Knowing how to spell is fundamental

Nine strategies to improve children's spelling are listed in Improving Children's Spelling, a guide for parents and teachers by remedial teacher Brendan Culligan which was published earlier this year. The author, who has 15 years experience as a remedial teacher, explains some of the strategies used by remedial teachers in Irish schools. His book "focuses on the centrality of children's spelling needs and recognises the huge part that parents have to play in helping children to improve at spelling."

He strongly urges the adoption of a daily paired spelling session, formal or informal, along with one of nine strategies, which would result, he says "in parents, teachers and children seeing a remarkable improvement in spelling ability due to increased levels of confidence and motivation." In a paired spelling session, the teacher or parent spends just five minutes talking through the words to be learned, examining the internal structures, looking for words within words or drawing attention to potential black spots.

The first method is Look & Say - Picture - Cover - Write - Check and Use. It is already in use in many schools. The second method he lists is Cued Spelling, which is also widely used in schools - here "children feel they have an active part in the whole precess as they choose their cues for particular words. For example, for police, a child might pick the two cues, po and lice or maybe pol and ice."

The Simultaneous Oral Spelling method stresses the necessity to learn the relationship between a word's sounds, its appearance and movement.

The Magic Carpet and Tracing Technique, which is widely used by children attending workshops organised by the Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities, combines the sound with the symbol while tracing the word on a piece of carpet.

The Fernald Technique, devised in 1943, was the first one to advocate a multisensory approach. "This is really a look, say and do method and phonics do not have a role in it," writes Culligan.

The Fitzgerald Technique is a five-stage multi-sensory procedure which was developed in 1955. Here the meaning of the word is prominent.

The Graham and Freeman Technique from 1966 is similar to other methods but it also makes use of a tactile approach.

Precision Spelling was devised in 1990. Here the child is made aware of any problematic features in a word, such as non-phonetic elements, silent letters, doubling letters etc.

Words in Words, which is based on mnemonics, is a useful method for children with severe difficulties.