The best way to improve your students spelling is by teaching them the value of reading. Make sure that you spend a couple of hours each day helping them to practice their reading skills. Even adults have a hard time in spelling big words, which is why encouraging your students to read and learn to spell words correctly may require a whole new level of effort and patience on your part.
Being creative is the most important aspect of teaching spelling to students. It’s not enough to write down a list of words on a piece of paper then ask your students to memorize each item. People, especially children, are visual in terms of learning - they’re attracted by colours, images, and shapes. Grade school teachers use visual aids and PowerPoint presentations to aid students. Sometimes pictures and other materials like comics or flash cards are used so that children will be able to see each word and easily associate it with images. You can take a hint from those successful teachers and use these creative ideas to teach your students:
Try to associate words with images that students find easy to remember. For example, the word “dessert” is often misspelled as “desert.” If you want your students to remember the difference, why not try giving this explanation: the word “dessert” uses the letter S twice since you want something that is sweet and sugary like apple pie, while the word “desert” has only one S because it is considered barren and dry.
You can try to find easier explanations, just as long as they help your students improve their spelling and avoid making mistakes. It’s just a matter of knowing which words or explanation your students will find easy and more comprehensible.
Word graphs are another good way of improving spelling abilities. With this method, you group words according to letters, definition or classes. For example, if you prefer listing basic words starting with the letter A or B, then form word graphs that feature these words. Grouping them makes them easier to remember.
Another good technique to help students learn is the use of software like Ultimate Spelling, where the user can use various tricks to overcome spelling problems and common spelling mistakes.
Teaching spelling doesn’t have to be just about textbooks or word lists.
Do you have an article, handout or a teaching idea/tip that you would like to share?