When learning new spellings or practicing for our weekly spelling test we encourage the children to choose a strategy to do so. Our key strategies used in the classroom can be found below along with our common exception word mats [attached] as these are usually the words the children have difficulty spelling due to them not being phonetical.
Segmentation:
The splitting of a word into its constituent phonemes in the correct order to support spelling.
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In the video Miss Watterson is modelling our rainbow writing strategy. Using coloured pencils/ pens in different ways can help you to make parts of the words memorable, we suggest highlighting or writing the tricky part or letters of the word in different colours.
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Look, say, cover, write, check:
Look: first look at the whole word carefully and if there is one part of the word that is difficult, look at that part in more detail.
Say: say the word as you look at it, using different ways of pronouncing it if that will make it more memorable.
Cover: cover the word.
Write: write the word from memory, saying the word as you do so.
Check: Have you got it right? If yes, try writing it again and again! If not, start again - look, say, cover, write, check!
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The video above shows Miss Watterson modelling our quick write strategy. The aim is to write as many words as possible within a given time; writing the word repeatedly helps link focus with speed and fluency.
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In the video above Miss Watterson is modelling our pyramid word strategy. This method of learning forces you to think of each letter separately, you can also reverse the process so that you end up with a diamond.
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Drawing an image around the word:
This strategy is all about making a word memorable. It links to meaning in order to try to make the spelling noticeable. This can't be the main method of learning spellings, but it might work on those that are just a little more difficult to remember.
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Other Strategies:
