Using Muscle Memory To Help A Child With Dyslexia Remember Spellings

Have you ever rehearsed for a performance or practised a dance routine? Have you found that when you need to remember how to spell a word, you find yourself having to write it down first? This is because to remember how to do something, we need to do it, time and time again.  

When I read that a good way to help my little girl learn to spell was to teach her joined-up writing, I was shocked. How could she spell doing joined-up writing, when she could barely write? The reason was doing joined-up writing is like practising a dance routine. The arm remembers the movement the arm makes when writing a word. It remembers the shape of the word, with the letters in the correct order.

Muscle Memory Card

The Mooki Cards contain a “Muscle Memory” card. Learn joined-up writing and improve spelling. Use the card below on your phone or tablet for free!

This card is based on scientific research, “Dyslexia in the Classroom, R.Jordan Dale”.

Joined-up Writing Muscle Memory

• Learning a new sport it is normal to practice, in Tennis this maybe hitting the ball with the bat. The more you practice, the more your body remembers how to do it and the better you become.
• When you repeat the same movement over and over again, it becomes part of your muscle memory. The muscle remembers what to do, rather than you having to consciously the movement.
• Joined-up writing is a form of muscle memory. The muscle remembers the movements your arm makes when when writing a word. Taking away the need for your brain to remember all the letter in a word and in which order they should be wrote.

Learn more about muscle memory, “Handwriting and Motor Memory”.

Remember Word Spellings

Top Tips Dyslexic Mum

• Mis-spelt Words – Focus on words child is struggling to spell. Rather then trying to teach them to write joined-up all the time. Start with the most commonly mis-spelt words on the card above, “Children”, “Friends”, “School”.
• Trace Words – Simply write the word in joined-up writing and get the child to trace the word. It can take for the child to do this up to ten times, before the can write the word without tracing it.
• Other Ideas – Learning how to spell new words can be taught in other dyslexia friendly ways. Use the other cards in the “Dyslexic Mum Kit”, such as “Rule of 10” and “Multi-Sensory Learning” cards.  

All the cards are available as part of a “Mooki Cards“. Complete with 56 cards and storage wallet. Perfect for using at home or in the classroom. Order your “Mooki Cards” here!