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....
'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!
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