High Frequency Words, Trick Words, Sight Words: they all mean the same thing. These are the words you see on your child’s spelling list that don’t follow a pattern and simply need to be memorized. Memorizing things can be easy for some and hard for others, but memorizing is a part of life. You need to help your child figure out how she learns the best. Does she need to write it several times, or sing a song or do a cheer? Does she need to break the syllables into nonsense words and read them like they sound? Teaching students who struggle with spelling has allowed me to create some interesting songs and phrases for the trick words. I hope they can help your child remember them when it comes time to writing them not only for the weekly spelling test, but most importantly, in the real world, when it really counts! We start our week by writing the trick words one at a time on a white board. I say a word, and the students repeat the word. This might not sound like an important step but it is because it allows their brain to focus on the task at hand, and also tells me whether they have heard the word correctly or not. They write the word, and say the letters aloud as they are writing them; tell your hand what to write. This is from Wilson Language, a program designed for adult non-readers and dyslexic learners. Then I added something else. After all the words are written, I say a word and the students find it on their board. They repeat the word, and say the letters aloud, writing a small dot underneath each letter. Again, since this involves the auditory and visual parts of the brain, there is a better chance the letter combinations will be remembered. Once this is completed for all words, I say a word, they repeat the word, then erase the word, one letter at a time, saying the letters aloud as they are erasing it. It doesn’t take long to complete this task, but it is effective. Another strategy I have used is we have songs and silly phrases for almost all of the trick words. Sung to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell” for the word “they,” There is no A in they There is no A in they, I always forget e-y, There is no A in they! Whenever someone starts writing tha, thay, thae, I start singing. I keep singing it until the student fixes the mistake. They all laugh and sing along with me. To the tune of the beginning of the old Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Song (Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?): This is how you spell should, it rhymes with would and could, Are you ready? Here we go: SH-OU-LD Remember the Oscar Myer Weiner jingle for how to spell bologna in the 70s and 80s? I use it for because. This is how you spell because: B-E-C-A-U-S-E. The kids have helped me come up with things that have worked, and I have passed them along. Again: A comes again, IN again. (Credit to Martina) Friend: My friend doesn’t end on Friday. (Credit to Morin) When: When I see a hen, I count to ten! (Credit to Adriane and Jenna) My daughter is really good at spelling. I’m not sure where she got that because I struggled with spelling forever! However, this year she has had to memorize some tricky words that don’t follow the traditional patterns. She finds that if she scoops the words into syllables and reads them the way the are written, then she can remember them for spelling. For example, favorite is pronounced fa-vor-ite (with the long I sound at the end) so she will remember the silent e. My son needed to learn give, so I taught him the rule that v never ends a word in English. V is too scared to be at the back of the line, so e volunteers to hang out with him. I then point this out with other words when we are reading that end with V. I hope you have found this helpful and you might use it to help your child with those tricky high frequency words. I have learned, however, that you need to start this work earlier in the week, so you aren’t dreading Thursday nights trying to figure out tricks for the words when all anyone wants to do is go to bed! Good luck, and if you have any tricks for the rest of us, please leave it in the comment section.
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AuthorMy name is Laura Coffin, and I am the reading specialist at Lake Placid Elementary School. I have a BA from William Smith College and a M.Ed. in Reading from Lesley University. I also hold a Wilson Language Level I certification. I teach reading, writing and spelling strategies to help all students! Follow me on twitter @lgaetacoffin Archives
December 2017
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