Last Updated on June 5, 2023 by alli
When my daughter started kindergarten and I became a first-time school mum, homework became a part of our lives.
During the first few years of school, my daughters’ biggest hurdle was learning her spelling words. My biggest hurdle was to find a way to teach them to her so that she would remember them. Not just for her spelling test, but for always!
When she had a word that could be broken down into syllables and sounded out, there was generally no problem. But, as we know, the English language is not exactly easy and straightforward. So, when we had tricky words, I was stumped at how to teach them to her so that she would remember them.
Over the last few years, we’ve tried various ways to get those spelling words to sink in and stick!
For a period of time, I tried writing each spelling word out separately on a palm-size piece of paper. I’d then stick them on the walls (in the bathroom and her bedroom). I did it in the hope that she would see them constantly and then remember them. This didn’t work because she had no interest in even acknowledging their existence.
Then there was the strategy of simply testing her on her words. For each word she got wrong, I’d explain why it was wrong and what the correct spelling was. By the amount of yawning she was doing during my explanations, I could tell this was never going to stick either.
Learning her spelling words during those first two to three years of school was a struggle. She would need a full week of daily homework practice before she knew them well enough to be ready for her spelling test.
Then I tried something new, and she loved the idea, and we have been using it ever since. This has been a game-changer for us!
It’s called mnemonics.
Mnemonics
Simply put, mnemonics is a technique that helps a person remember information. It can often be in the form of a rhyme or a sentence.
For example, my daughter couldn’t remember how to spell words like bought, sought, taught, and caught. She couldn’t get the correct order of the “ught”, so we came up with a little phrase to help her remember it. We came up with – Ultimate Good Happy Times.
Now we refer to words that end in “ught” as the “ultimate good happy times” words.
Mnemonic Examples
Some other mnemonics examples that we have used in the past are-
Because – big elephants can always understand small elephants
Their – The Horse Eats In Rome
Together – to get her (spells together)
Church: CH on the right, CH on the left, and UR (you are) in the middle
Service – Serv (with) ICE
The mnemonics method is a fun and fantastic way to help kids learn their words in the beginning. After a period of time, they will get to know that word without any effort and no longer depend on the catchy little phrase they had been using.
Throughout the first year of school, my daughter depended on a mnemonic phrase to help her remember how to spell the word “because”. Now she doesn’t need to use that strategy because she knows how to spell it all on her own.
Reading words and spelling words are two different things!
Here is something else to remember when it comes to the subject of spelling. Just because your daughter can read a particular word doesn’t mean she can actually spell that word!
When my daughter’s reading started to improve, I thought her spelling would have improved too. I was wrong. As it turned out, there was still quite a bit of work to do in that area.
You can test this theory out by giving your daughter a short paragraph to read from one of her books. You may find she reads it out correctly. Then, dictate the same paragraph to her and ask her to write it down. Don’t be surprised if she can’t spell a lot of what she has just read.
If your daughter is between the ages of 6 – 10, you may also like to try out this little activity with her to see how she goes.
Ask her to circle the correct spelling of the words on the attached activity sheet. You may find she gets all or most of them correct.
Wait a day and then test her on all the words she circled correctly from the activity sheet. See if she is able to spell them out correctly on her own.
For every word she gets wrong, it means she still doesn’t know that word well enough to spell it out independently.
I clearly remember a conversation I once had with one of my daughter’s teachers. I told her I was surprised that my daughter didn’t do better in the spelling test at school that week, because whenever I tested her at home, she got those particular words right.
The teacher’s reply was very true. She said, “Once you know a word, you just know it always. You spell it correctly 100% of the time, not just sometimes”.
To sum up
If you notice your daughter getting stuck on the same word, try the mnemonics method with her.
Create your own fun little phrase together. Use phrases that include her name or even your pet’s name. The more personal and fun you make it, the more she is likely to remember it.
You may just be surprised at how much of a difference it will make!
If you end up trying this method, let me know how you go and what phrase you used for which word.
I’d love to hear about it! 🙂
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