Effects of Multisensory Instruction
on Spelling in Second Grade
Lucy Cook
Granite Falls Elementary School
Lucy Cook 2
Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
Spelling has always been a part of the curriculum for my seventeen years of
teaching. Whether the words come from a reading basal or a spelling book, the process
has basically been the same. Give the students a list of words on Monday and test them
on Friday. During the week, I would conduct some review activities and even assign
some spelling homework. If I was lucky, a few would memorize the list for the test on
Friday, and those with no parental support, got by based classroom preparation. As for
those who scored well, I couldn’t ask them a week later for a repeat performance because
they only learned the information for the test, so everyone was really in the same boat,
rowing with one oar and going in circles. The impact on learning was minimal. Although
phonemic rules were covered as part of the lessons, there was rarely any carry-over to
writing or reading.
Looking for a second oar to get my boat out of the circle cycle, I signed up for a
Multisensory Structured Language Instruction workshop to be conducted for two weeks
over the summer. It was during the training that an “Aha!” moment occurred. A
systematic approach to phonics with the syllable types embedded was explicitly
reviewed. I realized that I had been reviewing phonics during my spelling lessons but not
teaching the six syllable types. This is a prime example of why ongoing professional
development is so critical for classroom teachers. I couldn’t wait to get back into the
classroom and apply this new knowledge and see if this was the key to carry over. By
giving my students relevant spelling skills that they could also apply to reading and
writing, would they? Would using multisensory strategies-- visual, auditory, kinesthetic
and tactile pathways to the brain-- during spelling lessons impact memory and learning?
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
Ironically, returning to the classroom did not occur as I was offered a new
position in the county as an Instructional Facilitator. Fortunately, the new job provides
me the opportunity to interact with classroom teachers at two schools through trainings,
data analysis and resource support. Instead of walking into one classroom every day, I
have the potential to impact each classroom at the two schools I serve.
It was at the Multisensory Structured Language Instruction training that I met
Ashley Townsend. She had just completed her first year of teaching. I thought how
empowering it must be for her to be able to employ this knowledge her whole career.
Luckily, my new position has afforded me the opportunity to work at Ms. Townsend’s
school, and I will be using her second-grade classroom for data collection to use in my
research.
Ms. Townsend and I have discussed factors that interfere and enhance
teaching. Whether this is your second or seventeenth year teaching, this list will look
similar. Below are some of our findings.
Factors that enhance teaching
*Student enthusiasm about learning new information
* Parental support
* Student intrinsic motivation
* Student self-discipline
*Student confidence
*Administration and colleague support
*Collaborating with other teachers
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
Factors that interfere with teaching
*Student motivation
*Student attention
*Student attitude
*Student self-esteem
*Distractions
*Time
*Class size
*Access to resources
We were very excited about the multisensory approach. Our two- week training
was very intense but also very enlightening. Hands-on training provided the opportunity
to work one-on-one with a student so that we could practice what we were learning and
get feedback from instructors. This way, there was a level of confidence in applying
lessons learned once we returned to our own learning environments.
“Multisensory teaching combines three learning senses--auditory (hearing and
speaking), visual (seeing and perceiving), and kinesthetic (touch and movement)--while
teaching students. Lessons are taught using two or more of these modalities
simultaneously to receive or express information. Teachers teach in two or more ways,
and students can express their responses in a variety of ways.” (Cook, 2009)
Multisensory lessons incorporate several learning pathways in the brain at the same time
so that opportunities for memory and learning are increased. Instead of telling students
information, the goal is to engage the students so that they are doing the work and
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
therefore doing the learning. For instance, students may be tuned out and bored by
reading about an historical event, but if they become the historical characters and role
play the events, the lesson becomes relevant. They are actively engaged and will retain
more of the information. "Albert Einstein said, 'Learning is experiencing. Everything
else is just information.' His insight suggests that we must experience our learning by
using our complex sensory systems. Our species has an innate need to see, touch, taste,
feel, and hear the features of any new object in order to understand it better." (Wesson,
2002).
Ms. Townsend is applying this approach to teaching spelling in her class. We will
gather and analyze data to answer the following question: What happens when
multisensory strategies are incorporated into spelling instruction for second grade
students? Spelling instruction will be delivered daily by the classroom teacher. We will
analyze the following data: beginning of the year K-2 assessment data, weekly spelling
assignments and tests, Dibels data and classroom observation notes to determine
outcomes. Writing samples will also be analyzed to see if results are evident. We
hypothesize that spelling scores will go up as students are exposed to the multisensory
strategies.
Theoretical Perspective
The multisensory strategy method speaks to me. It’s how I enjoy learning: up and
active to match my personality. The students in our classrooms are full of energy and not
meant to sit all day inside at a desk. Combining learning, movement and fun with results
of longer retention rates, is a win/win. By incorporating multisensory strategies, teachers
can make a difference by making lessons different. Children have multiple learning
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
styles and using this method allows information to be presented so several learning styles
are covered. “Multisensory techniques that join listening, saying, looking and writing in
various combinations, and that consciously engage the student in feeling how the word is
spoken and how it is written, are most successful.” (Moats, 2000) If we keep in mind for
whom we are here, who our audience is, and what our ultimate purpose is, then we will
teach with passion and creativity and there will be no child left behind.
Related Research
In the tradition classroom, much of what takes place is oral discussion. Typically,
this is conducted primarily by the teacher. According to a study (Sears, Johnson, 1986),
auditory treatment method is the least effective way for students to process and retain
information. Several other instructional factors were investigated as to their impact on
spelling performance: visual imagery treatment, computer treatment, and kinesthetic
treatment. Although they were categorized separately, there was an element of visual
imagery in the remaining treatment methods. This implies that combining treatment
styles could yield stronger results. When teaching spelling, teachers may find the use of
directed visual imagery to be a successful technique to improve recall of spelling words:
if a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe a mental picture is worth a thousand
pronunciations.
Spelling Cheerleading is a whole-group activity in which students are involved in
three of the four elements of the VAKT multisensory approach to word learning. Visual,
the students look at the word; Auditory, they chant its letters; and Kinesthetic, they
participate in the physical movements to match the letter configurations. Arms are
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
positioned over the head for “tall” letters, on the hips for “midline” letters, and on the
floor for “baseline” letters. (Rogers, 1999)
After reading this article, I went to the K-2 teachers at both of the schools I served
and shared this idea with them. They liked having something new and fun to try with
their students and several implemented the new strategy on that Friday with their students
as a review for the spelling test.
The Institute of Multi-Sensory Education reading program supports the use of
multisensory strategies to reach more students using all learning pathways. The reading
program offers a method of organized, direct instruction in phonemic awareness and
application of phonetic rules and word-attack strategies. By providing explicit, direct,
systematic instruction, the teachers of the first grade students in the three treatment
schools made the most dramatic improvements in acquiring alphabetic principle skills.
(Scheffel, Shaw, Shaw, 2008)
My own research is related to multisensory strategies, what happens when
multisensory strategies are incorporated into spelling instruction for second grade
students? Using these strategies increases student engagement so that recall and
retention of information is the product.
Assessing children early and often provides data that can indentify weakness so
that targeted instruction can be provided. When instruction is direct, explicit and
systematic, preventing reading failure in later grades is possible.
Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, promotes
“beginning with the end in mind.” Educational research does that. You create a question
and have an idea of the outcome; but through the journey of good research, you develop
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
additional questions along the road, sometimes getting unexpected results. My research
involves using multisensory strategies as a method to increase student achievement in
spelling. This research, “Teaching Low-Achieving Spellers at Their ‘Instructional
Level’” provides insight into the effectiveness of yet another strategy to employ with
struggling students. It promotes assessing students early in spelling, just like in reading,
and teaching them at their instructional level. Using either the multisensory technique or
the instructional leveling technique can provide students with opportunities for success,
but combining them could provide even the lowest student a foundation for filling in gaps
of information so that retention and recall will carry over to new learning.
In today’s classrooms, making it different is how to make a difference.
Differentiated instruction for reading is a common practice, but this concept does not
always get applied to non-tested subjects such as spelling. Maybe Pat Cunningham and
Richard Allington will revise their book, Classrooms That Work, to caution against the
concept of “one size fits all” in chapter one of that book, “The Problem and Some Failed
Solutions.”
Methods
Subjects
Ms. Townsend is applying the multisensory approach to spelling with her twenty
three heterogeneously grouped second graders in a middle-class, suburban community
elementary school. She has 14 boys and 9 girls in her classroom. All of the students are
Caucasian.
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
Context
Ms. Townsend and I work at Granite Falls Elementary School in Granite Falls,
North Carolina. There are about seven hundred K-5 students in the school served by
thirty classroom teachers and three Exceptional Children’s classroom teachers. Forty
percent of the students receive free lunch and nine percent receive reduced lunch. Eight
percent are minority students and three percent are Limited English Proficient. Ms.
Townsend is one of six second grade teachers at Granite Falls Elementary.
Procedures
Armed with two weeks of training, a five-pound resource notebook and disk, we
headed into the classroom full of multisensory ideas. We knew the kids were coming
from first grade with Letterland training, so we hoped that would be a head start. We
looked at Dibels data and K-2 assessment spelling grades to identify those who needed to
be targeted for interventions. The multisensory strategies spelling lessons would be
delivered to the whole group with activities differentiated as needed.
The first step was to conduct letter and sound review lessons. As predicted, this
went fairly smoothly since the students had the Letterland lore as background knowledge
from which to draw. For the few students who demonstrated weakness with short vowel
sounds or “b” and “d” reversals, small visual cues were taped to their desks for iconic
support. This allowed the teacher to tap the visual as she monitored around the room if
the child needed a reminder to look over something they had written. Students were also
encouraged to use the supports for decoding while reading. There are motions for the
short vowels and “b” and “d” reversals, so these are reinforced as well. Examples of the
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
desk visuals are provided below. The short vowels have photos of key words that make
their sound and the “b/d” chart reminds students that “b” starts with a straight line like a
bat and “d” starts with a circle like a doughnut.
Then, lessons on the six syllable types using multisensory approaches began.
Direct, explicit instruction of the definition of a syllable prior to introducing syllable rules
allowed three pathways of learning to be accessed. A chart of the definition as a visual
pathway, echoing the definition as the auditory pathway, and motions to represent words
as the kinesthetic pathway, give students more ways to access information during recall.
An example of a visual is displayed below.
A syllable is a word, or part of a
word, with one vowel sound.
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
bus
robe
For the FSLZ rule, Ms. Townsend modeled the lesson we learned in training, opening
a can of soda. She went around the room asking the kids, “What did you hear?” and
“What letters make those sounds?” They replied, “sssssss” and “s” She also gave a story
based on the rule; Fat Sam drinks too many sodas, this is why is belly is fat. Even the
lowest performing student that needs extra support can remember the FSLZ rule. When
open and silent “e” syllable rules were taught, motions were added. Motions are below.
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
A different multisensory strategy the students learned was “spelling cheerleading.”
I discovered this activity while researching articles. It is a big hit with teachers and
students alike as a fast, fun way to review for a spelling test. It incorporates visual
pathways for seeing the word, auditory pathways for hearing and saying the letters, and
kinesthetic pathways for moving to represent the letters. When Ms. Townsend presented
this activity to the class, she reminded them of the placement of letters on the handwriting
line in relation to a house. Tall letters are in the attic, letters with a tail go in the
basement, and the rest stay in the house. A graphic of “Cheerleading” positions is
provided below.
Another strategy implemented had students partner up to build sounds with
Unifix cubes. When the teacher said a word, the children repeat the word, one partner
had to add a cube to represent each sound in the word and the other partner had to check.
Students touch each cube, saying the corresponding sounds, and then sweep their hands
under the cubes as they blend the sounds to form the word. The other partner writes the
word, sweeps and says the word. Through this exercise, students say the word and
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
sounds (auditory), they manipulate cubes and write (tactile), and they check the written
product (visual).
Another strategy placed students in teams up to complete a spelling activity.
Each had a word parts and together students determined the correct vowel team to
correctly complete each word. The words were written on apples and the “ee” pattern
words were colored green and the “ea” words were colored red. The rule for vowel team
was reviewed.
An additional strategy involved reviewing several of the syllable rules using the
visuals and motions, then having students sort words based on the rule. After the review,
students were given three paper turkeys with three different syllable rules written on them
and twelve feathers with previously studied words. Students cut out the words and glued
them to the turkey based on the rule the word followed. As they read the words on the
feathers, they were instructed to dot the vowel, mark the silent “e”, and draw a door
around closed syllables to facilitate with sorting.
A last strategy was implemented during spelling tests. When “offices” (folders
stapled together to create a screen) are passed out, students know it is time for a spelling
test. They number their papers for the test and wait for the first dictated word. They
repeat the word, finger tap the sounds, and write the word. Then they write two dictated
sentences. The sentences always reinforce previously studied rules to see if there is
carry-over. The “call the cops” strategy was also taught and visual of a cop is provided
so that students would check (C= capitalization, O= organization, P= punctuation, and S=
spelling and/or spacing) work prior to turning their work in to be graded. Ms. Townsend
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
even made a large cop cut out that she would hold over her face as a visual cue for
students who needed to check their sentences.
Data
Various forms of data were reviewed and documentation collected to measure the
effects of multisensory strategies on spelling instruction.
Assessments: These include informal assessments such as class participation,
spelling tests, K-2 spelling assessments, DIBELS data and writing samples.
Observations: Multiple observations were conducted to record student’s
participation and reaction to the multisensory lessons that were being presented.
Field Notes: During the observations, teacher and student comments and reactions
were recorded.
Photographs: Photographs of students participating in multisensory learning
activities were taken.
Work Samples: Work samples from learning activities were reviewed.
Meetings: Ms. Townsend and I met regularly during planning time and after
school to discuss lesson activities and students.
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
Analysis
The beginning of the year K-2 assessment spelling test and DIBELS data are good
indicators of background knowledge since they are taken so early in the year prior to
much new direct instruction. By comparing the data gathered from these two
assessments, we can look for students who need targeted small group instruction and
extra support. Referrals for pull out come from this data at the beginning of the year until
sufficient classroom observation is gathered to document other needs. This data also
provide a good reference for establishing partners and teams. Knowing the strengths and
weaknesses of students allows teachers to pair students appropriately so that tasks aren’t
too easy or too difficult for any team member.
Initial data showed Gavin, Gregory, Mikki, Brett, Alleson, Brennan, Alisza, and
Bryson would benefit from pull out instruction. They receive Sonday 1 five days a week.
This is an Orton-Gillingham based program and uses multisensory strategies. These
students also need visual supports taped to their desks. Sonday 1 is in addition to the
whole group multisensory spelling lessons they receive in class.
During direct instruction of the syllable rules, all of the students responded well to
the visuals Ms. Townsend created and the movements that we had learned in training.
Students were engaged and were able to recall the rules by making the motions.
During an observation of an energetic and enthusiastic spelling cheerleading
lesson, students were eager to offer feedback about what they liked about the activity.
Here are a few of their reactions. Gray said, “It’s entertaining.” Bryson said, “Instead of
sitting here doing work, you can get up and move around.” Alleson said, “I like it
because we get to scream and yell.” Tatum said, “You get to get up and practice spelling
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
and it’s fun.” Jacob said, “It’s an amazing game.” (“Amazing” was a vocabulary word
for the week.)
While monitoring students working with partners to build sounds into words with
Unifix cubes, I observed several students struggling with this activity. Several students
wanted to match the number of cubes to the number of letters in the word. Since it was
the partner’s job to check, it created good opportunities for dialog to explain why the
number of cubes should be different. Example: If the word was bike, the student should
link only three cubes for the three sounds in bike because the “e” is silent. Reactions to
this activity were positive. Alicia: “Using the cubes is fun because we got to spell
words.” Jessica: “It’s good because we got to check our partner to see if they spelled it
right.” Brett: “It helps me practice my spelling words.” Brennan: “I like that we got with
a partner to study our words.” In the photo below (left), Ms. Townsend has called a
team up to the document reader to demonstrate to the class how they built a word. Mikki
is tapping sounds on the cubes in the photo on the right.
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
As students discuss the vowel team rule with their partner and determine which
vowel team completes the word on an apple activity, they are embedding the information
deeper into their memory.
As the students worked independently to complete their turkey word sorts, I
walked around the room to check their progress. Most were able to do this very quickly
because they could recall the rules. When I checked over Gavin’s work, several words were
sorted incorrectly. After we dotted the vowels in the missed words, he was able to sort them
correctly. (Gavin receives extra support through Sonday 1.)
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
As I observed the students taking their spelling test, I noticed different students
applying different strategies. Some liked to finger tap, some liked to touch sounds after writing
it down, and some liked to mark up the word they wrote by dotting vowels or crossing out the
silent “e”. During sentence dictation, I noticed some students counting words on their fingers
while listening and repeating sentence. One student counted on his fingers like many of the
others but wrote the total number of words in the sentence on the side of his paper in a circle
before he started the sentence. This was his strategy, not one that Ms. Townsend or I had
suggested.
Results
Dibels Data
Percenage of Students
9%
65%
26%
Intensive
Strategic
Benchmark
Beginning of the year DIBELS data were reviewed and compared to classroom
performance. Students in the Intensive and Strategic Dibels groups were weak in
Nonsense word fluency, such as nog and lut and required the most interventions. They
get small group intervention pull out five days a week in addition to the whole group
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
multisensory spelling lessons. They also have visual supports taped to their desks to
prompt them with short vowel sounds and “b/d” reversals.
1
2
3
4
Spelling Test Results
Grade Distribution Percentage
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
76.5%
58.1%
44.7%
25.9%
15.3% 14.1%
13.3%
September
(4 weeks)
21.0%
7.6%
October
(5 weeks)
11.8% 11.8%
0.0%
November
(3 weeks)
In the grading scale used for spelling tests, level one (blue on graph)
indicates well below grade achievement and having difficulty. A level two (purple on
graph) indicates below grade level but showing growth. A level three (yellow on graph)
indicates grade level achievement and a level four (aqua on graph) indicates above grade
level achievement.
September spelling tests used lists of words that were previously learned skills.
About 70% of the students scored grade level or above and we attribute this to retention
of Letterland skills taught in first grade. Those who struggled with the review lists were
consistent with the names in our Intensive and Strategic DIBELS data groups.
Jacob was an exception. He did not get a red flag during DIBELS assessments
warranted a second look. During assessment of Dolch words and oral reading, he
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
mumbled so that his pronunciations were unclear. He continued to struggle with isolating
sounds during one on one instruction. Finger tapping and roller coaster techniques were
tried. A speech referral warranted no placement but the pre-assessment for Orton found
gaps in his ability to identify and write blends. Consideration for pull out intervention has
been pursued.
October test scores indicated an increase in level three, which is on grade level
achievement. The spelling lists at this point are introducing new skills so they are
increasing in difficulty, but as the multisensory strategies are being introduced in
conjunction with the new skills, the students are succeeding at applying the new skills on
the tests. This data supports our hypothesis that spelling scores will go up as students are
exposed to the multisensory strategies. There is a decrease in level fours here, but
spelling lists are on grade level so a level four indicates success with differentiated
words.
November test scores indicated a huge increase in level three achievements. The
students have learned the spelling rules now. They are applying the rules by reviewing
them with multisensory activities. The effect of multisensory instruction on second grade
spelling has been a success. The students can recite the rules, make the motions that go
with the rules, and apply the rules to spelling tests. In analyzing the dictation sentences,
carry-over of previously learned skills is conclusive.
Conclusions
“This really works!” Ms. Townsend commented, referring to the effects of
multisensory strategies on spelling. She was as excited as I was to see how powerful a
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
tool the multisensory approach for teaching spelling proved to be. Students were
engaged, having fun, and learning. Partner activities were very popular with the students.
They thrived on the opportunities to interact with their peers and learn from each other.
It had been an invaluable method to employ to keep all twenty three students engaged
and to give the teacher the chance to pull groups and differentiate as needed. Other
benefits of the multisensory approach include a reduction in discipline problems because
students are kept busy doing the work and therefore doing the learning.
My new position as Instructional Facilitator affords me the opportunity to work
directly with numerous teachers. Since researching multisensory strategies for this
project, I have shared them with teachers at both schools I serve so that they can
implement them in their classrooms. The favorite tools so far have been the “spelling
cheerleading” and “Show and cheer” (which uses dry erase boards). I have also been
asked to develop a workshop that I will conduct for teachers during countywide
workdays and will present for the ASU School Partnership. I have based the workshop
on the research and findings from this paper. I will not only demonstrate effective
multisensory strategies, but encourage them to develop their own multisensory lesson
using the lesson plan format from Learning Abled Kids. (Cook, 2009)
The research proved our hypothesis that spelling scores will go up as students are
exposed to multisensory strategies. Our students showed dramatic improvement. Gone
are the days of knowing the words on Friday and forgetting them on Monday. We have
discovered real strategies that students enjoy and can apply!
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
Multisensory Lesson Planning
from Learning Abled Kids
http://www.LearningAbledKids.com
1) Determine your instructional goal (what you want your child to learn). GOAL:
__________________________________________________________________
2) Find a visual way to teach the lesson (images, drawing, photos, museums,
experiments, artwork, demonstrations, manipulatives, visual software <not texton-screen>, etc.). VISUALS:
__________________________________________________________________
3) Find or incorporate an auditory way to teach the lesson (read alouds, video, bookon-tape, text-to-speech, plays, reenactments, lectures, seminars, etc.).
AUDITORY INPUT:
__________________________________________________________________
4) Find a way to incorporate movement or touch into the lesson (scavenger hunt,
manipulatives, art, dance, hands-on explorations, plays, reenactments, roleplaying, etc).
KINESTHETIC / TACTILE HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES:
__________________________________________________________________
5) RESOURCES (Where your resources will come from):
__________________________________________________________________
6) BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER PRESENTATION PLAN (How you will
present):
__________________________________________________________________
7) HAVE FUN! Enjoy the experiential, multisensory lesson.
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Effects of Multisensory Instruction on Spelling
References:
Cook, S. (2009). Multisensory Instruction and Learning Styles Module. Retrieved from
http://www.learningabledkids.com/multi_sensory_training/Page01-Welcome.htm
Cook, S. (2009). Multisensory lesson planning. Retrieved from
http://www.learningabledkids.com/multi_sensory_training/Page20multisensory_lesson_creation2.htm
Moats, L. (Ed.). (2000). Just the Facts... spelling. Baltimore, MD: International Dyslexia
Association.
Moats, L. (2002). When Older Students Can't Read. Retrieved from
http://www.ldonline.org/article/When_Older_Students_Can't_Read
Rogers, L. (1999). Spelling cheerleading. The Reading Teacher, 53(2), 110-112.
Scheffel, D., Shaw, J., & Shaw, R. (2008). The Efficacy of a supplementary multisensory
reading program for first-grade students. Journal of Reading Improvement, 45(3)
Sears, N., & Johnson, D. (1986). The Effects of visual imagery on spelling performance
and retention among elementary students. The Journal of Educational Research, 79(4),
Retrieved from http:www.jstor.org/stable/27540202
Wesson, K.A. (2002). Memory and the Brain: How Teaching Leads to Learning. School
Matters, Independent School, Spring, pp 78-98.