Doing all spelling lessons orally? Is this effective?

[striving2Bprov31]

We are certain my ds9 has dysgraphia. We will be finding an occupational therapist soon and have been told this is very treatable. I will also be doing therapy excercises with him here at home.

I want to keep doing spelling with him, but I am eliminating all handwriting even on the whiteboard until we get him to a certain point. Do any of you know....is it still effective to do spelling lessons with no handwriting involved at all? I have hime look at the word on the card, we use it in the sentence, he watches me write it on the whiteboard, he spells it orally from memory. Is this good??

Thanks!!

[spidermansmum]

We have done spellings orally,we have also done them with magnetic letters on the fridge .Now DS prefers to write them because that is less work.The only thing we had a problem with is sometimes we had a grey area with what was actually said-but if he can answer at the end of the week "pain -P-A-I-N " then he has learnt his spelling

[elizawill]

yes, imho it would still be effective. i actually think it is more difficult to spell something from memory and not write it down. most people tend to spell better as they write (because they can "see" it) - but to spell orally from memory tends to take more skill.

[raceNzanesmom]

I would make sure he's seeing it, perhaps you writing on the whiteboard as he spells. We also use letter tiles early in the week to help him "see" the pattern.

[striving2Bprov31]

Thanks, ladies.

I suspected that he can still learn to spell without involving handwriting. You're right, I think the key is for him to see the word several times so that is will "stick" in his mind.

Hopefully in the coming months we can see some improvements in the handwriting department!!

Thanks!

Another day of choosing joy, Liz

[tnahid]

I make my sons write the word down once, then later in the day I quiz them on it orally. They really like not having to write it twice! This is what they do in spelling bees, so I thought, "why not here?" It is working for us!

[KTLM6]

"Seeing" the word is very effective for many in spelling. I don't think it necessarily has to be written by the student. I picked up a technique off of a website that has been very effective. I put the word on a flashcard (usually just an index card). I use two or three colors of markers. I put consonants as one color and vowels as another. If there is a spelling in the word that is tricky, like silent letters or blends, I make them a third color. I've played around with this a bit, and overall, this has made a HUGE difference with spelling. We have slowly moved to only dictation over the last few months. However, with HOD, the new words in a dictation passage are in bold. I take those words and make the flashcards. It only takes a few moments. I had my daughter make the cards a couple times, but it made no difference in her learning the words. This is a great way for kids to "see" the word and visualize it in their minds without writing.

[holyhart]

"Seeing" the word is very effective for many in spelling. I don't think it necessarily has to be written by the student. I picked up a technique off of a website that has been very effective. I put the word on a flashcard (usually just an index card). I use two or three colors of markers. I put consonants as one color and vowels as another. If there is a spelling in the word that is tricky, like silent letters or blends, I make them a third color. I've played around with this a bit, and overall, this has made a HUGE difference with spelling. We have slowly moved to only dictation over the last few months. However, with HOD, the new words in a dictation passage are in bold. I take those words and make the flashcards. It only takes a few moments. I had my daughter make the cards a couple times, but it made no difference in her learning the words. This is a great way for kids to "see" the word and visualize it in their minds without writing.

I really like this. I also make flash cards, but never thought to try them using different colors to emphise the consanents/vowels/tricky or silent letters. What a great idea!