Prior to the introduction of more liberal teaching methods for spelling, spelling lists were a bane to students who had to memorize assigned words week in and week out.
Remember the tedious Dolch list? It contains 220 core spelling words that students had to know by heart, but not enough instruction apart from the list themselves are given to the students, making it tiring for them to learn to spell.
Andre (2002) lays out Thomas Foran's 'rules about rules' for teachers in teaching phonics and spelling rules, which include such advice as teaching a rule only when there is a need for it and using illustrations for words that are frequently used by the students.
Spelling lessons need not be too structured. 'Interesting' is what they should be, and students have to be given free rein to move at their own pace to make the lessons less of a drill.
Today, children are fortunate enough to have spelling software that they can use during their leisure time.
This is not to say that no degree of discipline is required to excel in spelling; far from it. It has been noted that "if students are to learn about words, rather than simply learn words from a list, some time must be given to word study" (Bush, 2008).
If a parent is bent on teaching a child to learn to spell, a certain amount of time should be devoted each day to spelling lessons or exercises.
Let's take the case of using software such as the popular Ultimate Spelling software, for instance.
This software features spelling lists designed for students of various grades, with different levels under each one.
As the user 'graduates' from a list, he or she moves to the next level or grade.
To maximize the efficacy of the Ultimate Spelling software, it should be used daily – say, for about 10 minutes or more each day – to establish a certain routine and to make reviewing in spelling a habit.
Despite the recommendation of regular use for software, working with software is not as stressful as having to memorize lists that contain words that are detached from their context.
When a child studies a word using excellent spelling software, he or she can learn to spell in a way that is interesting, fun, and exciting. Imagine being able to connect to the Web for all kinds of information on a particular word at a click of the mouse!
When children take in information in a manner that does not stress them out, they become more receptive to the process of learning.
References:
Andre, J D 2002, 'Case study response: Phonics goes to university', Journal of College Reading and Learning, vol. 33, no. 1, p. 98.
Bush, H 2008, The classroom spelling program: More than learning words. [Online] Practically Primary. Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-195013335.html [Accessed 11 July 2010].