Have you ever wondered why some pupils just don't "get" spelling and reading?
And have you noticed that some of them don't "get" comprehension, can't do mental arithmetic, have a poor memory and can't remember what they have just read?
Some may have been diagnosed as dyslexic, dyspraxic or have discalculia.
Ignore the medical diagnosis for a moment and find out what the child's brain is doing or not doing by asking them about their experience. Can they visualise words? And for that matter, can you? All the best spellers can - FACT. Everyone can visualise but some do it much better than others.
If they are able to visualise or imagine stories and information they will recall them more easily - FACT. If they learn to visualise words, they will be able to spell better - FACT. If they can visualise numbers they will be able to do mental arithmetic - FACT. So give them a gift they will always thank you for: teach them how to improve their visualisation. Some may even become great visualisers.
We can all improve with just a few minutes encouragement. Do it now and for the rest of their lives they will think of you as the person who really made the difference. The book, Seeing Spells Achieving, gives you the tools to teach others how to visualise and so reduce word confusion. There is also a section for those who find that words move about on the page, a common difficulty that can often be resolved quite simply.
Author: Olive Hickmott
