Visual Memory

When we are trying to retrieve a word or symbol in our "mind's eye", this is our visual memory. Students who have a weak visual memory will often struggle with a variety of academic tasks such as spelling, recalling names, remembering basic math facts, and learning the steps and sequences in mathematic equations.

Nanci Bell, in researching her own symbol imaging program, discovered that students who struggle with retrieving letters and symbols could learn to strengthen their visual memory with the correct interventions. Her program called "Seeing Stars®," assists students with just that.

Excel Achievement uses this program in several of its programs with great results.
Here are some tips to assist you with teaching your child to recall his/her spelling words.

1. Set the climate: Say, "I'm going to teach you to see letters in your imagination. It will help you to read and spell words better. Here is how you can picture this..."

2. Have your child write out spelling words as you dictate them to him.


3. High light the ones that he/she struggles with and write them one at a time next to the incorrectly spelled word. For example, if your child spells the word "shoe" "shoo", rewrite it and underline the "tricky" part. (underline the "oe") Then say, "You did such a great job of writing this word just like it sounds. Now we will write it the way that it looks."

4. Explain to your child that you are going to have him/her use his/her imagination to do this. Have them write the word "shoe" in the air using all lower case letters because this is what we read and write most often. While they are writing it in the air, have them say it letter by letter..."s h o e."


5. Now have your child look into his/her imagination and answer the following questions about this word:
• What is the last letter in this word? e
What is the second letter? h
• What was the tricky part? Oe
• Spell it backwards eohs

6. By doing this your child is forced to exercise his visual memory to remember spelling words.

7. Repeat this exercise the next day with all words that were misspelled the first day.