Dicey Spellings
Write spellings on cards. Student looks at word and is encouraged to be a
'spelling detective' asking themselves where a mistake might be made. This
encourages them to engage with the word not just process its spelling by rote.
e.g. 'important'
If the ending is where potential errors might occur, then a memory prompt
such as 'an ant is an important animal' could be an effective prompt (without
ants, flower seeds would not be transported around the garden...an important
role if we want pansies to sprout in a varied, random maner!)
If it's the beginning of the word then 'I'm an important person' can act to
remind the 'im-' spelling.
Having engaged with spelling, the card is then removed from sight and a dice
is thrown. Instructions are followed from the table below (this table can be
adapted, varied, students can create their own tasks etc)...
dice throw instruction
1 write word with eyes closed
2 spell word aloud, backwards
3 write word with opposite hand
4 write word in bubble writing
5 write word, writing vowels in a different colour
6 write a word with a similar meaning.
Apply list first in class, then work through pile as homework
activity...helps parents too as it gives them a structured activity the child can explain
to
them and discuss together. Repetition is vital to establish memory traces, so
being a fun activity helps the achievement of this...10 minutes a day 2/3 times
a week with, perhaps, a score card to record progress and means of encouraging
out-of-class participation.
When first playing this game, the most noticeable thing is that, after thrown
dice and reading instruction, students may often ask 'what was the word?' This
illustrates how easily the short-term memory can 'dump' things quickly. If
this initial failure occurs, where the word is forgotten and so student has to
move onto the next word in pile, you will find that the brain learns to retain
subsequent words under scrutiny...developing its retention towards long-term
memory rather than being dismissed.
The game is fun, which is an important factor. It is different, and offers
students ownership of their spelling and provides active participation. Once
students know the game they can be encouraged to test themselves on a list of
words first in order to detect where THEY make any errors in order to devise
their own memory prompts and/or include spelling errors from their own work. Some
students like mnemonics but to create mnemonics for a whole word is
inefficient and often overloading...just hone in on the tricky bit. Some find the use of
colour highlighting particular letters will help visualisation recall the
look of key components. Some make up sayings eg 'WHAT a strange HAT!' By
engaging
learners in the possibilities, sharing ideas amongst the class and encouraging
them to find ways which work for them, develops skills which will help many
aspects of their learning.
Writing a word with eyes closed concentrates kinaesthetic action and
visualisation of word. Spelling a word backwards develops visualisation too along
with
problem-solving...some will find 'important' too long to spell
backwards...what do they do? Chunk into smaller parts? Throw the dice again? Move
onto the
next word? By discussing these responses, students are encouraged to solve
problems and take ownership.
Write word with opposite hand: this is an interesting one...fun and
challenging for some, easy for others. Either way, it gets the brain focussed.
Bubble-writing is a social skill. Often I get asked what the term
bubble-writing means and many then want to be shown how to do it. If their peers can
cover their books with bubble-writing, we should ensure all have the ability to do
so.
Vowels are often key to spellings with many sounds and rules relating to
them.
Writing a word with similar meaning ensures words are understood...we often
make assumptions about word-meaning without checking them. If you don't
understand a word's meaning, the spelling it is harder to attach a secure
spelling-memory trace.
The game can be adapted in many ways. Subject-specialists can use it to
overlearn key terminology where words on cards have to be used in different ways...
e.g. A meaningful sentence written with eyes closed, with opposite hand, the
sentence spoken backwards word by word, a sentence created that explains what
the word doesn't mean etc.