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Spelling Is an Invention of the Devil – Or Is It?

“Spelling is an invention of the devil.” – By Mrs. Lalitha Ramanujan

This struck me immensely. During my school days, I had to focus with all my might to remember the right sequence of letters. Very often I have heard adults say, “Look carefully at the word and remember it and write it correctly.” Such statements only made inflections on my self-image. Memory seemed the only tool to get my spelling right then to me.

From Rote Learning to Understanding the English Spelling System

By the Grace of the almighty, I was led to learn a technique which explained the patterns and rules of the English spelling system. It made me think I have learned a tool to handle the devil and help eradicate the pain imparted by spelling to children.

Having fun with manipulating the sounds of the letter by adding, subtracting, or segmenting is one nice way to overcome and beat the devil.

Today’s education system does incorporate letter sound association and other spelling rule activities in the classroom. This has reduced the load on rote learning or memorizing. Thinking about the pattern and analyzing why and how it changes the sound depending on the position of where the letter comes in a word are routes we can show the learner to be a better speller.

The Parent as a Spelling Teacher

Parent as a spelling teacher can take the child to be a high achiever. The adult should put on their thinking cap and create challenging pastimes.

For example:

• Word  Bake: change first sound to a c

• Pact: change first sound to ‘f’

• Say the word enjoy, change the second syllable and give a new word (enable)

• Say the word Pick, change the vowel and say another word

• Count the number of sounds or letters in a word

Playing scrabble or crossword are wonderful quality ways to enrich the child’s learning skills.

Spelling, Reading Fluency and Writing Fluency

Building their ability to understand the rules of spelling and internalizing should help them gain reading and writing fluency. You have taught them to spare their mental energy by not wasting it in decoding the letters. Sure, that energy will be used to gear up their reading and writing.

Spelling a word correctly and know to use it correctly are two different aspects. Some know the word, but not the spelling. This could be vice versa. The two should go hand in hand to achieve high in life.

Writing does not stop with school or board exam. This is an important tool that we use in communication. Oral communication and written expression are good pals and we must have both. It is like our Indian diet we cannot eat plain rice or chapatti, we must an accompaniment to make it appetizing and desirable. Hence one is an accessory to the other. Words and how to spell it are two that we cannot separate in academics.

Teaching a Child to Read Is Teaching Them to Fish for Life

Teaching a child to read and spelling is like teaching to fish for life. He has acquired the skill to be an independent learner. Once the student has mastered the art of learning to read, his progression to master reading to learn should be smoother and faster.

Let us make children master creators of AI and not slaves of AI.