Question: I am determined to help my grandson overcome his spelling deficiencies this summer. He'll be in eighth grade when school starts. Where can I find the words to work on? What teaching techniques should I use? -- Grandmother
Answer: Unless your grandson is truly committed to improving his spelling, your efforts to help him will not meet with much success. If he is, considerable progress can be made this summer. Begin by talking about the importance of spelling. Then, help your grandson develop a personal spelling list by selecting words that he misspelled on school papers last year. Most children consistently misspell a relatively few trouble words, and these are the words that he should study.
Work with your grandson on 10 to 20 words at a time from his personal spelling list. Dictate the words, exaggerating your enunciation. Don't skip a syllable. Say "chocolate," not "choclate." Have your grandson write the words, and then have him check his spelling against the word list. He should circle any errors and write the misspelled words correctly.
The secret of his learning the misspelled words lies in his getting a visual memory of these words. To do this, he should look at the correct spelling of each misspelled word, say the word, try to see it in his mind, write it and then check that it is spelled correctly. If the word is misspelled, the errors should be circled and the word rewritten from memory.
Keep spelling sessions to less than 15 minutes. Before going on to additional words from the list, quiz him on two different days on the words he has been studying. Follow the same correction procedures for any missed words. After several groups of words have been mastered, spend time reviewing these words.
Be sure to praise your grandson for his efforts. It is definitely not easy to spell many of the words in English. Negative comments will never improve his spelling. Becoming a good speller does not happen overnight. Continue helping your grandson when school resumes.