As a tutor, many
of my students find spelling difficult; their knowledge of phonics is often not
strong. Some tell me that they try to
learn their homework spellings but when it comes to the spelling test they are
not able to remember them; they find spellings frustrating and sadly feel that
their difficulty in remembering how to spell means that they are failing.
I have lots of
strategies to support them. The
strategies that I am sharing with you are practical and kinaesthetic, moving
away from the more traditional way of copying out spellings. The resources that I use are all from the
bargain shops and can be easily assembled, wherever possible I get my students
involved in making the resources too.
The letter b and d confusion.
Discuss with the
student how the lower case b fits into the upper case b. They can trace over the letters with a
highlighter or create their own. This
can then be placed on a desk, in a book, or
in a place where the student an refer to it easily.
Spoons
This activity
encourages the student to think about the onset of the word and also the digraph. It can easily be adapted to the individual
student.
Shaving
foam and sand
Practising
their spellings in shaving foam and sand is one of my students’ favourite
activities; especially if they can go outside.
You might be able to see that on the tray that i use, one of my students
had the brilliant idea if using the sand and tray to practise telling the time.
Pipe
cleaners
Using pipe cleaners to spell words is also a good exercise for
building hand and finger strength.
Beads,
stamps and stickers
Look out for letters on beads, stamps and alphabet stickers. They are a fun way to practise
spellings. I found that it is easier to buy beads, stamps
and stickers that have the upper case letters but these can confuse some
individuals. Thread beads onto cord or
pipe cleaners to spell words is another good exercise for developing hand and
finger muscles.
Chalk
Most of my students enjoy being outside and it is not unusual
for my patio to be covered in chalky spellings.
I do have a blackboard on an easel which they like to use too.
These strategies are kineasthetic; the more I support students
the more I realise how important it is that students experience their learning in
many ways. Most of all, it reinforces my
belief that learning should be fun.
