Picture
Learners Can't Learn to Spell
by
writing words 100 times!
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.
LearningSuccess™ Institute
1590 E. Main St. • Ventura CA 93001 • 805-648-1739 |
