Purpose: To encourage the learner to make an educated guess about how to spell a word; to prevent the learner from getting hung up on a word and too frustrated to continue writing; to identify the words the learner wants and needs to be able to spell correctly.
How
Ask the learner to write as much of the word as possible.
Ask the learner to draw a line for the letter(s) he or she does not know.
Examples: t_f f_zi___n r_nkls fl_r
Ask the learner to fill in the missing letters as if the word were spelled just as it sounds.
Examples: tuf fizishun rinkls flor
When the learner has finished writing, work together to correct the parts of the words that are still misspelled.
Look for patterns in the learner's mistakes. Group those words together and focus on teaching the skill the learner needs. This step is especially important for adults, who will often be judged by their ability to spell words correctly.
Example: You might help a learner practice writing words that have a silent w: wrinkle, write, wrong, wring.
-Teaching Adults, A Literacy Resource Book by Laubach Literacy Action
If you have any tutor tips, please e-mail them to info@tidewaterliteracy.org or call us at 393-6459. We are always looking for great ideas to share with our tutors!
