child spelling problems - are there any good games to assist?

Question

My child is 6 and she has problems with her spelling (written and oral). She has problems with b, d, t - e.g. "bed" "dad" "get" they all get confused.

She is left handed which from speaking with other left handers caused them considerable problems when they were starting at school.

I know that all children have differences in learning abilities and they normally catch up after a while. I am not too concerned but I would like to assist in her learning.

I am hoping that there are some games or simple exercises that she would enjoy and at the same time inprove her spelling.

Answer 1

Leap Frog
Flash Cards
Sesame Street

Read to her each night and let her choose the book.

Answer 2

This last season on American Inventor (abc.com), Ed Hall, a finalist, invented the "Word Ace" to help children learn how to spell in a fun and interactive way. Although he did not win the show, one of the major game companies was going to work with him on bringing his invention to market. I don't when it may come to market, and realize that you want something for right now, but it may be worth keeping an eye out for in the future (it is for children of all ages). I think that they still make the game Speak and Spell, and I loved that thing as a kid.

By the way, I am also left handed and have always had some issues with spelling (I think that a touch of dyslexia went unnoticed when I was little). Most people are visual learners, so spelling out loud may be more difficult for your daughter than writing a word down. You may want to start with writing first. You could give her a piece of paper with "bed" on it and say, "lets spell bed today". Give her some letter blocks (not too many) and have her pick out the correct letters that look like what you've written. See if she can locate that word on a page in a book. Then have her spell it on paper a few times. Repeat the process later in the day, perhaps even the opposite way. Help her create a list of words she knows how to spell that will encourage her to be proud of herself. Perhaps there could be a reward at every 5-10 words that she can spell well. You can later help her build sentences from the words on her list. If she has to spell out loud, I still use the imaginary piece of paper with my finger technique or I visualize the letters in my head. Primitive, but effective.

I've also always been a slow reader. I watched too much TV as a kid and really would have been better off being read to (and having the words pointed to as the story was read), reading books for entertainment, and creating stories that I received help with writing down. However, difficulties as a child do not necessarily mean difficulties forever. I recently finished my doctorate in Communication Social Science and I have a passion for writing. Your daughter is lucky to have your willingness to help. Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

My daughter is almost 11 has the same problem along with reading. She was several grades behind in her reading level until just the last few months. A couple of ideas that worked for us:
Turn on the captions while she is watching a favourite video. This really worked fast. Also a great program called wordq that we use with MS Word. As you type the program has a drop down of words you are most likely trying to type. It also says the word when you are done typing. I have tried just about everything else mentioned before with no success but these 2 methods brought about a major improvement.

Answer 4

My daughter is six, and we LOVE to play hangman. She guesses the letters while I draw silly pictures with eyes and hair and everything else. That way she never loses and always guesses the right word.

When we're driving in the car I sometimes quiz her on how to spell certain words, sounding them out REALLY SLOW so she can recognize the letter sounds.

You might also want to find a phonics program to help your child with the letter sounds and how to sound out the words. She's only six, don't forget, and sounds like she is doing just fine for her age. Learning to read is hard, so you don't need to push spelling yet. As long as she is trying to spell phonetically, that should be fine.

Answer 5

I had similar problems as a child, but with encouragement, and give time, I improved. I am also left handed. Reading to her will help, and always the books with words big enough for her to see while you are reading to her, so you can show her what sound each letter makes.

Answer 6

Try going over them w/ her everyday and calling them back to you. I use to get my g-ma to do it and i always passed. With your child maybe try giving her stuff as a award when she has completed the spelling well. Whatever she misses tell her to go back a study and then try again the same day. Repeat as often until the test. I don't know about to many games that have spelling.

Answer 7

Hi there,
As parents, you're the most important first step in your children's journey into the wonderful world of reading. It is up to you to create the most supportive environment that turns your child on to reading - such as reading aloud to them often during the day and before bedtime, and placing age appropriate books for children around the house, so that the child will have access to plenty of books. Reading often to your child will help develop their interest in books and stories, and soon they will want to read stories on their own.

For a simple, step-by-step program that can help your child learn to read visit this site: http://readingprogram.toptips.org


I hope it helps

Answer 8

Have a look at www.thrass.co.uk. My six year old son's school started using this system of teaching spelling, and it really seems to work. It's a little confusing at first, but it's worth sticking with. Good luck. Here's the link so you can look now.


http://www.thrass.co.uk/

Answer 9

I don't know of any games, but I taught myself to spell by reading books as much as I could from about age 6 or 7. Reading aloud with your parents also helps with pronunciation and embedding it in your memory.

Answer 10

Gat her a polaroid camera, stick the pohotos in a notebook, get her to write a wee story about the photo. Check the spelling or help her by writing it and getting her to copy it.