Thursday, August 6, 2009

Language Arts Tips and Hints: More Spelling Tips

Instead of using the traditional list/test approach to spelling, you can mix things up by using the "editor" approach: Give your child a paragraph, poem, essay, or other piece of writing that you have prepared and tell them to find and correct the misspelled words. It helps if you tell them how many they are looking for. If you double- or triple-space the document, they can do it just like a real editor does--by circling the word in a color other than black (let the student use the red pencil against you instead of you against them for once!) and then writing the correct spelling above it. For younger students, you might have to help them with the correct spelling. For older students, don't provide the correct spelling for them, but do give them tools to find it (dictionaries, online spelling lists, etc), since this is how they will have to do it as adults.

This is extremely valuable. In most of the writing we do, it actually isn't necessary to spell a word right the first time, but it is necessary to have everything spelled right in the end. Being able to pick through a piece of writing and find the misspelled words is a valuable skill because that's how we most often interact with spelling--how often does someone give YOU a list of words to memorize and write down?

Language Arts Tips and Hints: Teaching Poetry

Children are more inclined to like poetry than to dislike it--unless we cram it down their throats or try to teach them the "parts" (imagery, rhyme scheme, meter, etc.). So, until students are in junior high, they should be exposed to poetry--even a lot of it--but not force-fed it.

One way that works is to read them poems occasionally. They should be encouraged to verbalize whether they like or dislike what they've heard, and possibly why (although with poetry this is difficult--even for me, some poetry speaks to my soul and other poetry makes no sense whatsoever). Don't push the issue or try to change the child's mind or open their eyes to something they've missed if it discourages their viewpoint though. After all, more understanding can but often doesn't beget more enjoyment when you're dealing with children and poetry.

Don't spend a lot of time on poetry that doesn't rhyme or doesn't have a clear rhythm. To children, the rhyme and the rhythm ARE poetry, not the beautiful words or images or the brevity or any of those other things that can make words into poems for adults. When children develop the ability to abstract (about junior high age), they have a much easier time grasping and enjoying the beauty and complexity of all kinds of poetry--but they still like the fun stuff.

Don't force them to write poetry. You don't have to be able to write verse to be able to write well. However, if they do show interest in writing poetry, encourage it. One fun way to get kids writing poetry is by having them read a simple poem (Mother Goose rhymes are great for this) or sing a children's song and then write a parody of it (change some or all of the words, but keep the general 'feel' the same). It doesn't have to be a humorous parody, although that is fun. For small children, play games with rhyming words.

I recommend using the works of these poets when teaching K-8 students: Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, and Robert Frost. Everything I've read of X.J. Kennedy is also fantastic, but I haven't read as much of his (so, for example, I don't know if he writes anything that isn't appropriate for children).

You really only need two books to teach poetry to kids: X.J. and Dorothy Kennedy's "Knock at a Star" (great poems for kids by the great poets, and lessons about poetry, too), and the anthology, edited by Scott Elledge, "Wider than the Sky: Poems to Grow Up With." Both of these are filled with poems that happen to appeal to children, written by truly great poets (Shakespeare, W.H. Auden, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, the Brownings, etc.). Neither contain questionable material by my standards (your standards might be different, so always pre-read things you give your children).

The only caveat in choosing children's poetry is the same as choosing any materials for your children: read it before you give it.

Some poetry anthologies (like the "Kids Pick the Funniest Poems" series, edited by Bruce Lansky) are full of poems that are fine structurally but are morally ambiguous at best, focusing on bodily functions, making your family disappear, fighting with siblings (and tricking them or winning in other ways), belittling parents and other adults, whining about education (which kids don't find bothersome until someone tells them it's supposed to be), etc. While it may be normal for kids to laugh about potty humor, that doesn't make it appropriate subject matter for school. (And I NEVER like my children to read things that, even in jest, are anti-family. Just because we have fights with our siblings doesn't mean we should glorify it!). The trouble with this in poetry is that poetry is "sticky"--it is an extremely effective way of getting a message into your mind for a long time (which is why advertisers use jingles). You want to be aware of what message you're planting in your children's heads. "Fun" does not necessarily equate with "good," morally or artistically.

(Some parents dislike Shel Silverstein, feeling he has crossed these lines, but I enjoy his work and find it strikes a nice balance between acknowledging children's experiences and feelings (yes, they ARE sometimes mad at their parents) without glorifying it.)

Mostly, poetry is supposed to be joyful and fun--don't make it tedious and dreadful by the way you teach it (which is, unfortunately, what usually happens in public schools!).

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Language Arts Tip and Hints: Spelling

Traditional spelling education (lists and tests) works great for some kids.

Some kids....not so much.

If you say to your child, "Does this look right to you?" and they answer, "Yeah" and you still can't figure out what they were trying to write, or if your child's spelling is atroshiss after third grade, give up.

Yes, I just said that.

Give up on traditional spelling lists/tests. It won't help. There is a level of spelling that is taught, and a level that is inborn, genetic aptitude. Chances are, if you or your husband was a terrible speller, some or all of your children will be, too, and traditional spelling education won't help, and it will frustrate your child.

So try something different.

For one thing, stop having them handwrite everything. Instead, have them type everything possible and set the preferences on your programs to "spell check as you go." Any time that red line shows up, have your child try to fix the spelling by themselves first, and then turn to the spell checker for help. The instant feedback in a non-test setting might help. Also, eliminating the concentration on getting the letters legible helps some kids.

Also, when you must teach spelling words, skip the lists. Doing a word set a day, focus on commonly misspelled words that spell checkers don't catch (check this video for hints). Do ONE word or word set (their/they're/there, it's/its, two/to/too, occasionally, etc) a day. Don't just assign the words and check the spelling, though. Talk about the meanings of the words, teach rhymes ("I before E/except after C/ and when sounding like A/ as in neighbor or weigh", for example) or tricks for remembering which word has which meaning (There has Here in it--and those two go together), write and type the word in sentences, talk about what "most people do wrong" with this word (so your child knows they aren't the only one who struggles). One day, learn a word and review it multiple times, testing one half to one hour after you first introduce it. The next day, review yesterday's word quickly and add another. Only review one word a day--don't let the list get longer. Absolutely do NOT grade other work down for misspellings (but do give extra praise or points for correctly spelling words they've studied!).

And don't expect it to work very well. Some kids never do "get" it, and the worst thing you can do it make them think they're stupid because they can't spell (I can't count the number of students I had who were deeply relieved to find out that being a poor speller is genetics, not laziness or stupidity--and learning that unleashed their creativity).

Mostly, take the pressure off and, just like kids whose eyes don't work right rely on glasses, let kids whose spellers don't work right rely on technology.

Check out Nikki Ballard for a great site to help frustrated spellers remember what they've been trying to learn for years (and for a list of words that you might study--one a day.)

This video had some good tips for older students--and you might check out the other videos in the series as well!