If asked, many early years and special school teachers would probably say that one of the first things children should learn is to recognise and later write their name. One single word, yet many children seem to find this difficult, and it can take a surprisingly long time to achieve. The main reason for this […]
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“My child gets 10/10 on their spelling tests but then forgets their spellings when free writing.” This is a statement that I often hear from parents. In schools, children typically get a weekly spelling list which they practise and then get tested on at a single word level. The next week, they receive a new […]
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What are homophones? Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings. The word ‘homophone’ has a Greek origin. ‘Homo’ meaning ‘same’ and ‘phone’ meaning ‘sound’. So, the word ‘homophone’ means a same-sounding words that have different meanings. Some homophones have the same spellings for example, the words ‘row’ as in ‘to row […]
Read MoreThere is nothing as rewarding as seeing the grin on a young reader’s face when then have just written a word that he/she can read and what more – you can read! The discovery that the squiggles on the white board can always be read by anyone at anytime is a huge “Ah ha!” moment […]
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Many children struggle with spelling. It is important to teach them how to spell in the digital age when ‘Spell Check’ is there to help? The answer is yes. Why? Firstly, because at present Spell Check makes errors as do voice recognition tools. Spell check may offer homophone or spelling options – but can students […]
Read MoreSo, we are resuming our campaign to change the way teachers send home spelling lists every week using the LOOK, WRITE, COVER, CHECK approach. Why doesn’t it work with so many children? Many children have a poor visual memory and as hard as they try, they cannot remember the shape of the word. This is […]
Read MoreThis year I have a number of students in Year 5 and 6 who are fluent readers. Their problem is spelling. Typically they may spell a word with all the correct letters that are in the wrong order, e.g. ‘nitgh’ for ‘night’. Children in Year 5 and 6 in the UK are expected to be […]
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