Faster Spelling Practice
I have worked with students with dyslexia, autism, and ADHD. Inevitably spelling practice causes a lot of stress for all of them. Even at the lower grade levels. The traditional method for teaching spelling at school involves sending a list of words home to practice with. Usually the practice consists of writing the word repetitively or using the word in sentences. This process is relatively painless for some students. But - for students that are hyper-focused on HOW they are writing or whether each letter is PERFECTLY formed - it just does not work. I have watched students erase a single letter more than 3 times because the loop was not circular enough. That means they are looking at the image of the letter and not the word they are supposed to be studying. Also - that perfectionism means that we are spending ten times longer at the practice - and still not reaping the benefits.
We spent SO much time on spelling and were still failing. Something had to give. How could we shorten the time spent on practice and improve our retention? This is the method I found that works the best. Please know - that what I found is that this dramatically shortens the daily practice. We usually spend 10 minutes one night and ~ 5-10 minutes the rest of the week. This method will not help overcome dsylexia or audio processing disorder overnight. If your student has dsylexia or other learning challenges, when they write their words for the spelling test - please do not expect them to score perfectly. But for the students I have used this with, we saw a ~30 % improvement in grades. Meaning if scores were ~ 40%, you should see scores go to 65-75 % most of the time. We have scored higher quite a bit and usually the things missed are not related to the spelling of vowel sounds (eg a b is written as a d). So I view this as a success and a start. While I wish it worked perfectly, this should help shorten time spend on homework and improve confidence allowing for more progress in other areas as well.
I hope this helps you too. Let’s get started.
You will need:
Index cards - Paper will work but index cards are a bit sturdier and seem to hold up well.
A marker - I use a Sharpie because the ink does not run if anything spills and I like the thicker line.
Colored paperclips - You can also use binder clips or paperclips that are all one color if you want, but the ones that have multiple colors will help your child become more independent.
Spelling list - Each week we get a spelling list sent home. For copyright reasons, I am not using a list from school. I had ChatGPT create a spelling list for “first graders” using the “short a” and “long a” sounds focussed on the CVC and CVCe spellings. I asked it to generate ten words for each spelling and format the output as a table. I then put the words in a Google Doc and formatted it similar to how I have seen in the past. The list below is the AI-generated spelling list.
Here’s what we do to get ready:
Cut index cards in half or thirds.
Write the categories for the spelling words out. (For first and second graders this is usually by vowel. after that it may be by syllable emphasis or something else - but I’ll cover those later.)
Write the spelling of the vowels or categories out if needed. Here the long a sound is the CVCe or a_e so I write a with a long space and the e so that students can visualize this during practice. Later they will use the a and e separately but not until they have mastered the first part of the process.
Write the spelling sounds. Going down the list, look at each sound. For example in “man” there is a “m” at the beginning and “n” at the end. I make a pile of beginning and ending letters or sounds as I move through the list. There is no need to duplicate letters/sounds like the “m” at the beginning of man and mane or “k” in bake and lake.
Write or cut spelling words. If you have a printer, take a picture of the spelling list and print them to cut apart. You can cut apart the list that was sent home if you want, but if you do this - I HIGHLY recommend taking a picture of the spelling words first. You can also write the words out on index cards if you want.
Paperclip each group together. You should have a group of beginning sounds, vowels or categories, ending sounds, and whole words. I use color-coded paperclips to keep these organized. I usually opt for either rainbow order or stoplight colors so that my student can help with set-up and clean up. Eventually they will be able to study on their own if you start showing them how to organize materials early. My fifth grader is a pro!
Once you have your materials organized you can start studying. Here’s what we do:
On the first night we sort whole words.
I set up the vowels or categories and lay out the whole words. I then say a word from their list. I have the student repeat the word while they look for it. Once they find their word, they organize it under the category where it belongs. I know this sounds simple but for students with visual tracking issues or other learning challenges, this incorporates multiple learning styles while making the process easier on them at first. For example this method incorporates “audio learning” as they hear and say the word, “visual learning” as they look for the target word and the categories, and “kinesthetic learning” as they use their hands to move the words to the category where it belongs. In addition, this is MUCH shorter than writing each word out each time and can usually be done twice the first day in ~ 10 minutes so the repetition will help students retain the information longer.
On the second night we sort whole words and spell with index cards.
The sorting of whole words should be faster today. Sort these once. After you have these sorted, paperclip the words and move them out of the way. Lay out all of the beginning and ending sounds. As you say a word, students should pick the beginning sound, vowel, and ending sound and “spell” the word using the index cards. Confirm or coax to the correct spelling. There are tricks for how to identify patterns such as “s” vs “c” that I will discuss in a later post.
I try to keep the practice to a minimum in terms of time while still getting through most of the words. If you do not get through all of the words at the end of 10 minutes, consider letting them be done or come back to it later. The point here is to help them identify what the correct spelling is. Learning should be fun and rewarding so sticking to shorter times seems to work best for us.
On the third night we spell with index cards and try writing if there is time.
This is usually Wednesday. We go through the spelling words until we have spelled them all. If we have time - again the point is not to ruthlessly work on spelling but rather to help them see they know more than they think. Praise every success. It is okay to have mistakes - we are aiming for progress not perfection. Once you finish all the spelling, if there is time try to have them write a few words out. You do not need to finish. The goal here is to show that it does not take forever to get through the list. For example, once my child learned it took less than 1 minute to write “man” we had a MUCH easier time practicing spelling because she knew it would not be all night. The battle here was convincing her that “good enough” is “good enough” in terms of handwriting appearance. For a while we had a ‘no erasing rule.’ A story for a different day….
If you have an IEP that gives you the words the week BEFORE the spelling test repeat this day for an additional time.
On the fourth night practice spelling.
I try to make them get through all of the words BEFORE we talk about what is right and wrong. If you let them confirm each word - this takes so much longer. Trust me. Once they have written all the words sit down. If you note that one is wrong, pull out the index cards and have them spell with those or consider showing them what they missed. I tend to ignore mistakes that are not related to spelling with the week’s theme here. For example if the word “bake” is spelled as “dake” I would praise that she recognized the long a sound and remembered the silent e. I would point out that “a b should have a belly” but make it more of a lighthearted comment because the main purpose of this week was the focus on the vowel sounds and she got that right. If on the other hand we were missing the e, I would ask “oh this looks like a short a, what do we need to make the a say its name?” The idea is to help them to identify their own mistakes with questions when possible so their confidence builds which will positively affect their willingness to work….
I hope this helps you. Please let me know if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions. Thanks.
