Spelling Test Prep

How about finding clever visual ways to make the word stick?
Like drawing eyes in the 2 O's in the word LOOK?
Or the actual sun in the word Sun?

Making up funny sentences to help her remember?
Like friend is really just "let's fri, it's the end"?
Kinda like you are B E A Utiful....

Stuff like that?

My kids use a program online (they also have an app) called spelling city, on it they can take practice tests, and play games. Many teachers have accounts so the words are already uploaded, but you can manually type in any list of words you want.

Scrabble letters are also a great way to have her spell the words during practice.

Place rice in a rectangle baking pan. Have her use her finger to write in the pan.

Call out the words, so she cal call out the spelling.

Have her call out the words to you.. You write them out, but misspell a few so she can correct them.

You should be meeting with the teacher ASAP to discuss what's already done in class, where the weaknesses are, and what home methods would complement the class work. My guess is that your dyslexia is stressing you out, and that's being transferred to your daughter. She may have a learning disability too, and all those Fs are a red flag (or should be) to the teacher and the rest of the school team to identify what accommodations should be made, if any. It might not even be the words themselves, but the testing atmosphere or the time allotted. I don't think it's productive for parents to keep experimenting with new strategies, especially when it's in an area that's hard for you to begin with. Email the teacher today and ask for a sit-down re the spelling tests and at-home support strategies.

And it's only 2nd grade - try not to get so sad and stressed out! I really question the use of letter grades on every test a 2nd grader takes!

My child's teacher gives us lots of fun spelling homework. Here are a few of the things we've done for homework:

Make the spelling words out of play doh
Put whipped cream in a cake pan and write out the words using your finger in the whipped cream
Play spelling baseball (put all the words in a hat, and each person advances 1 base each time they spell a word right. Once all the words have been used 3 times, the person with the most runs wins.)
Spell words while doing jumping jacks
Write the words in sidewalk chalk outside and look at them each time you go in and out
Go to a puzzle maker website (google discovery puzzlemaker for a good one) and use the word search maker - child types in the spelling words, then prints out the word search, and then solves the word search.

Those are the ones I can think of that we've done. The concept is to try to incorporate other ways of learning - touch, feel, movement, etc, into learning to make it stick. And, it's much more fun than writing words over and over!

What would happen if you gave your daughter a "spelling test" at home? If you conducted it the same way the teacher does at school? For example, if the teacher calls out the word, and the students write it, do it that way at home, sort of like a practice test. Would your daughter be able to write the words correctly? Do this exactly like school, where your daughter is seated, and you are pretending to be the teacher. Ask your daughter to tell you how the spelling test is given. Is there a time limit? Does the teacher say each word twice, or once, or use it in a sentence? Do the exact same thing. The important thing is to mimic as closely as possible the situation in school when the test is given.

If your daughter is unable to spell the words correctly in this pretend spelling test, then maybe that will give you some information that you can give the teacher. If she can't recall how the words were spelled, or writes them with some of the letters in the wrong order, that should give the teacher an idea of the problem.

If your daughter is able to spell the words properly in this pretend situation, then maybe there's something else going on. Maybe she can't hear the teacher? Maybe the kid next to her is bullying her or teasing her or just acting goofy and distracting her. Maybe she panics in the school setting (fear of failure, anxiety, nervousness, hunger, worry, any number of things) and just blanks on words that she knows well. Maybe the test is given right after recess or before snack time and your daughter is tired or dehydrated. There could be a dozen things that affect her performance. But this information would also give your daughter's teacher ideas on how to help her. Maybe she needs to take the test in another room, or maybe the teacher can help her feel more relaxed.

I wanted to add a few more suggestions my second grader's teacher offers:

Draw a picture and "hide" the spelling words in it.

Write the words three times directly on topic each other using different crayons (rainbow words).

Write silly sentences using the spelling words.

Pyramid words:
ex. Dog
D
DO
DOG

I gave each of my kids a verbal test when they first got the words. The words they missed, I had them write out 5 times and then redo verbal test. Repeat each day until test.

If you are dyslexic, there is a fair chance she will be too. Talk to the school about testing her. The school should have resources to help her if that is the problem.

Have you tried phonics? Even as an adult, when there is a word I have difficulty spelling, I teach myself to say the word phonetically so when I have to write it, in my head I'm saying it differently than I would if I were reading it. For example, together is to get her.

I also think you should talk to the teacher and ask for testing for your daughter. She also may be dyslexic or have some other needs that need to be met in order for her to reach her full potential.

I am in elementary school a lot as a sub and we have routines that start on Monday for the spelling test on Friday.

There is a theme each week,,, long e, etc and star words (usually 3)

We brainstorm on the white board for all kinds of words that fit in each category. Children write the star words 3 times each. During Language arts time, the spelling pattern is followed on the computer games, games with teams, and seat work which is usually writing sentences, etc.

A lot of the higher grade levels will have the students write the words 5 times each, make a sentence with each word.

Phonics does play into it a lot as well.

We have tiles on a board to practice making the words, bingo, word puzzles, etc. Anything you can do to make it fun helps them learn. It's true that spelling is a memorization process as well.

I am sorry a teacher is writing a big red F of papers. When we grade, we have incentive bucks that the children use for the treasure chest... so if someone gets all 10 words correctly, they get 5 bucks. Even if a child gets 0 correct, they still get a buck for trying because you don't want to squash their esteem and I see that happen so often. I've had children in tears for missing words and it breaks my heart because I know they are trying.

Playing games with her at home can help. Make 2 sets of flash cards and play concentration.

We put shaving cream on a desk and they write words, give them each a small white board with markers (they love the white boards dry erase) and they spell words.

Best wishes to you.

Love all the different answers!

I know a child who did best when she had practiced and then, when it was test time, closed her eyes for one second and "saw" the word. Then she could write it letter by letter. If it was a long word, she sometimes needed to close her eyes again mid-word. Honestly, this was the miracle for her. There will be one for your daughter once you and her teacher find it.

All my best.

We play sparkle. You go around in a circle (or back and forth alternating letters - so 'sparkle' - I say s, she says p, I say a, she says r, etc. The person who finishes the word says sparkle and wins that round (yes who wins depends completely on the length of the word). You are out if you miss a letter (or forget to capitalize). We also use the words in conversation over the week and just spell them when we do. My son's teacher also puts the lists on Spelling City (computer app) and there are activities/games using each word that they can do. And then we quiz (if he wants) on Thursdays.

But seriously it's second grade spelling. I tell my son that grades don't matter, his effort does. If he fails a spelling test, he will just learn the words after the test, instead of before.

Have her spell the words out loud to you every day.
Mark the ones on the list that she misses.
Then have write those words a few times those days.
Mock "test" at home Thursday night.

My daughter is in 1st grade. At the beginning of the year, she cautioned against having them write down their words. With that, the tendency is to just copy and can be done automatically vs actually learning the word. We get the words on paper that we can cut them out and use them as flashcards. The idea is to study just one or 2 a day until she sees it and knows it. There have been words that she just missed because she put an o instead of u or similar. I have found that trying to teach my daughter the rules along with the spelling does not work for her. For example, "oo" makes the long U sound like in boot, unless of course you mean "oo" like in book. This has just comfused her. When she has a word that she is struggling with, we talk about it and find a way for her to understand it. Each person learns differently.

I give my kids a spelling test every D. until the D. of their actual test at school. They write the words they miss 5 times. We repeat this process until they get all of the words correct. It works for us.

We use to do this over dinner. Starting on Monday we'd do the list by having them spell it out loud.. Any words spelled correctly with no hesitation were only practiced once a day after that. Words with hesitation Words misspelled with written on paper and they read the letters out loud. Lather rinse repeat every day. By Friday they had the words down for the most part. Doing it at dinner made it part of our routine and the children cheered each other on and gave them tips. Plus with 4 kids all with different words imulti tasking was needed.

We have the spelling list with us all the time. We have it tucked in the sun visor. At stop lights we look it over and as we drive we tell the kids to spell....XXXXXXX. They do it and then we move on.

If they can verbalize it they can spell it.

He may not learn by writing. YOU might learn by writing but it's obvious he doesn't. Find other ways to get him to use the words.

You can always get a package of mini M&Ms and every time he spells a word right he gets an M&M or jelly bean or smartie or something he likes.

It's pure memorization. Out loud at first then written down.

How long are the words? If they are long, break them up into two parts and learn that way. Shorter is easier.

Ex - Reason
Rea
Son

It's easier to remember two smaller parts than one longer whole. That's why number are broken up (ss# and phone numbers).

Good luck - she can do it.