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This is a slightly modified excerpt from That Spelling Thing. Bundling by tricky code <ough> isn’t a common grapheme but it occurs in very common words and it worries people because <ough> words look so similar. However, by thinking in sounds and using the TST script, anxious spellers no longer have to … Read More

Struggling spellers tend to think of short words as easy and long words as hard when it’s often the little words that require more memory. The best way to convince a student of this is to use the TST ‘building with puzzle pieces’ lesson rather than going right into spelling. Building is … Read More

Leading a session with a group of secondary teachers from various departments, I boldly ask for words their students struggle to spell so I can show them how our strategies work. The maths teacher says, ‘isosceles’. Oh, super. Have I mentioned that I’m a normal speller? That Spelling Thing doesn’t come out … Read More

Here’s the second part of thinking about making up sentences as a way of remembering how to spell words. ‘Big elephants can always understand small elephants’ is by far the most popular one I’ve heard at all levels. What’s the alternative and why is it better? When you’ve got a word that … Read More

Click on a line to jump to the post. Will open in a new tab. Part 1 Intro to Mnemonics Part 2 Making up sentences to remember how to spell words Part 3 Building ‘because’ instead of the elephant story Making up sentences to remember how to spell words Making up sentences … Read More

Click on a line to jump to the post. Will open in a new tab. Part 1 Intro to Mnemonics Part 2 Making up sentences to remember how to spell words Part 3 Building ‘because’ instead of the elephant story Intro to Mnemonics Thinking up mnemonics (memory devices or tricks) is second … Read More

Create a culture of spelling in your classroom by following these 5 steps. That Spelling Thing is a dynamic, fun and memory-friendly alternative to look/cover/write/check. Improve spelling and increase vocabulary across the curriculum.