Spelling Skills # 9 - Picturing Vocabulary

Picturing vocabulary
and remembering words

Use your mouse to draw
what comes to mind about the given word.
It will help you both understand and remember the word.
Click the lower circle to change words.
Click the middle circle to erase your board.
Click the top circle to print your board!
There is no "correct" image, just what you picture!

Flash exercise contributed by Elizabeth Bub and Dr. Brad Hokanson, Interactive Media (DHA 4384) School of Design, University of Minnesota; refinements by Steve Kladstrup, Independent Flash Developer, Minneapolis, MN, and Joe Landsberger.

Spelling Skills # 8 - Mapping Vocabulary

Mapping vocabulary exercise:
Remember * use * understand

The exercise below will help you remember, use and understand a vocabulary word.
The one strategy missing is to draw a picture or illustrate the word after you print the map with the word's definition, synonyms, use in a sentence, and even its translation in another language!

Text of exercise:
This exercise will help you remember, use and understand a vocabulary word. One strategy of more fully understnading a vocabulary word or term is to build out is usage. 
As an exercise, define your word, find synonyms and antonyms, use it in a sentence, and even translate it into another language you are familiar with.  Another strategy is to capture or draw your own images of the word, or your interpretations of it.

Flash exercise contributed by Michaela Benson and Dr. Brad Hokanson, Interactive Media (IN 5341) School of Design, University of Minnesota; edited and adapted by Joe Landsberger.

Spelling Skills # 7 - Suffixes

American spelling: suffixes

Words have been categorized in grammar on how they are used, or as parts of speech:
verb, noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.
Words also have "roots" which convey their basic meaning. Suffixes are groups of letters (afixes!) placed after a root word to form a new word, change its part of speech, and modify its meaning. For example:
change (noun) + able (suffix) = Changeable (adjective) or the ability to be changed.
work (noun) + able (suffix) = workable (adjective) or the ability to be worked.
week (noun) + ly (suffix) = weekly (adverb), or an action or activity done by the week.
happy (adjective) + ly (suffix) = happily (adverb) an action is done in a happy state
moprh (verb) + ology (suffix) = morphology (noun), or the study of how words change
Here are some spelling rules for applying suffixes to root words:

More: If a word ends with a silent "e," drop the "e" before adding a suffix which begins with a vowel (-ing, -able, -: Examples: make--making, makable; time--timing, oblige--obliging. Try spelling these:
1.	state + ing =
2.	like + able =
3.	indulge + ing =
Do not drop the "e" when the suffix begins with a consonant:Examples: state--statement; like--likeness; use--useful; definite--definitely Try spelling these:
4.	base + ment =
5.	home + ward =
6.	peace + ful =
Silent "e" practice!
7.	notice + able =
8.	advertise + ment =
9.	change + less =
10.	shine + ing =
11.	conceive + able =
12.	fascinate + ing =
13.	encourage + ment =
14.	encourage + ing =
Adding suffixes to words ending -ce and -ge Keep the silent e before -able and -ousExamples; enforceable, serviceable, courageous, outrageous
15.	notice + able =
16.	courage + ous =
17.	change + able =

Spelling Skills # 6 - Prefixes

American spelling: prefixes

Here are some spelling rules for applying prefixes to root words:

Words have been categorized in grammar on how they are used, or as parts of speech:
verb, noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.
Words also have "roots" which convey their basic meaning. Prefixes are groups of letters (afixes!) placed before a root word to form a new word, change its part of speech, and/or modify its meaning. For example:
ante (prefix) + date (noun) = antedate (verb or noun) to assign a time before its occurence.
auto (prefix) + biography (noun) = autobiography (noun) a self-written biography.
trans (prefix) + nation(al) (noun) = transnational (adjective), across nations.
un (prefix) + happy (adjective) = unhappy (adjective) a "not" happy state
un (prefix) + finished (adjective) = unfinished (adjective) in a not completed state
pre (prefix) + board (verb) = preboard (verb) as for families with children boarding a flight before other passengers
mis (prefix) + spell (verb) = misspell (verb) to not spell correctly!
anti (prefix) + clockwise (verb) = anticlockwise (verb) to go in the opposite direction of the hands of a clock
re (prefix) + consider (verb) = reconsider (verb) to review or consider again

Spelling Skills # 5 - American spelling exercises: "y" with suffixes

American spelling exercises:
"y" with suffixes

When "y" is the last letter in a word and the "y" is preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i" before adding any suffix except those beginning with "i" Examples: beauty--beautiful; fry--fries; hurry--hurried; lady--ladies Try spelling these:
1.	carry + ed =
2.	fancy + ful =
3.	pry + ed =
When a word ends with a "y" and is preceded by a vowel, to form the plural of its noun, or to form the third person singular (he, she, it) of its verb, add "s" Examples:  toy--toys; play--plays; monkey--monkeys
4.	deploy + s =
5.	tray + s =
6.	bey + s =

Write "i" before "e" except after "c," or when sounding like "a" as in "neighbor" and "weigh." When the "ie/ei" combination is not pronounced "ee," it is usually spelled "ei."
Examples: fiery, friend, mischief, view, believe
Examples: reign, foreign, weigh, neighbor, weird, receive
Choosing between <-el> <-le> <-ile> <-al> <-il>
Options must be memorized, and no rules apply:
<-le> is more frequent than <-el>:
axle, battle, bottle, tackle, tickle, single, double, triple...
angel, bushel, parcel...
<-al> is common for adjectives and nounsbiblical, burial, genial, habitual...
<-il> is rare: civil

Spelling Skills # 4 - American spelling exercise: Too * Two * To

American spelling exercise:
Too * Two * To

"Too - Two - To" are pronounced the same,
but spelled differently according to usage:

"Two" is a number, as "There were two books on the table".
Hint:  Think twice (or twenty) for the number!
"Too" means
"more than enough" as "I am too pleased."
"also" as "I am going too."
"very" as "I wasn't too angry with him."
"To" indicates
"direction" as "We are going to the library."
"action" as "We are going to walk."

"two, to, too" practice!

1.	I am going ...... buy them.
2.	How many? I will get ...... books.
3.	Isn't that  ......many?
4.	No, I always get ...... of everything.
5.	My friends weren't ......impressed with them.
6.	Is that where they go...... return the supplies?
7.	Not really.  Usually they are ...... busy.
8.	We work from nine ...... five?
9.	We applied several coats of paint ...... the wall.
10.	.....has many properties in mathematics
11.	Isn't that ......many?
12.	...... is a prime number.
13.	He live ...... far from work so he moved closer.
14.	He grew up ...... six feet?
15.	She was standing ...... near the entrance for comfort. busy.
16.	So, are you happy ...... have them?

Spelling Skills # 3 - They're, their, there; American spelling practice

They're, their, there; American spelling practice

"They're - There - Their" are pronounced the same,
but spelled differently according to usage:
"There" refers to a place.
Examples: There is a library in the first building. It is over there.
Hint: If you can use the word "here," you have it right!
"They're" is a contraction of "they are"
Example: They're not in this building.
Hint: "They" is a pronoun and "are" is the verb.
If you can substitute "We are" you have it right!
"Their" is the posessive pronoun.Example: Their library is located on the next street.
Hint: If you can substitute "our" you have it right!
"they're, there, their " practice!

1.	...... coming tonight.
2.	Do you have ...... books?
3.	I always thought they were .....
4.	No, ....always placed on the table.
5.	My friends said they weren't ......
6.	Is that where they place...... supplies?
7.	Not really. Usually they are over ......
8.	So, do you think ...... happy to have them?
9.	...... still waiting for the test scores.
10.	...... challenge is to arrive before sunset.
11.	We found the medallion over .....
12.	I thought .... near the edge of the table
13.	Is ...... a place for the group to meet?
14.	If ...... group does research, I will be happy.
15.	.... are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio
16.	Was ...... first son born at home?

Spelling Skills # 2 - Common misspelled words

(American) Common misspelled words

Words commonly misspelled,
or spelled correctly but not used properly:
Note: these are American spellings!
A: absence, accidentally, accommodate/accommodation, according, ache, acquit/acquire, again, against, aisle, allegory, almost, always, although, ancient, airplane, aging, agonize, apologize
B: beautiful, beginning, believe, bellwether, body, build, business
C: calendar, consensus, cemetery, changeable, confidence, conscience/conscientious/conscious, coolly, criticize
D: decided, defendant, describe, despair, difference, dilemma, disappear, disappoint, disguise, distance, divide, double, drunkenness, dumbbell
E: easiness, embarrass, exceed, exhilarate, existence
F: familiar, famous, finish, foreign, forest, from/form
G: gauge, government, grateful, guarantee, guardian, guest, guilty
H: halve, happened, harass, height, here/hear, high
I: illegible, imagine, immediately, independent, indispensable, information, inoculate, instead, interest, irresistible
J: jewelry, judgment, juice
K: kernel/colonel, knowledge
L: language, league, leisure, license, liquefy, a lot, listen
M: machine, maintenance, meant, measure, medieval, memorandum, merchandise, millennium, mischievous, misspell, month, mountain
N: necessary, neighbor, neither, nighttime, noticeable
O: occurrence, occasion/occasionally
P: paragraph, pastime, period, phrase, playwright, possible, precede, preferred, pressure, principal/principle, privilege, prominent, purchase, purpose, pursue
Q: quite, quiet, queue, questionnaire
R: receipt, receive, recommend, reference, referred, region, relevant, remember, rhyme, rhythm
S: says, separate, sergeant, several, similar, sincerely, soldier, sugar, sure,
T: temperature, theater, there/their/they're, thousands, thorough, threshold, to/two/too, tomorrow, tournament, truly, tyranny
U: unanimous, unforgettable, unfortunately, until, usually
V: vacuum, variety, various, vary, vehicle, vicious, village, villain
W: wear/where/we're, weird, weather/whether
X:
Y: yacht, yield
Z: zucchini

Spelling Skills # 1 - Spelling Strategies (Rules and Exercises)

American spelling exercises:

Knowing how to spell English words can be a very challenging task for students
and writers. It is made even more complicated with today's abbreviated communications with email and handheld devices.
Look through the index at left for particular issues, resources and exercises
to improve your spelling. Note that there are also spelling differences in the English-writing world! For example (US first - Great Britain second): center - centre; traveled - travelled; color - colour. Study Guides and Strategies follows American usage.
Here are additional strategies to follow:
As a foundation:
Compile the following in a book to help you track your spelling and usage challenges:

• Practice your spelling
  While texting and emailing friends have texted shortcuts,
  remember that your education and employment require formal types of writing,
  and these abbreviations are not appropriate.
• Keep a "spelling notebook" and list words you commonly misspell or or that you have trouble with
• Be aware of, or keep this list of commonly misspelled words,
  or words that may be spelled correctly, but misused (e.g. who's * whose)
• Keep a list of rules for spelling

As regards important documents you send, or turn in to others:

• Spell check the document if it is electronic
  Note: Some e-mail software (i.e. MS Outlook) can be set to automatically check spelling and grammar as you write, or before you send
• Re-read the printed document carefully for errors:
  Pay attention to words you commonly misspell or that are spelled correctly but misused; note these words in your spelling notebook
• Have someone you trust and respect review the document.
  This is often difficult for us since often we get comments regarding text as well as spelling. But that is a plus, since we don't have to take the advice, but rather appreciate the suggestions, and then make your own decisions on the advice.
• Footnote the national rules for spelling
  if what you write has an international readership
• If your school has a center for writing assistance,
  take advantage of it

Use a dictionary:
a dictionary contains more than the spelling of a word!
It also contains the spelling of its derivatives: plural forms and participles.
On line resources include

• Dictionary.com
  Dictionary, thesaurus, and access to foreign dictionaries
• Dictionary.net
  A straightforward presentation of definitions and synonyms from a variety of resources
• Merriam-Webster OnLine
  Dictionary, thesaurus, look up feature for bad spellers, word of the day, word games, and access to vocabulary in 230 languages

Since the English language is so exceptional in its spellings, any dictionary will help you in finding exceptions to the rules of spelling. Alternative spellings, especially British vs. American, should also be noted.
Spell checkers in word processing:

• Spell check each and every word-processed document as a habit
• Proof-read each document after spell-checking!
  A spell checker will only find words incorrectly spelled.
  It will not find words correctly spelled but misused.

Common challenges--but there are so many more!
from and form: a common typing inversion;
of, or: another case of mistaken keyboarding;
to, too, two; there, their; whether, weather: common confusion of usage;
foreign, physical: When is an "f" really a "ph"?