All about me - Part 1

I am twice exceptional......this is a bold statement for any adult to make.  I know many people hate labels (and aren't they for children anyway?)  To me labels are the way that we understand ourselves and if we understand ourselves we can function better in the complex world we live in. Labels unlock practical solutions to our difficulties.

I am gifted and dyslexic.....not an easy thing to say but it explains so much of my life so far.  The dyslexic part is easier to say, it is a label that many people seem happy to accept these days.  People are generally sympathetic and interested when you mention you are dyslexic. They want to know how you found out and does it still affect you as an adult.

The gifted part is much harder.  It seems to be such an emotive term that provokes anger and scorn from many. 'Who are you to think your child is gifted?' and worse still 'What do you mean you're gifted, do you think you're better that other people?' Sadly most people who genuinely use the term are not trying to boast but rather are trying to make sense of not fitting in. In many cases they have experienced challenging parenting issues which they are trying to understand and come to terms with. For adults it can explain many years of emotional turmoil and feeling different. For me I have to grasp the nettle as being gifted makes my life make sense in a way that other things don't.

I hope in my blog to share on a personal and professional level about dyslexia and giftedness. There will be articles for both parents and teachers. I will share some top tips, resources and personal experiences may help you on your own journey.

How to learn spellings - the joy of mnemonics

One of the anomalies of school life is that week after week children are send home spellings to learn but very rarely are we ever taught how to learn spellings.

Some children learn spellings without even thinking, they just pick up spellings from what they read or copy from a book. Otherwise we adopt the methods we used at school and insist our children do the same.  In many cases this involves copying the words again and again.

But what if this doesn't work....

First you need to work out how your child learns best.  As much as learning styles have now been dismissed by the teaching profession, it is clear that when learning spelling we tend to have an AUDITORY or VISUAL preference.

The best clue is in the sort of spelling mistakes your child makes in their own writing.

Auditory preference - if they spell everything phonetically or using sounds for example  'becos', 'sed' and words that should follow a pattern are spelt the way they sound like 'startid' or 'lookt'

Visual preference - high frequency words are often spelt correctly 'house', 'like', 'said' but sounds may be missed out in other words 'wet' for went or letters may be in the wrong order 'gril' for girl

Mnemonics are a great way to learn spelling if you have strong auditory skills.  There are many well known mnemonics which some teachers use.

'Big elephants can always use small exits' for because
or 'o u lucky duck' for could, would, should

But much more fun and more meaningful is when children make up their own....

                                                  'Snakes and insects die' - said

                                                         'Nice insects can eat' - nice

                                     

                                             'caterpillars always kick elephants' - cake

'

                                        

The funnier the better!  Drawing pictures and sharing them with other children all make them more memorable.

As a teacher it is wonderful to see children who have struggled with spellings for years get a few spellings securely under their belt.

Obviously children can not make mnemonics for every word but very often it is the break through needed to help children  believe they can learn spellings and that it can be fun!