Deer Mom,
I had a gud day at skool today. We lerned many things. I had fun at resess but I fel and scrapd my knee and it herts. The teacher gav me a priz for being good.
Lov,
Johnny
What is wrong with the letter above? It appears that Johnny can’t spell. How do you fix his problem? Do you make him write all the words he spelled incorrectly? What would you do?
Most teachers would attribute his spelling problem to a character problem such as laziness or apathy. Giving a weekly spelling test is great for sight words, but that alone will not help a student learn to spell all of his words better. A student must learn to spell one step at a time. Experts have proven that children’s spelling level correlates with their reading level. Word study can enhance the level of student spelling and can improve reading as well.
Several weeks ago, we assessed our students by giving them a specialized diagnostic test. Since that time, we have formed a word study program that will help each student at his current level and gradually take him where he needs to be. This initiative is another step we are taking toward fulfilling our goal to train our students for full-time Christian service.
E-mail Dan Azzarello
