Need Helpful Hints!

Here is one called Windowpaning:

Using an index card, divide one side into four rectangles with a pencil. In the top left, write the word.
In the top right, write the part of speech (verb, noun, etc.). In the bottom left, write a brief defintion. In the bottom right, draw a picture to remind of the word. For verbs, it also helps to act them out. Using visualizing and body motions can help students whose word memory skills are not as strong as others.

We had our then third grade son draw pictures to remind him of the different continents. He then bounced on a oversized ball (from sports store) as he recited them. Even doing this, it was a struggle but you know what, he still knows them a year later!!! I would think you could do a variation of this by having your child draw a picture that reminds her of the word.

Beth

Depending on the child, the classroom and other factors……
we said no to spelling and the resultant vocab for our
dyslexic son. Spelling was so stressful that he would
curl up, put a quilt over his head and refuse to speak
about it.

We went through this at the beginning of every year,
and it took a long time for him to agree to give it up,
even though we was literally in physical pain over it.
He hated to be different and other kids know it.
Usually we were able for him to go to Resource during
spelling time. He didn’t mind leaving the class for Resource
at all, go figure! I think that enough kids leave the room for
various other services that it wasn’t a big deal.

We supplemented his vocabulary by reading to him at
bedtime clear through sixth grade. Books like the Lord of the Rings series and other
wordy and wonderful books.

Spelling we take care of through spell check.

Anne

Oh, my son couldn’t spell the continents!!!! I made sure there was a word bank. He just had to label the map.

He is now in fourth grade doing scholastic spelling program written by Louisa Moats. He is doing the second grade book. He doesn’t like being different either but there was no point in him doing fourth grade spelling when he couldn’t spell hardly at all. He isn’t good enough yet for spell check!!!

We also went to books on tapes this year and he has been listening to novels at his age level that way.

Beth

This might sound weird, but try tossing a ball back and forth as he works on memorizing the definitions or shooting hoops with a nerf basketball. When my son was in second grade in a gt/ld classroom, his teacher used to play spelling basketball with the kids and it really helped.

Andrea

Oh! That brings back the horrors of memorizing
all the states and capitals –––arrgghh!!!

We did the best we could. We told our son that school
is not always set up for learners like him and this is
one instance. Luckily many of the *normal* kids had
problems with this so he felt right at home.

Thanks for all the helpful hints! We will start trying them with his new vocabulary words. In the next month he will start learning the states and capitals, so I will be sure to try these hints with that also. His teacher allowed him to take this weeks test orally, so that helped allivate some of his stress.

Does he have to memorize the teacher’s definition or would it be acceptable if he actually understood the word and its meaning?

If he has to memorize the teacher’s definition, what are those definitions like? Are they written in the formal dictionary language?

If they are, and that’s what he’s supposed to memorize, I’d do one of two things. I’d either teach him the word - what it really means and only then have him try to memorize the formally definition - or I’d make visual flashcards. I’d make a drawing of the word’s meaning or a drawing that suggests the word’s meaning to him.

Either of those approaches builds a foundation in his memory where the memorized formal definition can go.

Sometimes we need to put some closets in our brain to help us organize all the stuff that has to go in them.

Good luck.

We had one like that in third grade too–it was the names of the bones—both proper and scientific, if you can imagine. My son told me that he didn’t need to know this unless he was going to be a doctor, and he wasn’t, so there. He really didn’t work that hard and I didn’t push it. He flunked a couple of the test but so did a lot of kids I knew who weren’t LD. The difference was we took it in stride….having been programmed by now to know what was important (reading, math, writing).

Beth

Hi Dawn

I use a few techniques that really help children remember vocabulary. The first one is visualizing vocabulary. You draw a picture, wierder the better, of the definition, not the word. For example, when my kids were studying big business in US History, one word was boycott. I drew a picture of a shopping basket, put a circle around it and a slash through it. Basically meaning don’t buy there. Very few kids forgot their vocabulary. Also, Kansas Learning Strategies has great organizers and one is called Lincs. Unfortunately you have to go to trainings to be able to use them but maybe some of the teachers at her school have been trained. But, the visualizing technique works very well. Also, you can have her use different colored pensils in her pictures. Make sure that she doesn’t draw great pictures, stick figures are the best..