Children are amazing! We need to learn from THEM!
I was recently working with a child who has difficulty processing sounds as she writes. We had tried various methods that “sort of” helped but there was some distance to go! Her reading was rapidly improving- but NOT her spelling!
She is a very observant child and always looking for an adventure!
I have some castanets I use to introduce the c/k/ck sound in Jolly Phonics. Sophie’s sharp eyes spotted them and wanted to know what they were and why they were in my classroom.
I explained and she seemed to be happy. We continued sounding out some words from our word-lists, clapping out sounds and tapping on the table.
Suddenly, Sophie stood up and grabbed one of the castanets. She started sounding out words while clicking the castanets- a click for each sound! I stared as she confidently worked her way through the word list.
When we moved into dictation she listened carefully and then wrote every word with 100% accuracy as she literally clicked her way through each word.
I just sat there in complete shock. After all my methods, apps, games etc- she chose something that worked for her.
Sophie is going very fast with her spelling skills now and this is largely due to “CLICK SPELLING!”
Try it- it may or may not work for your children, but the real take-a-way is to allow children to have some choice in methods that work for them- and they might be unusual!
