Conquering the Spelling Test

I hope the guys who painted this road were not Christian school graduates. In an age of spellcheck-dependent writers, we aim to teach students to know how to spell correctly. Besides the fact that correct spelling identifies an educated person and complements reading skills, poor spelling is downright embarrassing. For some students though, it’s inexplicable. The term frustration doesn’t begin to describe the feelings of some when it comes to taking spelling tests. Here are a few suggestions for conquering the spelling test and becoming an all around good speller.

1. Read. Nothing replaces regular reading as a means to become a good speller. The more you see words, the more natural correct spelling becomes.

2. Study in chunks. If you already struggle with spelling, don’t expect to cram it all in the night before the test. Start studying early in the week, and start with the words you perceive will be the most difficult. Don’t study too long; that can have adverse effects. That’s why you need to start studying early in the week, adding new words every day. Remember to review the words you already learned each day.

3. Apply your rules. Do you remember rules like ”i before e except after c, or when sounding like eigh as in neighbor and weigh”? You can find rules you learned in school, plus a lot more on Camilia Sadik’s website http://spellingrules.com/home.html.

4. Practice the test. You may think you are ready for the test, but taking a practice test is the only way to be certain. Try to mirror the test as closely as possible. Have a study partner call out the words while you write them. Grade it just like your teacher would grade the test. Just going through the exercise of grading your own practice test can be a beneficial task.

5. Say it before you write it. Some students find it easier to spell the word vocally than to write it. When practicing for the test, verbally spell the word before you write it down. Since your teacher will not approve of you using this method when you are actually taking test, advance to #6.

6. Visualize the word. As your study partner calls out a word, visualize it spelled correctly, then write it down.

7. Use them more often. Pick out the words giving your student the most difficulty, and suggest they use these words in their writing or speech as much as possible. Sometimes, words are difficult to spell because they seem foreign to us, not because they have a tricky spelling.

8. Use silly methods. Mnemonic memory methods can be used for spelling, and the more silly the method, the more likely you will remember it. Pick a tune and sing/spell difficult words. Create acrostics or silly associations. For example, to remember the correct spelling of "apparent", a child is born to two parents (two p’s) and they pay the rent (not rant).

What's the Harm in Multitasking?

Consider the following:

• Kids from ages 8-18 spend an average of 7.5 hours a day with media (internet, ipods, touchphones, etc.), but since they multitask between their phones, computer, ipods, and TV, they pack 10 hours and 45 minutes of media into the 7.5 hours spent. (See the Kaiser Family Foundation study at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm)
• The average person spends only 2 seconds per web page when searching for information (Sprenger, 2009 in Educational Leadership quoting Small & Vorgan, 2008 in iBrain).
• According to brain research, when someone tries to concentrate on two tasks at one time, the brain activation is much less than when concentrating on one task at a time (http://www.ccbi.cmu.edu/news/SanDiegoUnionTribune-dualtask.html).

Fusing these facts together reveals to me that kids spend a lot of time multitasking media, moving quickly as they multitask, but thinking deeply about very little of it. Is is any wonder that students have trouble making good grades when study sessions include interruptions of instant messaging and Facebook postings? Homework, sometimes, is just one of the many things they are doing simultaneously. I realize some people proudly herald their ability to multitask. And in some cases, it is a great skill to acquire; but it does not permit deep thinking.

There is another problem with multitasking: it wastes time. Some view this "talent" as a tool enabling them to accomplish more in the same amount of time. But when the task at hand (i.e. studying, homework, reading) requires deep thinking, the task takes longer. Switching from surface level thinking to reflective concentration requires switching to a different area of the brain. Constant switching from socializing or being entertained with media to school work takes time as the brain switches over. Sometimes, paragraphs have to be re-read or math problems must be re-calculated. It takes a couple minutes to refresh your memory about what you were doing before you switched.

Perhaps Psalms repeatedly speaks about meditation because the Creator who wired our brains understands what it takes to really "get it." Regardless of what "it" is, it takes reflection. If the task is important, then it should get our full attention. Whether the task at hand is Bible reading, math problems, or science projects, spend time reflecting and resist the urge to multitask. Turn off the cell phone, ipod, CD player, computer, TV, and video games. Dedicate your time to getting it done effectively and within a reasonable amount of time.