One of the standard formats for testing children’s spelling abilities is the in-class spelling test. We all remember those tests, no matter what language we learned first, whether English, French, or any other letter-based system. In general, the teacher stands … Continue reading…
At the end of this month, the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee will be broadcast on national television in the United States and around the world, and thousands of people will watch 278 young students compete for the title of … Continue reading…
One of the most important things a parent or teacher can do to help children learn is to encourage them to read. When children start to read, they get exposed to new information and new ideas. They find out about … Continue reading…
We’ve talked before about the mnemonic devices most people are taught in school to help them learn to spell, such as “I before E except after C,” which helps children recognize and memorize letter patterns. We’ve also talked about the … Continue reading…
Children often get different advice about spelling from different sources. Depending on who they’re listening to, they might hear any or all of these statements: “Just leave the space on the spelling test blank when you don’t know the word, … Continue reading…
If you’re the parent of a child with a learning disability, you know the difficulties they can experience in school if they have problems with some aspect of classroom instruction. This can be particularly hard in a child’s early years … Continue reading…
There have been many studies done over the past few years to judge the effect that the “text speak” (shortened and abbreviated word forms) used in text messages and e-mails has on spelling skills, particularly in children. At this point … Continue reading…
When you’re first learning words as a child, it’s tempting to spell every word the way it sounds. After all, why should there be more than one way to spell a sound? As an adult, you might ask yourself the … Continue reading…
Learning how to spell words correctly is often a frustrating experience for children, as they have to learn to cope with all of the different variations in English spelling, often while they’re learning the meaning of the words at the … Continue reading…
Take heart! Even if you’re currently frustrated with trying to learn all of the many (and often contradictory) rules of English spelling, the good news is that once you have the basics down, it’s really a matter of building on … Continue reading…