WHY DO MANY INTELLIGENT STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO MEMORISE AND REMEMBER THOSE WORDS AND HOW TO SPELL THEM?If your child has difficulty with reading and/or can’t spell, is labeled as 'dyslexic' or/and 'ADHD', he or she is almost certainly a visual-spatial learner i.e. a right brain dominant learner. This means that they think and learn very differently to people who are left-brain dominant learners.
RESEARCH TELLS US THAT THE RIGHT-BRAIN STYLE OF LEARNING IS NOT A LEARNING DISABILITY BUT A DIFFERENT WAY OF LEARNING
Why do they often struggle to learn isolated words?
• These very intelligent, creative students are visual thinkers. This is a wonderful gift to have.
• They see 3D pictures, not words so can have difficulty translating their rich 3D images into words.
• They are ‘concrete’ learners who must understand the meaning and relevance of the words in context.
• They are ‘big picture’ thinkers who learn in wholes, not in parts.
• They have long term visual memories.
They don’t learn and remember through...
• memorization and rote learning;
• spelling rules;
• sounding out words (phonics);
• breaking up words into letters.
These are all left-brain skills for left-brain sequential learners who have short-term word memories. Even if your child remembers for the test, the words will not transfer into his/her long-term visual memory and written work.
So, how can they learn to remember?
Visualization is key! They must visualize whole words + images to spell them. Try this:
• Give child a pre-test on each word on whiteboard.
• Write each word correctly and large on coloured paper card (1/4 A4) with a coloured pen.
• Colour the letters that are incorrect in a different colour e.g. valuble: valuable
• Discuss each word and its meaning;
• Child draws around shape of word in black.
• Let your child draw right-brain memory ‘hooks’ on the word that make them think of the word. E.g. little pictures, funny symbols and stories about what they’ve drawn etc;
• Laugh and have fun – they remember humour!
• Teach them to visualise each word.
• Use whiteboard/coloured pens to write the whole word after visualization. Revise.
• Once in their visual memories it remains there!
Consider these things to lessen anxiety
• How many times do people in the real-world present documents in handwriting?
• Computers have spell checks;
• Poor spellers can get concessions for matric
• How many times do people in the real-world present documents in handwriting?
• Computers have spell checks;
• Poor spellers can get concessions for matric
Extract from The Centre for Life-Long Learning's March newsletter.