It is after 10:00 p.m., and I just finished grading the 6th graders' spelling and vocabulary tests. I was thrilled with their grades which ranged from a 91 to six 100s. WOW! When the lowest grade in the class is in the nineties, I know that something worked and I begin analyzing, and here is what I've figured out that has worked with this class over the past few months. I believe that any teacher could use these techniques and see marked improvement in their class's spelling grades. (These pictures are all from the students' last spelling tests.)
Examples from above:
"prayer" is the root of "prayerful",
"spectacles" begins the same way as "specify",
"flu" is in the middle of the word "affluent",
"point" is at the end of "disappoint",
"Ana" sat on a "log",
and it is a shame to have a house repossessed for only owing $4.00 (the four "s"s make the $4.00).
NOW, I NEVER say these stories or reminders during the real test, and I will rarely say them during even a practice test. We just practice them that way in class, and I explain them that way, and the students remember them when it is time for the test.
Certain students remember different things, so I usually show them a few different ways. What works for one student may not work for another, but one of the ways I show them usually will work with their brains and they will remember.
This student remembered that an Indian had "grat-i-tude" and did "spec-i-fy" (thus the "i" in the middle); and that made sense to her. She also used my silly sentence for "analogy" -- "Ana has a log, why?" to remind her of the "y" at the end.
And here is the other column on the test. Balaam's "ass" did make "sure" that Balaam wasn't hurt by the angel. Besides using the "I am an electrician" sentence (i - an) which helped them learn the last three letters of this one, they then missed the "tri" in the middle. So I told them my electrician showed up at my house on a tricycle. We laughed, and they remembered it for the test the next day even though I didn't review it with them.
And, when you disembark from a ship, the captain will give you one M&M. (Several of them were spelling it "disenbark".
I also told them that someone could "die" if they were disobedient, and that there is a "rope" in "European".
2. Secret codes really work. We were having an awful time with our vocabulary words. First I made a slide show with pictures of each vocabulary word along with the definition. I also printed these out on a sheet of paper for them. This helped a lot. Here is an example of one.
dehydrate - to remove water from
But the problem was that the tests aren't always matching the vocabulary word with the definition. Sometimes just the definition is there and they have to pull the word out of their heads. Often much of the class had problems doing this, so two weeks ago I began using the secret code method.
Here is the secret code from this last test.
No A, 1 B, 2 C, 2 De, 2 F, no G, HI, MP3, RR (railroad)
Once they memorized the secret code (which only took about two days) they could easily recall all of the vocabulary words. They asked me if they could write the secret code on their tests from memory. Of course, I said "yes". They asked if that was cheating. I told them that if they memorized the secret code and all the vocabulary words and wrote the entire list from memory (without any prompts, hints, visual helps or reviews before the test from me at all), that that was called studying, not cheating.
The entire class got every single one of these correct on this last test. It has worked so well we're on our third secret code. The students think it is fun and it certainly helps their grades.
3. I've also learned that if the students are expected to memorize the Greek and Latin roots, (thanks for really pushing the 6th graders, Abeka) then secret codes work for those, too. And I know it works because several of the students easily remembered this one also and wrote it from memory on their tests. And I don't do those "quick reviews" right before the tests either. I expect them to remember it on their own from the days before.
Here is how this one worked. We had a "FGHI mit".
"F" was for "flu", "g" was for "grat", "h" was for "hydro", "i" was for "inter", and "mit" was for "mit", obviously.
If any of you are using the 6th grade Abeka curriculum for spelling and vocabulary, I will gladly share my vocabulary slides (pictures) and secret codes with you if you are interested. My email address is littleflock7 at gmail dot com.
