Keys to Success
Keys to Success Nineteen years of helping students
with difficulties in reading and spelling have shown me these keys to success:
| From infancy talk about and play with the sounds in words, enjoy story times and nursery rhymes, visit the library, read lots of books, ... |
| Learn the usual sounds of all letters and common combinations of letters (th, sh, ch, ...) particularly vowel sounds (a, e, ... ai, ay, a_e, ... er, ir, ur, ar, or, au, aw, oo, oi, oy, ow). Also learn the names of the letters. |
| Practise blending the sounds to make words. |
| Split long words into syllables keeping the sounds and syllables in order. |
| Learn a few important spelling rules. |
| Learning basic skills can be fun using computer programs, games and comic strips. |
| Read many books which practise developing skills. |
| Treat problems early before failure and discouragement become entrenched. |
| Success leads to growing and continuing confidence and competence. |
| Make sure children know the common sounds of all the letters of the alphabet before they start school if there is a family history of difficulties with reading and spelling. |
J. Jeanne Wherrett
BSc(Hons), DipEd, GradDipEdSt(SpEd)
