Hi Everyone!

Since all three of us are specialists on our campus, we often have teachers ask us for ideas, activities and/or mini-lessons for their word-work time.  Being the Word Nerds that we are, we are always happy to help our classroom teachers with spelling/reading/writing ideas for their students!!


All of our activities are based on skills included in our Spelling Lessons on TpT.  The activities are geared toward grades K-3.

Our Spelling Pattern Puzzle Kids Activity Set is full of great word-work activities to engage your students all while they are learning to apply important spelling strategies and rules for spelling.  This is a perfect activity to start the year off with because it provides the opportunity for students to be introduced to specific phonemes (small units of sound) which have multiple spellings.  For example the sound of /k/ has 5 different spellings in initial (first), medial (middle) or final (last) positions of a word.  This means the student must learn to be thoughtful when spelling with this sound because there are choices for the sound of /k/ in every position of a word.  In order to learn to be thoughtful - or stopping to think when spelling with the sound of /k/ - students must learn the spelling rules for the sound of /k/.  
We have included word cards with missing phonemes in different positions of a word.  Students must use their auditory & visual memory to figure out which spelling they must use to spell each word correctly.  To make this easier for your students, we've designed Spelling Rule Posters as a resource to for your students to refer to all year long when spelling, writing and reading.


Here's another activity I didn't mention last night:
I-Spy -students use the spelling pattern puzzle kids around the room/school "spying" words with that pattern.  They could also do a word hunt using magazines, newspapers, etc.  Keep track of the word in a word list to use for writing.

Extension activities might be for students to collaborate about how/why a word is spelled with digraph ck, for instance.  Students could take the word "sock" and discuss different meanings for the word.  Students could also brainstorm other words with the same spelling pattern and then write a story, narrative or short paragraph using all their words.
All of the activities are hands on and can be used for independent and/or whole group activities.
Watch this video from last night's scope to see these activities in action:

Another great resource for helping your students make connections in spelling is our Spelling Rule Task Cards. These are FREE today at our TpT Store ~ Hurry over and grab your set today!!

These were designed to help our dyslexic students make connections more easily between their dyslexia therapy class and spelling, writing and reading in their classroom. Soon after seeing our students coming back and forth with these task cards, the teachers wanted them for ALL their students!!  

I laminate the cards and put them on a ring as I introduce a new rule.  Students have a hook on the side of their desks in their classroom (I use Command Hooks).  I am a true believer in the saying, "out of sight, out of mind", so this way the task cards are visible and won't get lost in the "abyss" otherwise known as the inside of their desks :)

All of these activities and resources are on SALE today (Wednesday, Aug. 19th) at the Site-Wide TpT sale!!
Be sure to use the code "MORE15" when checking out to receive even more of a discount on your purchase!!

Hope this post was helpful to you!
We love spelling and want to make it easier for teachers to build that solid foundations for spelling, reading and writing for all their students!
Wishing all of you a FANTABULOUS start to your school year!!
~sherri

            In my last blog I shared about an analogy of reading that I heard taught at a dyslexia conference I attended this summer.  I would like to share another story the presenter, Dr. Criselda Guajardo Alvarado, shared with us.

            Dr. Alvarado was speaking to a parent of a student she had tested and she had determined that this student struggled with math and reasoning.  Her diagnosis was dyscalculia.  She was explaining to the student’s father about how her daughter had an inefficient area in her brain that made it difficult for her to solve math story problems.

            The father,  who was a neurosurgeon, was quite concerned.   He asked, "Is all hope lost?"  Dr. Alvarado said, "No." Dr. Alvarado told him that they would work his daughter in a systematic sequential approach and over time they would be able to rewire her brain.  What she meant was that we will help the information to travel down the efficient pathways in her brain for her to have a greater understanding.

            The neurosurgeon was amazed.  He expressed to Dr. Alvarado that he is  able to only remove parts of the brain, but teachers are able to rewire someone’s brain.  He  went on to say that doctors make the big bucks and teachers do not.  Hmmm- something to think about!  We do make quite a difference in our student’s lives!

         Last week I went to a reading conference. The teacher Criselda Guajardo Alvarado shared a few analogies about reading that really resonated with me. I like to share one with you.

        One analogy she shared described teaching reading to most students is like traveling down a busy highway from Dallas to Frisco (a northern suburb). The teacher teaches, the students learn and they move on down the road of reading. However, when your student has a reading learning disability like dyslexia, reading is more like taking all the back roads to that same destination. It might take a little longer, you might get a little lost, but ultimately this student arrives at the same destination – the destination of reading.

            I thought of my students and I like this picture. When I am teaching my dyslexia students, it does take longer to reach the destination and sometimes we do have to backtrack and practice a reading skill over again, but ultimately my students learn to read. I teach in a different way, different from the normal approach.

            Another reason I like this analogy is that the way I teach is so interesting to my students because it is an approach that they need and it works for them. I personally like to drive down back roads to places. It is more peaceful and so much more interesting to me.

            I will definitely be sharing this with my students and their parents this coming school year. I hope it encourages them like it did for me. 
~Susie Word Nerd

If you follow any LD organization such as Understood.org, Headstrong Nation, LD.org or Decoding Dyslexia, just to name a few, you know our nation has not tackled the lack of specialized intervention for Learning Different students in many schools across our great nation.  
Well, there is help out there for the 1 in 5 students who struggle with a learning difference.  Students with learning differences can struggle in any subject and most of the time, several subjects simultaneously.  It can be frustrating not only for the student, but the parents as well.  
One organization making a difference for students & adults who struggle with LD is the  The Multisensory Reading Center .  

Last week I spent some time with Jen, a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist and Certified Academic Language Therapist,  Founder and owner of the Multisensory Reading Center.   The first moment I walked in the center the atmosphere was welcoming and inviting.  Jen was already in session with a student.  The exciting thing about it was the student lives in another state! Using online teleconferencing through the Lexercise Online Dyslexia Therapy program, Jen was teaching a student who otherwise would not have an opportunity for this specialized therapy.  

Jen was working with her student on the syllable division pattern VCCV on the day I came to observe.  As shown in the pictures below, the weekly sessions involve visual, auditory and kinesthetic approaches - also referred to as a  Multisensory approach.  During each lesson, Jen & her student work on discovering a new skill, coding words, vocabulary, spelling and reading (fluency/comprehension)  

Un-blending individual sounds in a word is an important strategy for students struggling with spelling and reading. The video below is an example of Jen doing this strategy with her student.

Here is an example of Jen and her student spelling words with Digraph ck, using the un-blending strategy.

The Multisensory Reading Center provides much needed therapy for struggling spellers and readers, especially students with Dyslexia.   
The classroom area is set up with manipulatives & posters to reinforce the skills Jen teaches to her in-house students as well as her teleconferencing students.

I was most curious about the lesson planning process for this type of therapy.  Jen is a seasoned therapist, with experience in Special Education & Dyslexia Therapy.  Her lesson planning is unique to each of her students.  She has expertly designed activities for her students to work on between lessons.  Also, there are word work, coding and reading exercises through the Lexercise program.  Jen has Reading A-Z passages for students to practice their reading fluency.  

Want to know more about Jen and her tutoring business?  Click on her picture below to head over to her blog to read more about how and why she is helping struggling students all over the United States.  Also, find out how to contact her about your child receiving the unique services The Multisensory Reading Center & Jen have to offer!! 

Are you fighting to get the intervention your child needs from their public school in your state?  Comment below and let us know what state you are from.  Share your story with Jen over on her blog today - she can help guide you toward what your next step might be in getting your child the help they need.

We invite you to share this post with friends & family who would benefit from the information above.
Thank you, 
3Word Nerds