Strategies for Teaching Spelling

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Table of Contents

Strategy-1: Word games and riddles
Strategy-2: Develop Phonemic Awareness
Strategy-3: Explore sounds
Strategy-4: Mnemonics and brain Tricks
Strategy-5: Discover spelling patterns and make words
Strategy-6: Online Spelling Programs and Peer Teaching
Reference

It is crystal clear that improvement in spelling can be attained when children are taught more about how they learn different words and to find the way to check the spelling of the words they have endeavored. Correct spelling is essential for English language learning. It is very important to learn the exact pronunciation of words in English. The process of language learning includes systematic development of four skills LSRW (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing). Poor and monotonous teaching methods make obstructions for students.

Present language classrooms practice various strategies and techniques for teaching spelling. With the help of a blackboard or a monitor, the teacher can produce the word and slowly pronounce it and explain it syllable by syllable. Ask the students to find similar words and encourage them to write. Making personal spelling dictionary is an important step in teaching spelling in classrooms. Personal spelling dictionaries are brief lists of difficult words which include words that will be used in different writing tasks. One of the major aims is to have students make a collection of spelling strategies which they can utilize to remember the exact spelling of a word.

Different strategies have been invented to teach spelling effectively and one of them being the methods implemented by Ken Marland. According to him, by adopting some easiest methods one can easily teach students spelling. He makes it clear in his book, High frequency words: strategies that build skills in spelling, vocabulary and word play here the author says Using Metacognition, phonic skills, visualization, configuration, Visual Cues, Foundation words, and so on, are the easiest strategies. (Marland, 2002, p.18).

Strategy-1: Word games and riddles

Word games and riddles require effective attention from the part of students. Here, teacher can promote the students’ listening of sounds. Give initial letter of words and ask the students to find the word. The book entitled teaching the educable mentally retarded By Denise M. Sedlak is a helpful material for a reader to understand the process of teaching spelling. The author remarks; “In teaching of spelling students will not incidentally learn the words but must be taught directly and given repeated opportunities to achieve mastery and over learning.” (Sedlak, 1985, p.222). Give misspelled words to the students and with the help of a placard or picture board ask them to make different words. In the language classroom, teacher can encourage the students to make associations of words with parallel ways. For example, Introduce the word ‘father’ to the students and it helps the students to make similar words like ‘mother’, ‘brother’, ‘other’ and ‘gather’. This method is also useful for parents to teach spelling to their students at home.

Strategy-2: Develop Phonemic Awareness

This is a highly useful strategy for a language classroom for teaching spelling. Here the teacher involves student’s learning procedure by shared reading of poems, songs, chants and books with recurring renounces and rhyme. Then the teacher can ask the students to listen and identify rhyming words and mark them frequently. The online article named Spelling Strategies: Make Smart Use of Sounds and Spelling Patterns by Diana Snowball is helpful for a reader to understand more about various strategies for teaching spelling. The author remarks;” So it is definitely worthwhile to help children hear the sounds in words by developing phonemic awareness, and then exploring sound/symbol relationships and spelling patterns — especially if you continuously encourage kids to think about how these strategies will help them as readers and writers.” (Snowball, 2009, para.1).

Chunking is another significant strategy for teaching spelling in both elementary and secondary classrooms. When practicing this strategy in class rooms, the teacher asks the students to select a word from books, novels, stories and newspapers. Then the teacher checks student’s learning process. If the student feels any complexity to teach a particular word the teacher cuts the word in to chunks for smooth learning. For instance, the word computer can be broken as:

‘Computer’- /com/-/pu/-/ter/

Through weekly/monthly spelling tests, a teacher can motivate the students to follow right spelling patterns. Daily reading and writing activities provide opportunities to find the spelling of unfamiliar words. Teacher’s presence promotes process like proof reading, editing, and evaluation. Interactive writing practices require the formation of effective language class rooms. Here, the teacher can correct the spelling mistakes through a single correction. Interactive writing also provides valuable chances to the students to understand various techniques, resources, to correct words. Here, the teacher can use study materials, such as word walls, picture dictionaries, blackboards, and classmates.

Strategy-3: Explore sounds

School students, especially in lower class, often concentrate the sounds in words. So, in this session the teacher or parent help the students to find how various sounds can be written. Give them a chart and ask students to list words with a particular sound. For example, examine the sound /t/ in table, stable, ticket, continuous, teacher, statistics and strong. Help the students to group the words based on the different ways the sound is characterized. Then, motivate them to notice how the same sound represented in several ways depending on the word. Regular practicing of this method will help the students to create an easy learning atmosphere in language classroom.

Strategy-4: Mnemonics and brain Tricks

This is also a useful strategy for teaching spelling in classroom which requires enough cognitive skills. It is a brain trick that will help the students to remember difficult words. The online article entitled Mnemonics – Brain Tricks gives numerous examples for this method. For example:

PIEce of PIE
There is a LIE in believe
Where ever there’s a Q there is U too.
BECAUSE – Bunnies Eat Carrots And Uncle Sam’s Eggs.” (Mnemonics- brain tricks, n.d.)

Strategy-5: Discover spelling patterns and make words

With the help of a language dictionary a teacher/parent can improve the skill of teaching spelling among the students. Introduce some common spelling patterns to the students and give guidelines to understand particular spelling pattern such as /ea/ in cheat, treat, instead, leap and dead. In the second stage, teacher gives directions to make another word by adding suffixes or prefixes. For example, select the word long and add /er/ at the root word and will get the new word longer. Then add the sound /est/ at the end of long and will get the new word longest. Another example is great – greater, greatly, greatest, and greater. Thea R. Morries states; “This spelling program increases student’s awareness and understanding about base words, prefixes and suffixes through word hunts, spelling bank, and individual, small and large group activities.” (Morris, 2000, p.45). Support references are also considered as another significant strategy for teaching spelling in secondary level language class rooms. A teacher can use the help of a dictionary, spelling checking activities, and spelling banks are the useful materials and methods for a teacher to give detailed references.

Strategy-6: Online Spelling Programs and Peer Teaching

Implementation of online spelling programs in classrooms gives numerous opportunities for teachers to make systematic and efficient learning experience. Students are often fed up with traditional classroom activities such as paper activity and dictation. Various spelling games and techniques give an innovative learning experience to the students. Through the process of peer teaching, a teacher can show the flash cards or visual aids to the students and ask them to write names and other features of the given picture. Then give sufficient feed backs and correct the misspelled words.

To conclude, one can say that the study of spelling has a prominent role in English language learning and it exerts a decisive role in molding the educational life of a student. There should be a systematic training for both teachers and students to have a clear awareness in getting a mastery over spelling and in language. The implementation of different strategies with the help of different study aids will enable students have the desired effect. The strategies mentioned above have been proved effective in reducing the difficulties in learning spelling. Word games and riddles provide repeated opportunities for the students to make their studies more enjoyable and fruitful. Letting the student enjoy music, songs, chants and be familiar with different books will also help them explore the vast realms of knowledge through a systematic way. Such a study can inculcate in them the phonemic awareness. Observation will be useful for them to explore sounds which assume an elite role in spelling teaching. To develop cognitive skills, mnemonics and brain skills also have been proved effectual in remembering different words. Finally, the usage of different language dictionaries helps the students very much and the usage of online spelling programs and peer teaching also do the same. Thus, it makes clear that different strategies should be implemented for teaching spelling.

Reference

Marland, J. (2002). High frequency words: strategies that build skills in spelling, vocabulary and world play. Pembroke Publishers Limited.

Mnemonics- brain tricks: Having trouble remembering how o spell words. (n.d.). Web.

Morris, T R. (2000). Spelling rules!: a complete spelling program for grades 1-3: Build a word. Portage & Main Press. 45.

Sedlak, D M. (1985). Teaching the educable mentally retarded: Summary. Suny Press. 222.

Snowball, D. (2009). Language arts: Spelling strategies: make smart use of sounds and spelling patters. Scholastic. Web.

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