Download SPELLING TIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

SPELLING TIPS FOR
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING
DISABILITIES
By: Megan McShane
Spelling counts. Even if you’re long out of school
and think that the torture of Miss Cringley’s
grade 4 spelling tests is over, it’s not. Everything
you write as part of your job, or in your personal
life, is a spelling test, because your spellingalong with related issues of punctuation,
grammar, and style- affects how people perceive
you.
- Derek K. Miller
- penmachine.com
A Spelling Test for Teachers of
Students with Learning Disabilities:
( By: Gary Greene, LDonline)
True or False
1.___ Spelling is an easier learning task
than reading.
2.___ Oral spelling tests are as effective as
written spelling tests.
3.___ Imitating and modeling students’
spelling errors, followed by writing the
word correctly, is an effective way for
teachers to provide feedback to students
with LD.
4.___ Exchanging papers is the best way
for students to correct spelling tests.
5.___ The most efficient way of learning to
spell new words is to study first, then
test.
6.___ There has been much research on
what are the most appropriate words
to learn to spell.
7.___ Dividing words into syllables and
writing the definition of the words
helps in memorization of one’s
spelling list.
8.___ A reduced unit size (e.g., number of
spelling words studied) of three words
per day is better than studying the
entire spelling list each day.
9.___ Underlining the difficult letter
combinations in a word helps in
memorizing correct spelling.
10.___ Fifteen minutes per day for spelling
is adequate to maintain and improve
spelling in most students.
11.___ Mastery of spelling rules greatly
improves spelling ability.
Answers To The Test
False. Spelling is a more difficult task than
reading. Reading is largely a receptive
language skill involving decoding, whereas,
spelling involves expressive language and
encoding.
2. False. Spelling is primarily a visual skill.
3. True. Amazing as it may seem, reproducing in
writing a child’s spelling error, following by the
presentation of the correct written form of the
spelling word has been shown in numerous
studies to be an effective means for improving
the spelling performance of students with LD.
1.
4. False. Teachers should correct a spelling test in
the presence of the student, utilizing the error
imitation and modeling technique previously
discussed.
5. False. A more effective approach is to pre-test
students on their spelling words and have
them write the misspelled words in their study
list for practice during the week. This is
particularly appropriate for students with LD in
order to maximize study time; it allows for
increased attention and practice of words they
haven’t learned to spell, rather than sharing
study time with words they have already
mastered.
6. True. Special educators should utilize
misspelled words in students’ writing as well as
high use words in selecting words for students
with LD to learn to spell.
7. False. Although many experts feel stressing syllabication has merit,
research does not show an advantage for teaching syllabication in
spelling. As for writing the definition of spelling words, no research
exists demonstrating the significance of this instructional practice
with students who are LD.
8. True. Studies have shown that modifying the number of spelling
words studied per day reduces overload and interference in spelling
instruction of students with LD. A reduced unit size of three spelling
words per day is suggested.
9. False. No empirical evidence exists for the effectiveness of this
practice with students who are LD.
10. True. Studies have found that 15 – 20 minutes per day is ample
time, of course, keeping the spelling period purposeful, lively, and
interesting.
11. False. Although phonics and phonetic families may have a place in
learning to spell, spelling rules should not be relied upon as the
primary approach to teaching spelling to students with LD because:
(1) inconsistencies and irregularities of phonetic spelling patterns
are pervasive in the English language, (2) 3 out of 4 words are not
spelled phonetically, and (3) silent letters are a major cause of
spelling errors.
To Spell You Must:
(taken from The Learning CentreTutor Training Resources )
Recognize letters and sounds.
Remember the correct sequence
of letters and spell the word in
your mind.
Recall the sequence.
Memory:
We remember what we want to
remember.
We tend to remember the most
recently learned material.
Practice is essential for memory.
The easiest material to remember
is that which we have discovered
ourselves.
Additional Info. To keep in mind:
Many children with learning disabilities suffer
from a lack of learning strategies.
Helpful tips:
First and foremost are techniques aimed
at helping students improve memory.
Teaching visual images, rhymes, and
jingles are a valuable asset and yield
consistent improvement in recall.
The “wriTe- say” meThod
*Students rewrite incorrectly spelled
words several times while
simultaneously spelling the word aloud.
This method provides immediate feedback
in both visual and auditory channels.
This method has also been effective
teaching multiplication tables.
(taken from: Attention deficit disorders
and learning disabilities, barbara
ingersoll & sam goldstein, 1993)
Strategies For Teaching Spelling:
(taken from: Learning Disabilities, 7th Edition, Janet
Learner, pg.487)
Auditory perception and memory of letter
sounds.
Visual perception and memory of letters.
Multisensory methods in spelling.
The Fernald Method.
The “test-study-test” versus “study-test”
methods.
Listening centers and tapes.
Programmed spelling.
Electronic spellers and computer spell-checkers.
The Fernald Method
Students are told that they are going to learn words in a new way that has
proved to be very successful. They are encouraged to select a word they
wish to learn.
The teacher writes that word on a piece of paper,4x10, as the students
watch and as the teacher says the word.
The students trace the word, saying it several times, and then write it on a
separate piece of paper while saying it.
The students write the word from memory without looking at the original
copy. If the word is incorrect, students repeat the previous step. If the word
is correct, it is put in a file box. The words in the file box are used later in
stories.
At later stages, this painstaking tracing method for learning words is not
needed. Students learn a word by looking as the teacher writes it, saying it,
and writing it. At a still later stage, the students can learn by only looking at
the word in print and writing it. Finally, they learn by merely looking at the
word.
Fun Spelling Activities
To Try With Your Class
By: Megan Lee
Rainbow words.
Unscramble words.
Playdoh words.
Words written in sand.
Finding words in newspapers or magazines.
Use colored chalk.
Bingo.
Shaving cream words.
Spelling basketball.
Hangman.
Favorite Web Sites
Edhelper.com
LDonline
Webjump.com
Awesomelibrary.org
Lessonplanspage.co
m
Geocities.com/Athens
/Academy/3416/