Help your students remember the spelling rules you teach them by having them create their own spelling rules drawing sheet. Not only does the activity help reinforce the rule as you teach it, but your student will then have something they can refer to if they need additional support putting the rule into practice going forward. And they certainly won’t be able to claim they “never learned that”!
Spelling rules sheet for the tail -ck rule.
Have the students write a Spelling Rule name at the bottom. The name should include whether it is a head, body or tail rule, and the letters involved (ie, head c- or k-, tail -ck, etc.). Then have them write a keyword and draw a picture.
Since many spelling rules are specific to a certain part of the word (do you use c or k at the beginning, flsz at the end, etc.), and some rules only apply depending on how many syllables are in the word or what syllable type the syllable is, there is a “usage key” at the top right of the sheet where the student can fill in this information.
A usage key at the top provides information on when and where to use the rule.
The -ck spelling rule is used for when the /k/ sound comes at the end of a one syllable word with a short vowel. So you would have the student check the box under the tail indicating that it is for an ending sound, fill in a 1 for the number of Silly Bulls (syllables), and color the soup pot orange to show the rule is only used for short vowels. (If you don’t know about Syllable Soup recipes, check out it out here Syllable Soup Recipes)
Download a blank Spelling Rules sheet and start having your students create their own personalized set of spelling rules: Blank Spelling Rules Drawing Sheet
Here are a few more of the common spelling rules:
Spelling rule sheet for beginning c- or k- rule.
Spelling rule sheet for tail FLSZ rule.
Spelling rules sheet for tail -c rule.