Visual spelling strategies play a big part in a child learning how to spell. They revolve around a lot of learning to spell by 'eye', focusing mostly on students relying on how a word looks when they write and read it (Westwood, 2005). This is the strategy most involved with the proofreading part of the writing process. In case you're unfamiliar, you can find a free poster set in the downloads section. This video from Teacher Tipster showcases a fun way in which you can use sight words in your classroom. Learning words by sight is an important part of Early Years literacy education. The 100 most used words list is a common resource in most classrooms (click on the link to be taken to a free pdf of the words). They feature less in the middle and upper years but are still useful, especially for those struggling with spelling and vocabulary.
One way to incorporate visual spelling strategies in your classroom is to have a class word wall. Common, 'no-excuse' words are listed in alphabetical order in an easy to reach place so that students can get up and see them if need be. You add more words to the wall as the year goes on, words that students are having difficulty with in their writing. Word walls are also great for drawing attention to particular words and having students practice them. In the downloads section, you can find a free set of word chant cards that you can use to have kids up, moving about and practicing spelling words. These are great for a quick five or ten minute session but go a long way in drawing students' attention to the spelling of words.
A word wall in a year three classroom, around Term Three.
To help develop visual strategies (Westood, 2005):
- Teach students to look for predictable patterns in words. Group together words with common patterns (for example: other, brother, mother, bother).
- Teach students that when they are writing, the words must not only sound right but look right too.
- When showing a student how to spell a word, identify with them the most significant features of the word and encourage them to write it from memory, not by copying.
- Have students keep their own personal spelling dictionary or journal where they can write down the words they ask how to spell. They shouldn't need to ask how to spell that word again.