What is the best way to help a 8 year old study for spelling tests??

Question

She is also diagnosed with ADHD and is struggling through reading & not doing good on spelling tests. She also doesnt like to take the time to study. I call out the words and she writes them down but she's just not getting it. Please help!!!

Answer 1

DEAR
YOU ARE DOING THE BEST THAT YOU CAN YOU ARE DOING EVERY THING RIGHT SHE JUST DOES NOT CARE IF SHE DOES IT ARE NOT. YOU AS A MOTHER IS TRYING TO TEACH YOUR CHILD AND AS A MOTHER YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. I HATE TO A MOTHER BUT YOU MAY SPANK HER ON THE BOTTOM JUST USE YOUR STRONG VOICE AND A FEW POPS SHE WILL CRY BUT THIS ALL YOU CAN DO IN THIS MATTER TAKE CARE GOOD LUCK.

Answer 2

Make it fun!!!!!
Turn it into a game or give her a spelling 'contract'. I used this in my 3rd grade classroom and the children's spelling grades improved drastically. The contract has a list of about 10-15 activities all worth different amounts of points. The student can choose which activities to complete as long as they complete a total of a certain number of points. The activities can range from simple, (abc order) to medium (classify the words according to the part of speech) to difficult (use all the words in a story or create a word search using all the words). The children feel a great sense of pride in being able to make their own decisions and the activities are fun! If spelling is treated as a boring chore, the child will not be motivated to succeed. Besides, these activities allow the child to become involved in more than just the spelling of the word. Vocabulary building skills are built, which will help to improve both their reading and writing skills! Give it a try!

Answer 3

It's great that you are helping your child to study. First, check with your child's teacher about whether or not there is a pretest. If a student is getting less than half of the words correct on the pretest, then there is little hope of actual transfer. That is, your daughter could learn the words by rote for the test, but wouldn't actually be able to spell them correctly in her writing. This is kind of a waste of time. You can ask your child's teacher for a modified or reduced list. (Search for Words Their Way to get more info about developmental spelling approaches)

But if your daughter is doing okay on her pretests, then you may want to consider using multisensory techniques for her spelling words. The more pathways she has to a concept, the better chance she has of remembering it. For a tactile experience, she could write the words in shaving cream or use Wiki-Sticks (little wax sticks). For a large motor, kinesthetic activity, she could write the words outside on the driveway. For visual, she could write the vowels in one color and the consonants in another. And for auditory, she could make a song or rhyme for the words. Putting information in a variety of modes helps with learning anything.

Problems in reading are a major concern. In your opinion, is she having trouble with the decoding (pronouncing) the words, or is she having trouble with comprehension (understanding what she reads)? If there is a decoding problem, it's probably related to the spelling issues. You might want to do some work with her phonological awareness, or ability to hear sounds in words. Working with rhymes and poetry can be very helpful. If the problem is comprehension, get some high quality books on CD and listen to them together. (I think that listening together is almost better than just reading aloud, because you are a participant in the experience.) The Spiderwick Chronicles is a great choice for this age, as are the Magic Treehouse books. As you listen together, pause periodically and share your thinking. Talk about connections you make, how you're understanding the characters, and so forth. This will also expose your daughter to new vocabulary and build her awareness of stories.

Answer 4

have her read books.....

Some people just don't do good in spelling. Some don't get math.

One of the best ways to be a good speller however is to learn spelling the "unconcious" way. If you look at a spelling word 10 times and write it 10 times, then maybe you will know if for 10 minutes.

However if you read 10 books with that word appearing 100 times in each book, you will know that word for 100 years.

Answer 5

I have my boys write the word 5 times each and then I give him a spelling test to see how they do, then I am able to find out which words are hard for them. Then they write those words 5 times each and we retest.
We did that enough times, that they've started just studying it themselves that way and always get 100%.

Answer 6

You would be better off to get spelling games or make a game out of her spelling. Ask her to spell a word without writing it down.Then u spell a word and whoever spells it right gets points.But your words have to be alot harder then hers.Just have fun with it.Good luckl If she has ADHD then having her write a word a number of times will not work.Her mind will not be on what she is writeing.

Answer 7

I try to make a song out of it. If that don't work, of if I can't come up with a good song, I go over each word about 5 times and then make them spell it out loud to me and then go to the next word.

Answer 8

Spelling Bees.....turn it into a game.

I have three kids ages 6. 7 & 8. When we're out for dinner or driving in the car we play the spelling bee game. I ask them to spell a word (age appropriate) and they eagerly take turns spelling out words. I give them lots of verbal praise and we all clap. If the word is spelt incorrectly i spell it out for them and ask them to try again.

It satifies my need to help them learn and it satisfies their need to get praise and approval from me.

Answer 9

Two things we do.
We take turns quizzing eachother on spelling so it is fun for him when he is up against mom, dad and siblings.
Also I test him on his words using a dry erase board. for some reason he likes this better than paper.

Answer 10

I have my children write the words like 15 times a piece,you have to be sure they know it's not a form of punishment.

Answer 11

have fun with it. try to make a story out of the spelling words or have her make one.