Picture Learners Can't Learn to Spell by writing words 100 times
Students who have difficulty with spelling continue to be required to write words over and over again, even though this has never helped to improve spelling. This article describes a simple method that does work!
Ventura, CA (PRWEB) March 3, 2005 -- How many adults do you know who have
trouble spelling? Are you one of them?
Ask “poor spellers” if they had to
write their misspelled words over and over when they were in school—the majority
will answer yes. Ask them if this helped—the answer will be no!
Anyone
who has trouble spelling can tell you that writing words 50 times, 100 times,
even 1000 times does not help at all. So why do educators continue to insist
that students use this method to learn to spell?
It’s a case of doing the
same thing in the same way over and over again and expecting different results,
which has come to be known as the “definition of insanity”!
But if
writing the words doesn’t work, what else is there?
The answer lies in
learning styles. Find out what kind of learner you are working with so you can
recommend the appropriate strategy. In the case of spelling, it’s pretty easy to
identify the modality style of a student who is struggling. People who have a
natural ability to spell are Writing/Print Learners and they are born that way.
These people don’t even need a spelling program—they just spell. If a word
happens to come along that is a little more difficult, they can write it a few
times and know it forever. Writing works for these learners because they are
Writing Learners.
People who are not natural spellers are not
Writing/Print Learners. Therefore, a student who struggles with spelling can
immediately be identified as a non-Writing/Print Learner. This means he is a
Picture or Tactile Learner. People who are Picture or Tactile Learners do not
learn by writing!
They do learn by making picture clues, using textured
materials, or even “acting out” the word spellings. Some educators think that
these strategies take too long, but not as long as it takes to write a word 100
times and then end up never learning it at all!
Here is an example of
using picture clues with the word Friend. Friend has a letter in it that is
silent and very confusing. A poor speller might remember there is something odd
about this word and might even remember that there is an i and an e in it, but
might not remember the correct placement of these letters. Possible spellings
are Frind, Frend, Freind.
Now coach this student to write "fr" with a
colored marker. Next write a giant "I", in a different color and perhaps make it
into a character by putting hair at the top, drawing arms and legs, etc. —you
don’t have to be artistic—the sillier the better. Next write "end", in a third
color. Now the student can look at this picture and practice saying I am a
Friend to the end. This picture clue for friend can be put on a 5x8 card, pinned
to the wall, and visualized often during the day, with the student closing his
eyes and “seeing” the picture he drew.
Students who learn one or two
words at a time like this become quite successful at spelling. Sometimes, just
making the picture clue and rehearsing it once is enough to put the word into
long term memory.
By the way, the idea that the more students read the
better they can spell is a myth. Because of the complexity of our language,
reading and spelling are two very separate functions that use different parts of
the brain. There are many great readers who are terrible spellers!
And
one more thing: the kids have to be developmentally ready before any of this
will work. Most are not ready to learn to read and spell until they are 8 or 9
years old!
For additional information contact LearningSuccess™ Institute,
805-648-1739, www.learningsuccesscoach.com
Victoria Kindle Hodson
& Mariaemma Willis are the co-founders of the LearningSuccess™ Institute and
authors of the best-selling book, Discover Your Child’s Learning Style ($19.95,
ISBN 0-7615-2013-9—available in most bookstores and at their
website—www.learningsuccesscoach.com). The authors are available for book
signings, media appearances, and speaking engagements
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb214330.htm