Educational Tips and Tidbits

Kids around the world question the importance of spelling.  They wonder why they need to learn “this stuff” and they balk at studying week after week.  Here’s a simple technique you can use to stress the importance of spelling with your child or student.

Write a set of directions laden with misspellings, to the point that it is difficult to decipher what is wanted of the reader.  Make sure to type it up so that your child doesn’t know where the directions came from.  Give it to your student and ask him or her to follow the directions to receive a reward or treat.  Undoubtedly, the child will complain loudly when they can’t figure out the correct responses!  Listen to his or her complaints and discuss what they think of the person who wrote the text.  What opinion of the writer can they form?  Have them make judgments about the writer’s skill, intelligence, attention to detail and so forth.  Most people get quite frustrated and will berate the writer for ignorance or carelessness. 

You now have ample ammunition to convince your child of the importance of his or her own spelling-in his or her own words!

Filed under: Writing and tagged correct spelling, motivation, spell, spelling, spelling skill