August 28, 2024 – Spellers and Non-Spellers: How to Teach Both

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

When Spelling Lists Don’t Work

Several of my children have been good readers, but bad spellers. We read good books and had a good spelling curriculum, created great spelling lists, and they still struggled. 

No matter how wonderful the spelling program, each child I applied it to was very different. I had several natural spellers and a few children that just didn’t get spelling. But those non-spellers excelled in others areas such as hands-on mechanics, creativity, art, or music. 

Success in spelling comes with the way they are created. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that you can accommodate each child’s ability or developmental levels. If they need extra help in spelling, we have the time and most likely the resources to help. 

It will encourage you to know that with a little instruction every week through every year, good reading material, and good spelling resources, your child will grow up knowing how to spell anywhere from fairly well to excellently, depending on how they are created to do so. 

For many learners, lists of spelling words just don’t work. The non-speller’s memory doesn’t hold them the same way natural spellers do. Try using memory hooks (see Dianne Craft’s article, Spelling Can Be Easy) to get those rules and words to stay put in their memory.

Sometimes, summer is the time we work on just one subject that was either neglected or needed extra help. Maybe now is the time to find fun ways to work on spelling through your summer, so that by the start of the new school year, they may be just that much further ahead. 

Here are some articles from The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine that may help:

Tissue Box Spelling by Cheri Blomquist

Grow Your Child’s Spelling with Word Trees! by Marie Rippel

5 Hands-On Teaching Tips for Phonics (from a Bad Speller) by Bridget Ryder

Overcoming Spelling Hurdles by Karen J. Holinga, Ph.D.

Teaching Grammar and Spelling, by Dawn Burnette

Do not be anxious about your child that needs extra help in spelling, or the fact that you never feel like you have the right program or curriculum to succeed. Let that anxiety (or any anxiety) be your signal to pray, try something new, and trust the Lord. Be consistent and enjoy those children as you keep them Home Where They Belong.

“Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6, 7). 

~Deborah

P.S. Don’t forget to listen in to this week’s podcast on this topic! www.HomeschoolShow.com 

Todd Wilson

Familyman Ministries

Go Easy on Your Non-Spellers

You know my wife has tried all kinds of different helps . . . from word lists to secuential spelling. But my theory is that those curriculms only highlight good and bad spellers. 

Trueth is, I have good spellers and bad spellers at my house and after working through spellin programs, the good spellers are ‘gooder’ and the bad spellers are only slightly less bad.

Actually, I’m one of the bad spellers. I can memorize the words, write the words, rewrite the words, learn cute little tricks . . . and I still can’t spell them. 

My wife and dauwter can see a word once and remember it for the rest of their lives. I can check and recheck my work and still can’t see mispleled words…AND I’M A WRITER!!!! (praize the Lord for proof-readers).

So . . . go easy on your non-spellers. Give them the lists, teach them the tricks, and then love them when they still can’t spel worth a dime.

And of coarse…be reel,

About the author

Todd Wilson is a dad, granddad, writer, conference speaker, and former pastor. Todd’s humor and down to earth realness have made him a favorite speaker at homeschool conventions, retreats, and churches across the country. As founder of Familyman Ministries and the Smiling Homeschooler, his passion and mission are to remind dads and moms of what’s most important through weekly e-mails, podcasts (The Familyman Show & The Smiling Homeschooler), seminars, and books and products that encourage parents. Todd, and his wife Debbie, still homeschool two of their eight children (six have graduated with four married) in northern Indiana. You can read more at www.familymanweb.com.

Shelby Hand

Using Reading to Improve Spelling

“Tree…c-h-r-e-e.” What? That’s not even a word! What made her spell it like that? Certainly she’s seen the word “tree” before. As I contemplate what my daughter said, I hear myself saying the word. In fact, it does sound like there could be a c-h blend at the beginning. My daughter could read the word “tree,” but could not spell it. The ability to read does not necessitate the ability to spell. Does reading have any impact on spelling? Below I’m sharing three reading techniques I’ve used for helping my children improve their spelling.

First, although a child won’t automatically be able to spell when they are able to read, the more exposure they have to written words, the more their muscle memory will be able to recall their spelling. Sometimes, even if my child can’t figure out the spelling of a word, she knows it because she can tell it doesn’t look right. Seeing words printed on paper over and over has given her the ability to at least see when it isn’t right. Trial and error can sometimes get her to the correct spelling.

Second, I include dictation in spelling instruction. In dictation, students take time to look at a sentence or paragraph that has correct spelling and grammar. Then, I read the same prompt aloud for them to write. As with the first technique, they are seeing the words written correctly, which helps with being able to spell independently.

Third, when I see a spelling anomaly that jumps out to me, I take a moment to discuss it with them. While reading aloud, I often take time to discuss a word or two that stands out as going against the standard spelling rules. We had a good laugh as we discussed the difference between “The Israelites wandered in the desert” and “The Israelites wandered in the dessert.”

Giving children opportunities to see and contemplate the spelling of words is the key to improving their spelling. Before long, they will look at their own previous work and wonder why they ever wrote “c-h-r-e-e.”

About the author

Shelby Hand is the wife of Cody and mother to four daughters. She has a Doctorate of Education in New Learning and is passionate about homeschooling her children to the glory of God. She is the Interactive Content Coordinator at SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

Pillar of Future

Adam and Dianne Riveiro

There Is No Such Thing as a Non-Speller

“Spelling doesn’t matter, that’s why we have spell check.”

“Wrong!”

There’s a real temptation to ignore the discipline of spelling in this “autocorrect” society we live in, particularly if you have a learner who struggles with it. Yet, whether it’s fair or not, your child will be judged by their ability to spell when they become an adult. So, we can either bury our head in the sand, or we can meet the challenge head on.

Look, teaching “spellers” how to spell is easy: make them spell lots and lots of words! They chew them up and spit them out. But your “non-spellers?” That’s a different story. Here are a few common-sense pointers . . .

• Don’t present spelling as a chore. Our children pick up our likes or dislikes for certain subjects by how we present them.
• Don’t force them to memorize endless lists of words that they’ll rarely use. Keep your spelling lists reduced in size and relevant in content.
• Don’t feel you have to stick to the standard written spelling test. Find a testing system that works for them. For instance, utilize a computer instead of pencil or paper, or quiz them orally if that’s what they prefer. 
• Do encourage them to be readers. Spelling is sometimes easier “caught” than taught.
• Do use auditory cues when teaching spelling like clapping, singing, or spelling in rhythm to engage different brain functions.

In my humble (and correctly spelled) opinion, there’s no such thing as a non-speller, just a non-traditional learner. Don’t settle until you find a spelling system that resonates with your child!

-Adam

About the author

Pastor Adam and Dianne Riveiro live in Easton, Massachusetts, where Adam leads Liberty Baptist Church. They’re the authors of several books, including Hope from Our Heart to Yours: A 30-Day Devotional Journey for Special Needs Families, available from their family’s publishing label at www.readyscribepublications.com. They have four children: Bethany, Kaylee, AJ, and Peyton. They’re passionate about helping their fellow special needs families find joy and contentment in Christ.

Did you know that spelling is a lifelong skill? With Schoolhouse Spelling, students from kindergarten to high school can enjoy a variety of activities ranging from spelling word videos to fun spelling lists and worksheets to puzzles that enable each student to work with words while learning how to spell them. Try it today on SchoolhouseTeachers.com.