Help with spellings

It could be assumed that in order to spell we just need to know the sounds in a word, and the letters that correspond to those sounds, and this is often a good starting place. However, in the English language has many words are just not spelt as they sound. These ‘irregular’ words require a clear visual memory of the order that the letters go in, so sometimes the ‘copy, cover, check” technique is not enough. Try strategies that will help the learner to engage with the visual look of the word, make the letters in play dough, write them out in rainbow writing, make cartoons that emphasise the letter that cannot be heard. I have included some examples from the learners that I work with.