Fernald method
Your child watches as you say a word
while writing it in crayon. You repeat
the word while running your finger
underneath the word. You model word
tracing by saying the word and tracing
the word using one or two fingers,
saying each letter of the word traced.
You say the word again while running
your finger underneath the word. Have
your child practice tracing the word
until he or she can write the word from
memory. Remind your child to say each
part of the word as he or she traces it.
Next, have your child write the word
from memory. Let your child decide
when to remove the model and write
the word from memory. Make sure he
or she says the word while writing it. If
at any point there is an error, stop your
child immediately, cover the error, and
model the tracing procedure again
before proceeding. Once the word has
been written correctly three times
without the model, put the word in a
word bank alphabetically. Provide
practice with the word on a later date.
Five step study strategy
Help your child to:
• Say the word.
• Write the word while saying the
word.
• Check the correctness of the
word.
• Trace the word and say it.
• Write the word from memory and
check it.
Syllable approach
Present syllables on flash cards. Have
your child look at the syllable and
pronounce it. After practicing with
separate syllables, move them together
to form words. You pronounce the word
in syllables. Your child pronounces the
word in syllables then writes the word
in syllables. This can be put on a
spelling grid with columns by writing
each syllable in a column and finally
the whole word in the final column.
Analogy strategy
If your child is having difficulty with a
word, develop a word bank of similar
words to practice. Develop word banks
with like patterns to provide practice
and build spelling vocabulary. Make
associations with rhyming words and
discuss what letters are spelled the
same as the model word. Practice by
spelling orally from memory and then
writing the words.
For example, if ‘should’ is difficult to
spell, use should, could, and would in
the word bank.
Self-talk
Use a four-column grid. Write the word
in the first column. Have your child talk
about the word and identify what they
know about the word. How did they
spell the word, in the second column?
What will help your child to remember
the spelling, in the third column?
Finally, rewrite the correct spelling in
the fourth column.
Enjoy playing with words together
Look beyond the spelling test. How
many words can you build from a single
root word? How are words spelled
around you? What are the derivations of
words on menus, on signs, in the
grocery store? What is the derivation of
“filet mignon” or “barbeque”?
Resources
Reading Rockets
A new approach to teaching spelling.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other
institutes of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) support dysgraphia
research.
International Dyslexia Association
To create a future for all individuals
who struggle with dyslexia and other
related reading differences so that they
may have richer, more robust lives and
access to the tools and resources they
need.