//Breaking Down Words//
- By: Myrandah Staub
- Jun 15, 2016
- 2 min read
Nice picture, eh? After copying down my professor’s drawing that she created, I decided to reinvent the image and make it look a little more colorful and interesting. Boy + open head and exposed brain = interesting…right? Anyways….yesterday in class we were discussing the benefits of breaking down words for students to help them to better comprehend the word and its characteristics. Let’s look at an example…
There is a student (let’s call him Pete)…Pete is having difficulty spelling the word "dog". Every time he writes the word "dog", he ends up spelling it g-o-d. As Pete’s teacher I am going to intervene and help him to replace this idea that "dog" is spelled g-o-d by practicing spelling the word correctly and perhaps associating it with something to help him remember. Below I listed the steps that I am going to take while working with Pete.
Day One: I am going to start by writing on a dry erase board with Pete. I’ll write the word "dog" and he will trace my word and then write it on his own. Pete has fun with this activity….for a day.
Children, just like adults, get bored of doing the same activities day-after-day. It’s okay to work on the same skill over and over again, however in order to keep kids focused and interested, switch up the activities that you are doing with them. Not only is this more fun for them, but it’s also helping them to store the memory of that particular skill in multiple sections of their brains.
Day Two: Today we are going to use play-dough to practice spelling CVC words, one of which (that I may sneak in) is "dog".
Day Three: Magnetic letters
Day Four: Read a story in which a dog is the main character.
Day Five: I’ll create a visual aid for Pete that resembles a dog. When you look at the word “dog”, imagine the letter “d” is the dog’s head and the stem of the “d” is the dog’s ear sticking up. The letter “g” is the dog’s tail wagging behind him.
All of these connections to the word dog will soon eliminate his initial connection to spelling the word "dog" as g-o-d.
The more experiences that we have with a particular word, the more likely we are to remember it, because we are able to make quick connections that jog our memories.
In this example, we are focusing on the word "blue". In this photo we are breaking apart the word "blue" to help us better understand the complexity of it.
If you have any other thoughts or ideas regarding how to approach situations in which children are having difficulty recalling information, I'd love to hear your input in the comment box below!
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