This is all best demonstrated using examples. A cardinal starting point is to use only spelling errors produced (and preferably found) by the student (Sam, let us say). Do not point out, or comment upon, any other spelling errors (sufficient unto the day ...). Sam only needs to know about those items we are going to use today. He probably suspects there is more wrong, let us leave it at that. For learning letter patterns we shall make up spelling cards. These will belong to Sam hereafter.

For example: perhaps Sam writes vetenary, heffer, agriculter, pasturise, notis, hav, markit, finde, toilit and reech. Unless he really needs (or wants) veterinary, heifer, agriculture or pasteurise, ignore these altogether. Say and do nothing at all about them. Teach some or all of the others, all of which contain important and common letter patterns, with letter pattern cards by LCWC/SOS, as follows:

Using ‘notice’ as our example:

Take an index card. In the top left hand corner write the letter pattern to be learned. In this case it is ice. The card, hereafter, will be referred to NOT as the ‘ice’ card but as the ‘eye - see - ee’ card. We are, and this is extremely important, learning letter patterns here, NOT sounds. In the body of the card write a short list (maximum six, say) of useful, common or relevant words containing the ‘ice’ pattern - regardless of their sound. Put Sam’s word ‘notice’ at the head of this list. In the top right hand corner of the card I write a line of stars intended to indicate how common or useful I believe the letter pattern is. This card will attract the maximum of 5 stars. This rating system is subjective but will give Sam some help deciding which cards are worth spending the most time on. Sam, after doing some learning there and then with newly acquired spelling cards like this one, will get the cards to keep, of course. They become a powerful and highly personal resource. There is one proviso; this is that you will find that Sam, after a while, tends to use his spelling cards as a test. Instead of using a card as a gentle, friendly, personal learning aid, he sets himself against it. He competes with it, and it is a competition which he tends to lose (what would be the point if he ‘won’, you can hear him thinking). The cards therefore begin to threaten rather than sustain. Using spelling cards as a test, rather than a supportive learning aid, is a horrible idea. You should explain the difference with emphatic care.

A card is used as follows:

Sam looks at the letter pattern to see exactly what is to be learned. He looks at the top left hand corner, sees (in this case) ‘ice’ and says, aloud, ‘eye - see - ee’. He has been trained to ‘see’ letter names out rather than noises. He makes a mental note that all the words on the card will contain the letters eye / see / ee. He looks at the first word and says it aloud: ‘notice’. When feeling confident that he has got hold of the spelling of notice he turns the card over and writes the word, saying the letter names (yes, preferably aloud) while doing so. (This is the SOS bit, and makes a very noticeable difference to learning) In other words, ‘notice’ is written and learned as ‘enn - oh - tea - eye - see - ee’, NOT as a weird noise (you try saying notice really slowly!). (The ‘sounding out’ method, apart from being ridiculous with many English spellings for many reasons, also often results in hand and voice getting well out of synch., so that a letter is being written while a sound relating to quite another is being sounded out. Try it.)

Sam goes on, word by word, until he is happy that the pattern is now under his belt. If he struggles, or starts to fail, at any point he should immediately stop and, in his own time, turn the card face up and look at the word he is trying to write, calmly and without panic, saying the letters again. The card is supposed to be a supportive ally! When he decides to have another go he turns the card face down again. Copying words from the card is a waste of time. Nothing will be learned. This technique is not a test. It must be made, and maintained, simple and stress-free. It must be made Sam-friendly and kept firmly under Sam’s control. Sam gets the card to keep. The method, and the reasons for it, should be very carefully explained (and a written aide memoire issued if necessary - this is the core and non-negotiable learning procedure for common letter patterns). Sam must undertake to use only LCWC / SOS, to concentrate on letter names and patterns not word sounds and not to persist if he feels stressed or threatened.