Typing Spelling Words Is A Great Way To Practice

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Typing spelling wordsHow typing helpsThe straightforward drillDictation exercisesRhymesBreaking words into partsCreativityFree-writing typingUsing a typing programOther tips Read and Spell Blog Typing spelling words

There are many ways to practice a list of spelling words, from making flash cards, to using oral recitation, or just plain writing the words out by hand. Yet one of the most effective and easiest approaches is using a computer or tablet and wireless keyboard. Not only is typing convenient, but it's also a multi-sensory activity that involves kinetic elements which can support learning and retention of letter patterns. That's because typing a word allows muscle memory to encode the spelling as a series of key strokes.

Typing is also a highly accessible solution for students who struggle with fine-motor skills and find it painful to write by hand. It's the preferred approach when dysgraphia is present. Some learners with autism find it effective and it's a great solution for students who struggle with language-based learning difficulties like dyslexia. 

How to create your own drills

It only takes a moment to create your own typing drills.

1. The straightforward drill If you already have an electronic list you’re working with, you can simply copy and paste the words into a word document. Remove any formatting, create a table and place each word multiple times across a row. The student can then type on the line below. Having learners say the words aloud as they type is best, as is using a touch-typing method so their eyes remain up and looking at the words on the screen vs. scanning the keyboard for letters. Learn more about teaching kids to type: Typing for kids, How to teach typing.

2. Dictation, dictation You can also read words out and have a student type them, or create recorded audio files on the computer and save them as Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3 etc. In this way the student can work through multiple lists and be more independent in their study. Dictation helps a new speller improve their ability to segment sounds. The bonus is you can mix up the order of the lists quite easily and there’s no word document to prepare. The downside is you will have to adjust the pace as you are reading and you will need to verify they have spelled the words correctly at the end.

3. Collocates are good company Words are seldom encountered on their own or in isolated lists so one of the most effective ways to practice real world spelling is by looking up a word’s common collocates – words that it frequently appears together with – and adding a few lines of drills for these words too. You might include words from the list on their own first and then follow them with lexical sets. For example dog dog dog house house house dog house dog house dog house hot hot hot hot-dog hot-dog hot-dog etc.

   Top Tip: Alternatively, use an accessible touch-typing program like Touch-type Read and Spell for automatic feedback on performance and the ability to turn any module into a dictation exercise! TTRS word lists are specifically designed to enhance spelling skills.

    

4. Rhymes for the win Spelling is all about phonemic awareness which entails understanding how to break a word down into its component parts. Consequently, this is the aspect of spelling individuals with dyslexia most struggle with. Part of phonological awareness is understanding rhyme. You can help rhyming skills develop by creating typing drills with a word on its own followed by rhyming pairs, for example bake bake bake make make make bake make bake make cake cake cake bake make cake etc. Make sure the learner says the word pairs aloud as they type. There are also certain lists of rhyming words you can use.

5. Break it down into word parts If you have a learner who is really struggling, you might try breaking a word into parts. List each part on a different line. Begin by removing any affixes or suffixes and having them practice the word’s root. Then add the suffixes and affixes in one at a time so they build the word in steps until they are typing the whole word out across a line. It can take a while to get through a list (especially if you are working with two more lists) but it will be worth it in the end. Learn more in these posts: 3 Common challenges in spelling, How to help with spelling.

6. Add a visual element Blocks of text can be intimidating for a student, especially one who finds spelling tedious. Either add an image to the electronic document or leave a bordered box above different sections so the page can be printed and the learners can add their own drawing afterwards. If the spelling words are too abstract to inspire an illustration, you might contribute some concrete nouns from the Dolch noun list.

   Top Tip: Did you know TTRS has modules and Subject Lessons composed entirely of Dolch words? Practice with these high frequency vocabulary words can help reinforce sight reading skills and improve comprehension. Learn more in this post on teaching sight words.

7. Creativity, color and font How can typing drills be creative you ask? Use color, font size, typeset and other formatting tools such as italics, bolding and underlining to create a visually stimulating collage of typed spelling words. Manipulating their order can be especially fun for lists of related items. You can also add shapes with outlines and type words inside them for a neat effect. Just keep in mind some typefaces may be difficult for learners with dyslexia to read.

   Top Tip: Serif fonts may be difficult because they contain small flourishes which can be visually distracting.

8. Language in context Once a learner can type a spelling word on its own, create some sample sentences which help to reinforce the vocabulary’s meaning or use. You might introduce synonyms, antonyms or expand to paragraph level text which includes a small narrative. This is a great way to grow a learner’s vocabulary and is particularly useful when learning hard to spell subject specific vocabulary, such as in science class.

   Top Tip: TTRS has typing modules for science and math which are mapped to the UK and US national curriculums and feature spelling practice and simple definitions to help with reading comprehension.

9. Free-writing typing Add the words in an outlined text box at the top of the page and provide a list of numbers. Have the student compose a sentence for each word and go back and underline it afterwards. This is a great way to transfer spelling words and new vocabulary from receptive to productive use. It’s also good if they will be tested on spelling using a gap-fill test.

Advantages of using a typing program

If typing is something your child likes to do, it may be worth investing in a typing program to improve both their computer and spelling skills. That’s because as learners advance in school, written assignments become more frequent and length expectations increase exponentially. You don’t want poor spelling ability to hold a child’s vocabulary usage back.

Depending on the age and learning style of the student, Touch-type Read and Spell may be a good option. TTRS has 24 levels with 31 modules each. Learning is incremental and a phonics-based approach means students acquire an intrinsic understanding of how spelling works in English. They build this knowledge gradually in a multi-sensory way.

Touch-type Read and Spell can be used by children ages 7+ to learn typing, improve spelling skills and strengthen decoding and sight reading. It is especially good when attention disorders are present, given its streamlined and distraction-free interface. TTRS is recommended by the British Dyslexia Association for learners with dyslexia as it follows the Orton-Gillingham approach. However, if you want a course that includes games and illustrations, there are other products available. Learn more about the benefits of typing and tips for beginners in these posts.

Other tips for improving spelling

While typing is an effective and easy way to practice spelling words, there’s also adventure spelling. Head to a location where the words on a list are likely to be found in their written form and see what you can find. Keep a photo journal of every time you spot a word and of course write it down or type it as well. You might also look into the history of the lists you’re working on to find the roots of different words. For example, many words in English come from Latin or Greek but there are plenty of Spanish, Russian and even Arabic loan words too! Play a modified version of Scrabble and see how many words from the list you can build, connecting them onto the same structure. Get more ideas on developing spelling skills in this article.

Don’t forget to make it fun

Remember that spelling doesn’t have to be boring. If you make it fun and enjoyable, a learner is more likely to let down affective barriers and allow the new material to sink in. Using blocks to build word towers, tracing letters in the sand, chanting letters out to rhythms and even the game "I spy something beginning with –" are great ways to make spelling engaging and multi-sensory. Read more in this article on making spelling fun.

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in our articles on how to practice typing and how to teach spelling words.

When I told her that we weren’t going to do spelling anymore, just keyboarding, we were both relieved. She felt less stressed and I knew we wouldn’t be butting heads. The first thing I noticed was a shift from her saying “I have no idea how to spell it,” to being able to give me the first few letters. Having to physically type the words and use her body helped her remember them.

Amylee, Parent of a middle-school student struggling with spelling

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For learners who struggle with spelling

TTRS is a phonics-based touch-typing program that strengthens spelling ability and builds confidence for children and adults who struggle with spelling.

Learn more About the Author Meredith Cicerchia is a freelance writer who covers topics ranging from speech and language difficulties and specific learning differences, to strategies for teaching English as a second and additional language. She is also an education consultant, an applied linguistics researcher and a former teaching affiliate at the University of Nottingham. Reviewed by Chris Freeman has a BA cum laude in Sociology, and has undertaken post grad work in education and educational technology. She spent 20+ years working in public health and in the charity sector. Free Educational Resource

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Testimonials and reviews

Maria, Adult learner

Maria used to type with two-fingers, slowly and often inaccurately. Now she types faster, with fewer errors, more competently and professionally. This has boosted her confidence in the workplace tremendously. She now recognises individual sounds in words much better, due to the auditory aspect of the multi-sensory approach in TTRS. Her vocabulary has noticeably improved and she has found she can explain things and express herself more clearly in English after completing the course.

Read more of Maria’s story

 

Bolton College, Adult Education Program

At Bolton College we offer the TTRS course to self-study adult learners who have returned to education to improve their spelling, increase their familiarity with technology, and use word processors. We find that for many adult learners in our program, the conventional ‘look-cover-spell-check’ approach they were taught at school had a detrimental effect on their learning. In contrast, Touch-type Read and Spell provides a rewarding and positive experience for them when it comes to spelling.

Read more of Bolton College’s story

 

 

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Developed in line with language and education research

Teaches typing using a multi-sensory approach

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TTRS stands for Touch-type Read and Spell and is different from traditional typing programs in a few ways. For one, the words in TTRS lessons are whole words instead of nonsense key combinations. In this way, you can learn to spell as you learn to type.

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How to practice typing

Typing is one of those skills that takes practice to learn. There’s never been an individual, the world’s fastest typists included, who sat down at a keyboard and immediately began typing.

The reason for this is the muscles in your hands and fingers need time to adjust to new movement patterns. That’s why it’s important to introduce a handful of keys at a time, and move on only once you’ve mastered them.

Depending on the program you use, you might start with the home row keys or focus on vowels and then consonants following a curriculum of English phonics. Some courses may have drills made up of nonsense letter combinations, and others, like Touch-type Read and Spell, might take a whole word approach, making the course easier to follow for people with learning differences.

The benefit of typing real words from the beginning is that once the movement patterns have been acquired, they are stored in muscle memory and become procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge is something you know how to do automatically and don’t have to think about, like driving or riding a bike. Turning spelling into procedural knowledge can help individuals who have dyslexia because the letters and letter sequences are saved in memory as a pattern of key-strokes that the fingers type out automatically.

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You need an email address to sign up for new services, make online purchases, apply for jobs and education programs, and communicate with friends and family. Even something as simple as locating a suitable local tradesman is more efficient when done through an online search vs. looking in the yellow pages.

And while tablets and smartphones account for a large portion of our daily technology use, computers are still an important tool. Being able to use word processors is practically a requirement for students and working professionals because most formal assignments and written reports must be typed. 

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