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Showing posts with the label Spelling

How to Address Spelling Needs and Nurture Student Success

This week I am thrilled to share a case study of a fabulous teacher named Kim, from Cape Town in South Africa. Kim teaches a 3rd-grade class at a special needs school. The children range from 10-12 years old and most are bussed in daily from very disadvantaged areas all over the peninsula. Kim reported, "I was so thrilled to have stumbled across your website when I was drowning in a sea of unrecognizable words and paragraphs which were proudly presented to me by 8 out of my16 pupils." Kim knew they were capable, "as most of them could do math with the greatest of ease. So what was this?" How Could Kim Meet the Diverse Needs of Her Students? Kim signed up for my course: Spelling Instruction: Assessment and Focused Remedial Approach . She shared, "After studying your course, I realized that my student's brains were wired differently as far as language processing." Kim learned that her struggling students had different cognitive based weakness...

Superior Sight Word Mastery - A Breakthrough Proven Approach

For many struggling readers, sight words can seem like an impossible hurdle. Sight words are high-frequency words that are commonly seen when reading and used when writing. Students are encouraged to memorize these words by sight because most do not follow standard decoding rules and can not be "sounded out." What if a Student Struggles with Visual Memory? Over the years, I have tried a multitude of strategies to help my struggling students master sight words. Repetitive, multisensory lessons were a bore, games were a great improvement, but the best technique, to begin with, is creating a multisensory memory book. Instead of expecting students to use rote, visual memory, I like to teach my students hooking strategies and have them record their ideas with colorful markers in booklets or notebooks. It is a word diary of sorts that students can title with their own fun, creative name (e.g., magical memory strategies...). Each difficult...

Accommodating Students with Dyslexia - 12 Strategies for Success

Students with dyslexia or symptoms of dyslexia often struggle in school. It is not that they have limited abilities. On the contrary, many have IQs in the above average or genius range. As a result, instead of a dumbed down curriculum, these students need to be challenged and they need to receive accommodations, modifications and multisensory teaching techniques to unleash their learning potential. What makes it difficult to accommodate students with dyslexia is that each student has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Yes, two students with dyslexia don’t have the same pattern of cognitive processing deficits. In fact, there are a number of profiles that can lead to this diagnosis . In addition, there are a number of specific cognitive skills that can cause symptoms of dyslexia . Consequently, a successful remediation often requires a tailored, individualized approach. To tap into the quickest results, I have learned that one has to look at the specific cognitive difficul...

How to Teach Spelling: A Focused Remedial Approach

The brain is an extremely complex infrastructure of neural highways and byways, and each student has their own unique pattern of established pathways as well as cognitive based strengths and weaknesses. As a result, defining the best remedial techniques for spelling requires a mindful approach that evaluates the cognitive based causes of the spelling difficulty and then tailors a specific remedial approach. So How Can I Meet the Individual Needs of Each Student for Optimal Learning? There is a four step process to meeting the needs of your struggling spellers. 1) Rule out any vision or hearing problems by asking the family to pursue the needed testing. This is something that the child’s pediatrician can do. 2) Understand the core cognitive based weaknesses or difficulties that can cause spelling struggles. These include: Auditory processing Visual processing Memory Optilexia Sequential processing Passive learning Inattentive learning Stress 3) Know how to use...

Solving Spelling Problems with Digital Assistants and Voice Search Technology

Challenges with spelling disrupt the flow of thoughts, distract the writer and often result in poor word choice. Even though the author may have an excellent speaking vocabulary, their writing may suffer due to avoidance of words that are difficult to spell. What's more, many poor spellers skirt writing altogether because navigating spelling potholes can be time-consuming, and they fear that others will question their intellect. What Can Be Done to Help Poor Spellers? The technology age offers a number excellent tools for struggling spellers. Speech-to-Text Software: Speech-to-text is a type of software that transcribes the spoken word into typed words on a computer or handheld device. Writers no longer have to be distracted by spelling. As long as they enunciate their words clearly, all spelling will be accommodated via voice commands. Macs come with this option for free. To learn more CLICK HERE . In addition, there are many other speech-to-text options like Speec...

Improving Spelling for Students with Dyslexia

Not all students require the same remedial process even though they struggle with the same academic difficulties. Diverse combinations of cognitive processing weaknesses and deficits can unite to create the "perfect storm" that can cause challenges with reading, math, writing, spelling and more. In fact, no two students have the same cognitive profile, so to provide the optimal solution, one needs to consider both a student's strengths and weaknesses when designing a remedial approach. Occasionally, I like to present the questions emailed to me from parents and teachers. This week, I will share an email that I received from a parent in England as well as my response. Email received: Hi there: Love the website! Our son (age 8) is dyslexic and we have been told that he has a good visual memory (so he can easily spot a correctly spelled word and can even easily distinguish the correct meanings of similar sounding words e.g. sea and see). However, he has poor me...

Reading and Spelling Difficulties: 7 Main Causes

Here is a guest blog By David Morgan It is estimated that up to 10% of the general population struggles with dyslexia. Some studies call that a conservative estimate, with many more people struggling to read and spell. Many parents of dyslexic children or dyslexic adults find themselves in this situation, armed with a label but no real solution. Some feel it means that their child will never come to love reading. With the right help that is almost certainly not the case! Reading is a neurological process that the brain undertakes every time it is presented with text on the page. In order to target the primary cause of reading difficulty to find a solution, we have to look at different areas where that process can break down. There are seven main causes of reading and spelling difficulty that we have found to date. If you or someone you know is dyslexic, see if any of them match up with what you experience. 1. Optilexia - The main sign of Optilexia is gues...

Free Reading and Spelling Game for the TCH or CH, DGE or GE, CK or K Rules

The English language is packed with confusing rules that can make decoding and reading difficult tasks to master. What's more, many of the workbooks and activities are boring, and even if students complete the lesson, it doesn't mean that they can apply the content in a different learning situation. However, presenting the same content in a game-like format can make a lesson memorable and engaging even for struggling learners. Here is a fun game that my students love to play. It's great for literacy centers or reading centers, and it will also assist students with spelling. Materials: 1.5 -2.0 hole punch or round object that can be traced Craft paper Laminating sheets and laminator or Round wooden discs from the craft store and glue Playing cards: You can purchase blank playing cards on Amazon: see link at the bottom, or use laminated craft paper and then write the letters on the blank side with a permanent marker. How to make the game - using TCH and...

Language Arts Letter Cubes: Fun Literacy Center Freebie

I love to use foam blocks for all sorts of language arts fun. Most recently, I created a game that my students adore. Here are the steps so you can create it too. 1) You can purchase colorful foam cubes on Amazon for a very reasonable price. I included a link at the bottom of the post. 2) Select 12 cubes and with a permanent marker add the vowels and consonants as suggested in the table below. 3) Assign the point value on the bottom right hand corner. This will also help the players to orient the letters. For example, the letter M will look like the letter W when it is upside-down but as long as the number indicating the point value is in the bottom right hand corner, players can recognize that they need to rotate the letter to the proper orientation. Also, using capital letters helps with letter confusion. Click on image to learn more 4) Other items needed to play: a timer a set of 12 colored cubes with the letters and point values for each player. 5) How to ...

Learning Center Ideas: Free, Fun Phonics Activities

It’s wonderful when giggles of joy and excitement ring through the classroom as young students eagerly learn the skills needed to be proficient readers. Learning centers or reading centers are often the place where this can happen, but the trick to tickling your students attention often lies in multisensory, interactive activities or games. Here is a fun phonemic awareness activity I designed that you can make with old recycled pill or vitamin containers and other common household goods. It’s a wonderful learning center idea that will help students blend phonics sounds into words. Materials and setup: 1) Collect and clean old vitamin or pill containers. I like to use the clear, colorful ones. 2) Decide upon the playing pieces. I use a 1 inch hole puncher with thick cardstock, large lima beans, or wooden craft discs. 3) Place consonants, blends, digraphs, word endings or more onto both sides of the playing pieces. I like to colo...

Learning Specialist and Teacher Materials - Good Sensory Learning

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