Word Chain

There are nine levels in this game. This activity helps parents to spot the areas of difficulties of their child. Start from level one and go to higher levels. Note how the child tackles the exercises. Find out the word patterns which pose problems for the child.

Tips for parents:

1. Does your child struggle with spelling?

This is a good activity to improve the ability to spell words. Make the child read aloud the words used in this game. Difficulty in reading causes difficulty in spelling. The first step is to get a good idea of your child’s ability to read. If the child has problems in reading, take remedial action. The words used in this activity are listed in alphabetical order in the Resources section of this activity. Make your child read frequently this list of words. This can improve fluency in reading.

Struggling spellers find placing the vowels in a word a challenging task. This activity has chains of words where emphasis is given to vowels. Another area where children lag behind is in the writing of words having consonant blends. Some struggling spellers insert a vowel between the blends. Read these words to them and make them understand that there is no vowel sound when blends such as bl, gr, etc are used.Struggling spellers are troubled by words which are pronounced in the same way but spelt differently. Examples, steal and steel; meat and meet.

This game has frequently used words. Frequent study of these words can make the child go a long way in understanding the sounds letters make in a word. Mastering spelling of these words would boost the confidence of the child as these words are commonly used.

2. Use these words for dictation

For children struggling with spelling, dictation is a good remedy. The words in this activity are selected keeping in mind the difficulties experienced by a child in spelling. There are rhyming words, words having consonant blends etc. The words used in this activity are listed in the resources section of this activity. You can use these words for giving dictation to your child. If your child is very poor in spelling, you may have to give dictation three or four times daily. Have short sessions.

Care should be taken while choosing the words for dictation. Have a good idea of words which your child can spell correctly. If you are planning to dictate ten words to your child, include at least six words which the child can spell correctly. Your child would be in a better frame of mind to learn when she/he gets most of the words right.

Don’t rush to teach new words. Give plenty of revision. Slow and steady wins the race!

3. Improve sentence formation skills

Another way these sets of words can be used is to have the child write sentences with these words. Make the child write fifteen sentences every day. Sentence writing is good to correct many mistakes the child may be making- such as not starting the sentence with a capital letter, omission of punctuation marks like full stop, comma, and question mark. Issues in grammar can also be sorted out. Sentence writing helps to develop the ability to write different types of sentences. It also helps to express ideas well in an organized manner.

Dictate simple sentences to your child on a regular basis. Search the net/ use the textbooks of your child to get sentences for dictation.

4. Improving memory and recall skills

Find out how good is your child’s memory. Does she/he have difficulty in recalling what was just learnt? Is she/he good at following oral instructions? There are children who have very poor short-term memory. They are not able to recall what they learnt even after few minutes. The words included in this activity can be used to improve memory and recall skills.Because of poor short-term memory,they are not able to remember the oral instructions given to them.

Show a list of ten words or show three sentences to the child. Allow her/ him two minutes to read the words/sentences. Ask her/him to write the words or sentences. These need not be in the order in which the child had read the words/sentences. It is enough the material read are recalled and written. Record your child’s progress. You are likely to see good improvement in your child’s recall ability. Use words listed in the Resources section of this lesson. Ignore the spelling mistakes made by your child because in this activity, we are emphasizing on the quality of recall.

5. Ask the child to set questions to you!

One way of mastering an activity is to prepare questions to test others. Ask the child to test you. It would be a good idea to make one or two mistakes. Your child would be happy to see you making few mistakes! It would give your child great pleasure to correct your answers!

For obtaining words to form word chains search the net for rhyming words, words by length, words with consonant blends etc.

Given below are the lists of words used in this lesson.

List of three- letter words used in this activity - for reading, learning spelling, making sentences and dictation.

List of four-letter words used in this activity - for reading, learning spelling, making sentences and dictation.

List of five-letter words used in this activity - for reading, learning spelling, making sentences and dictation.