Help! My Child Dreads Spelling Tests
My son once faked a nose bleed to avoid learning his spellings for a test.
He has dyslexia, which makes spelling tests particularly stressful.
But it is not only dyslexic children who dread spelling tests.
Here are four simple steps you can take to help your child survive them: 1.
Encourage your child to talk about why he dreads spelling tests so much.
Some good questions to ask are: oDo you remember the spellings one day and forget them the next? oDoes the teacher allow you enough time to write the word down? oDo you worry because you get fewer marks than other people? oAre other children making fun of your low scores? Do other children mark your tests? Don't worry if he is unable or unwilling to answer.
Go to the next step anyway.
2.
Now ask specific questions which offer practical solutions, such as: oDo you need more practise? oDo we need to try some different ways of learning? oWould it be better if we just learned one or two words at a time? oWould it help if I talked to your teacher? oAre you worried about getting upset or angry at school too? 3.
Tell your child's teacher about your child's feelings and/or behaviour.
The teacher should reassure your child and talk about ways to lessen the stress.
Possible solutions may include: oextra time to learn spelling lists oextra support at school otechniques you can use at home oshorter lists, for example 5 spellings rather than 10 osetting achievable goals with rewards 4.
Tell your child you have spoken to the teacher and now have some ways to help.
Try out these methods right away.
Be positive about the changes.
Never say things like, "Your teacher suggested this, but I don't think it will work," "I suppose we'd better give it a go.
'" or "Who cares about spelling anyway?" More positive things to say are, "This sounds like a really good idea, doesn't it?" "Come on then, let's try this method/book/game.
", or, "I know you find spelling difficult, but you're great at writing stories, punctuation.
etc" Hopefully following these four steps should solve the problem, but if not go through them step by step again and try a different solution.
Remember, if you believe in your child, he'll believe in himself too.
He has dyslexia, which makes spelling tests particularly stressful.
But it is not only dyslexic children who dread spelling tests.
Here are four simple steps you can take to help your child survive them: 1.
Encourage your child to talk about why he dreads spelling tests so much.
Some good questions to ask are: oDo you remember the spellings one day and forget them the next? oDoes the teacher allow you enough time to write the word down? oDo you worry because you get fewer marks than other people? oAre other children making fun of your low scores? Do other children mark your tests? Don't worry if he is unable or unwilling to answer.
Go to the next step anyway.
2.
Now ask specific questions which offer practical solutions, such as: oDo you need more practise? oDo we need to try some different ways of learning? oWould it be better if we just learned one or two words at a time? oWould it help if I talked to your teacher? oAre you worried about getting upset or angry at school too? 3.
Tell your child's teacher about your child's feelings and/or behaviour.
The teacher should reassure your child and talk about ways to lessen the stress.
Possible solutions may include: oextra time to learn spelling lists oextra support at school otechniques you can use at home oshorter lists, for example 5 spellings rather than 10 osetting achievable goals with rewards 4.
Tell your child you have spoken to the teacher and now have some ways to help.
Try out these methods right away.
Be positive about the changes.
Never say things like, "Your teacher suggested this, but I don't think it will work," "I suppose we'd better give it a go.
'" or "Who cares about spelling anyway?" More positive things to say are, "This sounds like a really good idea, doesn't it?" "Come on then, let's try this method/book/game.
", or, "I know you find spelling difficult, but you're great at writing stories, punctuation.
etc" Hopefully following these four steps should solve the problem, but if not go through them step by step again and try a different solution.
Remember, if you believe in your child, he'll believe in himself too.
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