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How to Help With 2nd Grade Spelling

Every child needs guidance to develop to her true potential. There are pitfalls along the way, and spelling frequently creates problems that hinder a student from becoming fluent in language. Don't let the maverick spellings of the English language defeat your second-grade student. There are ways to improve your student's ability to spell and help him on the way to uninhibited writing. According to Diana Hanbury King, founder of Kildonan School, all teaching, especially of dyslexics, must be multisensory. The multisensory approach uses all the possible pathways to the brain and therefore maximizes instruction.

Things You'll Need

  • Rubber letters
  • Markers
  • 18-by-24-inch sheets of newsprint
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Instructions

    • 1
      Taking systematic and sequential steps will create spelling success.

      Allow your student to touch each rubber letter, name it and then pronounce the letter's primary sound. Once he is able to understand the alphabet at this level, he is ready to spell.

    • 2
      Letters of the alphabet will become familiar tools.

      Present your student with the letters of a three-letter word she will be spelling, and encourage her to name each letter and pronounce its sound. Have her say the word to be spelled and find the initial letter she hears. Have her do the same with the third letter, then the middle letter.

    • 3
      Skywriting is a fun way to learn.

      Prepare your student for skywriting by having him stand and extend his arm forward with index finger pointing, as if it were a pencil. Model the procedure for him to imitate by writing the word in the air, saying each letter in sequence and ending by saying the entire word.

    • 4
      Tracing the word is an important step in multisensory spelling.

      Write the word on large paper with markers. Encourage your student to trace the word with her finger, saying each letter name as she traces it, then writing over the word with a pen, saying each letter again as she traces it.

    • 5
      Echo each letter as it is written and end with the whole word.

      Prompt your student to copy the word with the model visible. As he writes, he should name each letter and conclude by saying the entire word. Use large, unlined newsprint for the initial copying. It will allow him to experience optimum movement for imprinting his memory.

    • 6
      Writing in sand is magical.

      Provide practice to enable the child to become a fluent speller. The more tactile the experience, the more effective in impacting the visual memory. Use a sandbox, a piece of felt, finger paint or gravel as a palette on which to trace the word. For the auditory learner, try a metronome or drum to give help him connect with the rhythm of words.

    • 7
      Success breeds more success.

      Test your student's mastery of a word. Follow the same sequence of saying the word, then saying each letter as it is written, and finishing by reading the entire word. She is now master of the word and subsequent spelling will come easier with repetition of the multisensory skills.

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