up more about mnemonics, check out PsychCentral’s article here.
Teach your child basic phonics
Ok this isn’t exactly fun but it is effective. If you have knowledge of basic phonics, consider getting your child to spell using the phonemes (sounds) of a word, following the steps below:
- Have them put their hands out, balled up in a fist.
- Say the word that you would like them to spell and have them repeat it.
- Guide them in breaking up the word into its respective sounds, using each finger of their fist to represent a sound by extending it outwards.
Note that unless you have extensive knowledge of spelling rules and syllable types, it is best to use this only for simple “cvc”, “ccvc” and “cvcc” words.
Use rhymes to complement phonics
Continuing from the above, teaching rhymes to your kids is a fun and effective way to jumpstart their phonemic awareness. This is great especially for kids with dyslexia, who respond well (in my experience) when trained to recognise onsets and rimes.
I consider using rhymes to be a shortcut, sort of like a hack to learning spelling quickly. This is because when they get used to rhyming words, they also become more aware of how syllables and spelling patterns work. After exposure to words with similar rimes like “cane” and “mane”, it becomes easier to teach them how to spell “lane”, then “plane”, and from there move on to associated words like “aeroplane”.
See if you can find some nice illustrated rhyming books from the library. Those are always good with younger children!
Form words with clay
As part of a leisurely or side activity, you can get your child to form words with different colours of plasticine or clay. Let them get creative, decorate it, even create a 3D model of what the word represents. Not only does this add a strong kinesthetic and tactile element to the learning process, but it also provides visual stimuli for the child.
In fact, the Davis Dyslexia approach uses a unique clay modelling technique to help its learners spell a wide range of words and memorise their respective meanings. While I can’t say I fully understand how the Davis Dyslexia approach works, using clay to model words is a fun activity and will certainly benefit more hands-on learners.
Get your child to write on a sand tray
One way to make spelling words fun is to have your child practise writing on a sand tray. Not only is this more kinesthetic and tactile than just using a pencil, but your child does not have to put so much focus on controlling the writing instrument. Plus, you can decorate the sand with fancy bits like fake jewellery and stones.
You can also get creative with the way your child writes on the sand tray. One minigame that I’ve come up with involves getting the younger kids to “write” with a marble, which I call the “Orb-Mobile”. The kids then roll their marbles… I mean Orb-Mobiles to trace a given word. It may sound lame, but when you turn the activity into a competition by asking “Who is best at controlling their Orb-Mobiles?” (which translates to “who can write the neatest with a marble?”), you’ll see a whole new level of engagement and focus.
Create words with LEGO bricks or even Minecraft blocks
Similar to the idea of using clay modelling to form words, you can make spelling fun by getting your child to form words with LEGO blocks or even in block-based games like Minecraft (Creative mode). While the downside is that it will take a while for a word to be spelled, the upside is that it is super cool and opens new doors to your child’s understanding of how letters and words can be formed, even with cubes and cuboids.
Trace words with fun stationery
I know I mentioned above that practice-writing sight words over and over again can be tedious and boring.
However, things might be different if your child has fun stationery! For example, glitter gel pens are perfect for kids who like pretty visuals, as are scratch art pads.
Seriously, these scratch art pads are a whole new level of mesmerising.
Check out your local bookstores, novelty stores, and even art supply stores. I highly recommend Smiggle and Art Friend if you’re in Singapore. Such places offer a lot of unique, appealing stationery that can make writing a blast rather than a chore.
Play word games
There are a number of word educational games available that specifically target spelling as a skill. Learning Resources is one of my favourite companies that designs such games. Thinkfun is another reputable company with a solid range of games.
For teaching spelling, I strongly recommend these titles:
- Snap It Up
- AlphaBlasters
- Sight Word Swat (more to train reading than spelling, but it’s fun nonetheless)
- Word Pop
- Zingo Word Builder
- Word A Round (more suitable for older kids)
- Bananagrams
- Scrabble Junior
Concluding thoughts: learning spelling can be fun too
Learning spelling is only a chore if you let it be. There are so many ways that you can make it fun, yet still effective. Consider some of the above strategies, incorporate them into your child or student’s routine, and see if it gets them more motivated to practise spelling rather than dread it.
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