Spelling and Sensory Learning Styles

Visual

• Highlight or circle the parts of the word that are hard to spell. For example, write the difficult bits in different colours.
• Change the way the word looks. Divide it up differently: l iai son
• Find words in the words: cat a log
• Try scratch sheet spelling. Write down the word that you can’t remember using all the phonetic variations you can think of. Scratch out the versions that don’t look right. You might be able to pick out the right version by comparing them visually.
• Make flash cards for the difficult words. Put a picture on the front of the card and the correct spelling on the back. Try spelling the word mentally, out loud or on paper while you look at the picture. Check your spelling by turning over the flash card.
• You can also put the words up at various spots at home or work where you can look at them frequently.
• Work with a group of words that have similar tough bits.
• Make a mental picture that will help in remembering the word: Flowers flowing down a hill.
• Create a personal dictionary if you think you will take the time to look at it.
• Make a Scrabble game based on the spelling words. Use a blank Scrabble board and place the words on the board using pieces of paper marked with letters instead of the usual Scrabble tiles. Remember to connect the words as in the usual game. Then, each player takes some letter tiles from the Scrabble game (seven or more tiles depending on your rules). The players take turns placing the letter tiles on the paper letters. Each one’s turn ends when he cannot place another tile on the paper letter words. The first one to finish a word gets the points for that word including any bonus points under the letters. Keep taking tiles as each person finishes a turn so that everyone has enough tiles to play with. In this game, people spend a lot of time looking at the words and the exact placement of letters.
• Make up word searches with the spelling words.
• Look at the shape of a word. Outline it.
• Write words so their shapes make pictures of the words or so they illustrate the meaning. For example, make a broomstick for the t in witch.
• Write down the prefix for the learner and leave a blank beside it. Then give the definition of the word you want the learner to write and he fills in the rest of the word. For example, sub, a transportation system that goes underground = subway.