Sometimes it is easy to forget that even though we live in a world full of excitement, bright lights and fast computers, we are still a creature that did most of its evolving around a million years ago. The reason for highlighting this, is that it is very easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest method when in fact the answer is often quite simple.
In the BehaviouralReading program developed in our clinic wehave had great success by focussing on a slightly different approach than is mainstream and we would like to share a few ideas that you can try at home.
The essence of BehaviouralReading is to use the underlying way that we as humans have learnt and remembered for millions of years and then combine that with the latest in coaching and training techniques to foster better learning. It is literally a crossroads where speech pathology meets science meets teaching meets psychology meets coaching. And yes it is a little ‘outside of the box’ thinking.
Many of our clients will reflect on our methods and pass comments to the effect that they were unsure if their instinct was correct, but when watching how we effect change in their children, were reassured and felt empowered to be able to go on and help their kids.
Now lets see how we can make Spelling and Memory a little easier by working ‘with’ the brains natural structure. Below are 5 'tricks' to use in your
learning to read and spell program.
Spelling and Memory
Spelling and memory are quite difficult for some children, but if we consider how our brains function, then there are a few tricks that will make learning that much easier.
Trick #1
When asked to spell a word, repeat the word out loud before attempting to spell it.
- We do this because our brain has many ‘compartments’ and the more that we can switch on for the spelling task the easier it is to spell.
Trick#2
Pause for a few seconds after you say the word. This pause allows the brain to search for an answer in a low stress manner.
- Low stress for our thinking brain is very important.
Trick #3
Spell out loud the first two or three letters then pause again.
- The extra letters spoken will have activated more of the brain ‘compartments’ and the extra pause will allow the brain to assemble its thoughts without any stress or rush.
Trick #4
Keep spelling the word, but try and do it in chunks or groups of letters that you may know or be able to hear.
- Our brain naturally assembles information into related groups, so by spelling big words like ‘pathology’ our brain finds it easier to work with two chunks of ‘path’ and ‘ology’. This way it has only got two things to search for, rather than the nine individual letters. As the brain becomes more accustomed to the chunks, it will be able to use them over and over. Path-ology, bi-ology, ge-ology, psych-ology, myth-ology.
Trick #5
Repeat spelling the word at least four times and more if you have the time.
- Our brain does not know what is important and what isn’t. We can tell our brain what to remember and what is important by repeating it several times.