I've always used North Lanarkshire's Active Literacy for spelling, reading and writing. Generally speaking, I like their phoneme programme for spelling, and it has been successful for most of the children I've taught.
However, I've always had a few children who have struggled with the phonemes, and this year isn't any different. After Christmas, I re-evaluated spelling groups, as I realised that I had a few children who were struggling to make progress with the phoneme study we were doing.
I decided to do onset and rime with them, to see if that was a better way for them to think about spelling patterns. While progress remains slow, using this different approach has allowed these kids to be more successful, and I've also seen a bit more transference of spelling skills from spelling tests to every day writing.
These children were also struggling with the concept of split phonemes, or 'magic E' words. To help with this, I made some flashcards that were based on the North Lanarkshire 'word wall' cards that you can find on my blog, but which emphasised how words change when you add the 'E' to the end of them:
However, I've always had a few children who have struggled with the phonemes, and this year isn't any different. After Christmas, I re-evaluated spelling groups, as I realised that I had a few children who were struggling to make progress with the phoneme study we were doing.
I decided to do onset and rime with them, to see if that was a better way for them to think about spelling patterns. While progress remains slow, using this different approach has allowed these kids to be more successful, and I've also seen a bit more transference of spelling skills from spelling tests to every day writing.
These children were also struggling with the concept of split phonemes, or 'magic E' words. To help with this, I made some flashcards that were based on the North Lanarkshire 'word wall' cards that you can find on my blog, but which emphasised how words change when you add the 'E' to the end of them:
These have also seemed to help the kids grasp the idea that the Magic e makes real changes to the word in question - and that if you don't add the Magic e, you aren't spelling the word you think you are spelling!
In addition to the word wall/flash cards for these words, I've also made playing cards for the onset and rime patterns. These cards have the picture associated with a word on one side, and the word itself on the other side.
My kids use these cards to play the 'hula hoop' game, which is a fun way to practise the spelling patterns, as well as to check which words we know and where we are going wrong.
In addition to the word wall/flash cards for these words, I've also made playing cards for the onset and rime patterns. These cards have the picture associated with a word on one side, and the word itself on the other side.
My kids use these cards to play the 'hula hoop' game, which is a fun way to practise the spelling patterns, as well as to check which words we know and where we are going wrong.
In this game, the playing cards are placed, picture up, inside a hula hoop. The kids then take turns throwing a bean bag onto a card. Whichever card their bean bag lands on, they have to spell the word associated with the picture correctly. If they spell it right, they 'win' the card. If they are wrong, the card goes back into the hula hoop and the next person takes their turn.
At the bottom of this post, I've linked to the various files I've created for the children in my class. I hope some of these resources will help some of your own struggling spellers, and save you some time in the process!
At the bottom of this post, I've linked to the various files I've created for the children in my class. I hope some of these resources will help some of your own struggling spellers, and save you some time in the process!
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