Cool Website for Spelling Studying Help!!

So I've just learned of this great new website: www.spellingcity.com. This site will be an incredible tool for helping your child study his/her spelling words. Students can add their own words, or the teacher can enter them and allow the students to access them. I have created an account and have even entered this week's words on the long U patterns -ue and -ew (even though our test is tomorrow).

The following are some of the supports the site offers:
- reads the words to the child
- reads a sentence with the word to the child
- tests the child (calls out the words and the child types them)
- offers 3 different games using the words
- will print the lists for the child

What an awesome site and it's all free! So get your child on the web and get them studying their words in a unique and fun way!!

(By the way to access my lists, just chose "FInd Your List" and then type in my name: Beth Young.)

Spelling Pyramid Strategy

This is just an example of the strategy we are practicing this week for studying our spelling words:

r
re
rep
repa
repay
repaym
repayme
repaymen
repayment

or

p
pl
pla
play

New Study Strategy?

Last week I did a sort of 'experiment' with a student who has been constantly struggling with her spelling. She and her mom tell me how much they are studying, but the child can't seem to make over a C. This is frustrating on all sides as you can imagine, so I needed to find a 'new' strategy for us to try. That is when I was reminded about using visual cues! I decided to try it out right away. I sat with the little girl and we wrote out all her words on flashcards. Then we decorated each one and even for some of them came up with catchy phrases. By the time we were done with the cards, she could already spell them all for me! Having only two days to study with our new strategy before the Friday test, she still managed to get a grade of B!!! Wow! So we are trying it again to see if it really will help, because we can't base everything on this one sucess. But, I decided to try it with the whole class this time. What I'm most excited about is not kids learning more spelling words, I'm really excited at the possiblity that I may be teaching them a powerful new studying strategy. This strategy can be used in all areas- math, science, social studies, language... So next time you or your child have to memorize something, try writing it out creatively, adding color, pictures, and also coming up with some catchy phrases or tunes! It just might make it stick to that brain of yours!

Here is a link to an article I read that matched up with my reasoning- http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/spelling.htm