Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Spelling Practice

I used to teach elementary school.  I've taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades.  I've had experience in 4th grade, but my heart is in the younger grades.  I think it is because I'm much more proficient in their math.  Long division gets me every time!

If you have a younger child who is in need of spelling help OR you would like a new way to practice spelling words, here is an idea you could try.

You'll need index cards, markers in 2 or 3 colors or a highlighter and your spelling list.


In younger grades the spelling lists usually cover a spelling rule - like "-ai says A like in rain" or          "-ea says E like in clean".

Figure out what your rule is.  There may be more than one rule per list if your child is in 3rd grade or higher.

Have your child write their spelling word, highlighting the rule by writing it in another color.



You could even have your child write the word and actually highlight the spelling pattern WITH a highlighter.

Use different colored markers/highlighters for different spelling patterns. (I didn't do that for the picture, but for "ea" you could use green or orange to write those letters.)



Once you have written all the words down, use the cards to group the words by pattern or in alphabetical order.

IF one of your child's words doesn't follow a spelling pattern, write that one in RED ink.  You can tell your child that the red words don't follow spelling rules and they just have to learn them.

When your child gets older, you can have them use this technique to look for Greek or Latin roots/prefixes for words.  Knowing the derivation for roots/prefixes can help them when they are learning definitions or are trying to pronounce a really long word.

Happy Studying!

2 comments:

  1. Great tip! I need to do it for my spelling too:)

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  2. Alexis...I'm the same way. I have to think about some of these words a bit too hard!

    ReplyDelete