How to Help Students Learn How to Spell
- 1). Engage students in fun games and activities to keep them interested in spelling and writing. Word games such as Boggle, Scrabble and Hangman are educational and entertaining.
- 2). Encourage students to read and write for pleasure. Set aside a period of time for them to do so each day. Reading helps students learn and remember new words, and a visit to the school or local library can be made into an anticipated event. Writing in a journal may allow students to feel more confident about using new words and practice correct spelling.
- 3). Focus on one "mini lesson" at a time. Topics may include memorization strategies, syllables, consonants, vowels, prefixes and suffixes. Supplement these lessons with homemade worksheets, or search online for pre-made worksheets that can be printed out and completed by the students.
- 4). Create a set of flashcards when practicing a specific set of spelling words. Write each word on one side of an index card and the definition on the other. Students may then use the cards to quiz themselves or have a parent or teacher say the word or definition before the student spells the word out loud.
- 5). Have the student trace over spelling words with a pencil or write the words over and over again on a piece of paper. This helps to reinforce the spelling in the student's mind.
- 6). Keep younger students motivated and interested in spelling by rewarding them for a job well done. Appropriate rewards for improved performance on spelling tests may include a fun pen or pencil, a bookmark, paperback book or even a kid-friendly comic book or magazine.
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