Spelling Can Be Easy

“Spelling is just too hard!”

I’ll bet that’s a cry of frustration you’ve heard before. Maybe you’ve even heard yourself say it! If so this post is for you.

I know all too well that spelling is not always easy. My son struggled terribly with spelling. It was out of the gut-wrenching difficulty of our experience that I developed All About Spelling with the goal of helping my son find success in spelling and reading. And in the process, I discovered something amazing. Spelling doesn’t have to be hard.

In fact, spelling can be easy!

Are you wondering how to achieve the seemingly impossible? Join me for a short guided tour of the six elements that can make spelling easy to learn for your child and easy to teach for you!

Spelling can be easy when it’s…

Multisensory

It’s no secret that children learn best when they have the opportunity to interact with the world around them. But when multiple senses—sight, sound, and touch—are engaged simultaneously, learning takes on a whole new level of potential. Multisensory instruction that engages the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways to a child’s brain provides a child with greater potential for success than could ever be reached with traditional teaching methods. (Learn more…)

Easy to Teach

“When Mom’s not happy, nobody’s happy!” This adage is even true in the area of spelling instruction! If it’s hard for the teacher to teach, it will more than likely be hard for the student to learn, too. And in that situation, it will be hard to make anyone happy. Scripted, easy-to-teach, “open and go” lessons are exactly what busy homeschool parents need to help make spelling easy for the student and the teacher. (Learn more…)

Orton Gillingham Approach

The Orton-Gillingham approach helps take the mystery out of spelling by focusing on why words are spelled the way they are. The English language contains just 26 letters, but these letters combine to create 44 different speech sounds, and over 250 ways to spell those sounds. Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? The Orton-Gillingham approach helps reduce confusion by condensing the spelling of these sounds into phonograms. Then it demystifies spelling even further by teaching students to apply rules and generalizations that help make what was once difficult much easier! (Learn more…)

Mastery-Based

The goal of learning should be long-term learning that “sticks,” otherwise known as mastery-based learning. But mastery-based learning requires review…sometimes LOTS of it! When consistent review of previously taught skills is not included in a child’s regular daily instruction, short-term learning is usually the result. Short-term learning forces a child to continually relearn old forgotten skills, creating a cycle of frustration that can be difficult to break. A spelling program that is mastery-based helps make spelling easy by making daily review a priority. (Learn more…)

Logical

I hear it over and over again. English is just too hard…there are just too many exceptions to the rules. But English does conform to predictable patterns, and more importantly, these patterns can be taught to your child. There is a better—and more logical—way to make sense of spelling than by rote memorization of lists of unrelated words. Why make spelling more confusing than it has to be? Teach your kids the patterns and rules of English and make spelling logical. (Learn more…)

Individualized

Finding a “one size fits all” approach to teaching spelling may be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. What works for one child may not work for the next. In order to make spelling easier for your child, you need to consider what makes him different. Does he face special learning challenges? Does he struggle with a short attention span? Does he require more frequent review to make concepts “stick”? Customizing your spelling instruction according to your child’s specific needs makes spelling easier—for everyone. (Learn more…)

Put it all together and watch the magic happen!

If cries of frustration about spelling have become commonplace in your home, maybe you need a different approach. With these six elements spelling instruction can truly be easy for you and your child.

Author info:

Marie Rippel, curriculum developer of the award-winning All About Reading and All About Spelling programs, is known for taking the struggle out of both teaching and learning. You can connect with Marie on Facebook and Twitter.