Best way to help a child learn?

Question

Hello everyone…I need help. I have a 7 year old child that is struggling with her reading and spelling. She started the first grade in a public school and was later transferred to a private school; she did not adjust to change well. But know she is doing much better and loves her new school. She needs help with memorizing her spelling words, we practice and I test her but she cries and gets very frustrated. What do I do? How do I help her? I don’t want her to hate school. Please help me.

Answer 1

Well how did you learn to spell. You must have some type strategy.

Well when I was 7. Chunking helped me. Heres an example.

Computer - Com - Puter. So remember computer as com then puter

Answer 2

Rote memory is hard for some kids and there is no one solution. Try having her sing the letters. Some kids do best if they write them over and over, but that doesn't always work. Some kids learn best if they hear-try taping the list and spelling the words out for her to listen to. It helps some others if you write the words in a slap of clay or sandpaper letters and let them feel them. The tricky part is figuring out how she learns best.

Answer 3

make it something fun that the kid would like to do like make reading the book fun and have them fallow as you read

Answer 4

Make a game out of it.

A good one for spelling is a word scramble game.

Make letters for all the words on her spelling list-make sure to make doubles if you need to-Ex: little has two ts so you would need to ts.

Then cut the letters out...you can write them on individual index cards as well.

Then mix and spread all the letters out and have put the words together.

You can start by just scrambling the letters in the one word and then add others to make it more challenging.

You can motivate her with a reward.  I like M&Ms because they are small and inexpensive, however some people dont like to give candy, so maybe for every word right she gets to stay up two minutes past her bed time or something.

You can also do a search for spelling games or spelling lesson plans...there are literally thousands of ideas out there.

Answer 5

The English language is incredibly hard to learn to read and spell, because it doesn't work very phonetically.  In other words, there are too many words that aren't spelled the way they sound, and too many ways to make some sounds!  One thing that helps  is to practice SAYING her spelling words the way they would (and should!) SOUND phonetically.  For example, you'd pronounce "please" as "pleh-ah-seh," or any way that makes sense to your daughter.  I'm a special ed teacher with a gifted daughter, so I can vouch for the fact that  it works for all levels of learners!  (This approach probably isn't new to me, but my daughter and I came up with it on our own, based on our knowledge of Spanish, which is  wonderfully phonetic!)

As for reading, there are so many good approaches out there, but you must find one that fits your daughter's strengths and preferences.  Is she a visual learner?  Connect words to brightly colored pictures (on flash cards, or any way you like).  Is she a kinesthetic learner?  Have her act out each word over and over as she reads it.  An audio learner?  Sing  the words, or rap them to a beat.  "Sing, Spell, Read, and Write" is a great program you can buy; I highly recommend it.  Maybe your school system could even purchase it.

Actually, she'd probably benefit most from using all these approaches, and more; even if you already know her  learning style, it's always a good idea to reinforce it in every area of the brain possible.

Answer 6

Children at around that age and who still exhibit some difficulty in reading and spelling may need professional help from a reading / language specialist.  It may be a red flag for a learning delay or possibly a disability.  Her love for her new school is a good sign which I agree with you, you don't want her to loose.  But as she feels more and more frustrated, without the problems being clearly addressed, then she might end up hating school, which could all the more compromise her learning.  Perhaps she should be diagnosed by a specialist.  If you are not ready for this option yet, you can enroll her in an after school enrichment program to address these needs.

Answer 7

Firstly don't push her too hard & don't make a big issue of it  and always remember that different chidlren learn at different rates and in differet ways.

See if you can make a game of spelling for her.  Try games matching words to pictures or board games that need her to read simple directions etc.  How about labelling her drawers to say what's kept in them & labelling other rooms and items around the house or making the labels for the items and have her match them to the items.

When you're out driving help her to read signs or play spot the shops such as MacDonalds etc.  There are many fun ways you can make her aware of what spelling is all about & why we  need to spell & read well without pushing her too hard.

Good luck & most important have fun with her.

Answer 8

Make up songs with her spelling words.  Reading to her using your finger to follow along under the words will help her to learn to read.  So read evey chance you get.

Answer 9

We used an Internet spelling site, spellingtime.com, which has games she can play and you can input her own spelling words!  My son liked it and his test scores improved! It was free when we used it, I'm not sure if it still is, however.

Answer 10

How about trying to get her to apla getthi or alphabet soup or some other alphabet type food and have her point out  theletter to a certain word?

Answer 11

maybe a sylvan tutor? or an older child tutor... someone who isn't related to her and she might do better. she knows what buttons to push on you as her parent. check with her school and they should be able to help you find a good tutor for her

Answer 12

make learning fun. make her want to learn, it really works!

Answer 13

I think it's important to teach her to calm herself down when she gets frustrated. Have her take some deep breaths. My husband is good at getting my daughter to calm down because he isn't as moved by her tears as I am. I guess you have to be a little tough with them.

Answer 14

There's no big long answer to this one just make it fun that's all you need to know. Learning games are always the best way to go.