For the past three days, I have been training three Grade Four girls for a Spelling Bee competition which will be held tomorrow at Banilad Town Center at around 10:30am. I have never tried being a coach before. Especially, the spelling bee kind of coaching. I really didn't know HOW to go about it. I asked but basically, the goal is simply to expose them to as many correctly spelled words as possible and the many techniques they can use to get the correct spelling of the word even if they are unsure of it. Given the time constraints and the limits of my experience as both teacher and coach, we did five different things during our spelling sessions.
1. Read. I asked them to read spelling dictionaries and their previous spelling lists and familiarize themselves with as many words as possible especially those with double consonants or vowels in between. This gets them excited at first but being young, this gets them bored after a while. When a pupil's interest dies, learning is inhibited as well. So, off to activity number two!
2. Listen. With the help of Wade a.k.a. my laptop and the powerful Encarta dictionary, we listened to the pronunciation of various words that they have encountered. This activity caught their attention since it is, in a way, fun to listen to somebody pronounce the unfamiliar words. There were really words that were unfamiliar even to Ms. Olvido so the tool was handy. After two hours, they got bored listening to it and so I had to think of something else again.
3. Hands-on Learning. I asked them to manipulate the laptop for me. They are to type the words on their own. This acquaints them with the letter-by-letter spelling of the words. And, because they are asked to type and click on their own, they are starting to enjoy the session again since they are seldom given the chance to use a laptop on their own. I sat back and watched them, fearful for my laptop's life. (Joke.) Seriously, I enjoyed watching them enjoy what they are doing and I have noticed that it did help them with the spelling of the unfamiliar words.
4. Spelling Contests. Since we are preparing for a contest, it is important that they get a "feel" of the competitive air that usually fills a venue. First, they had to compete with themselves which means, I read the words and they write it on their notebooks. They get to check them afterwards so that they will also know their mistakes. Sometimes, people remember more when they get it wrong the first time. After they compete with themselves, I wanted to acquaint them with the feeling of having their performance known by other people. So, by the second round, they had to exchange notebooks. I was hoping I could raise a certain level of accountability in the kids with regards to their performance. Later on, we had a spelling contest wherein they had to write their answers on the board. It was a form of simulation for the contest proper. I am smiling as I type this down. I could have researched more on how I could have done the training better so that I could have backed up my strategies with substantial theories. It is one of those things that I only get to realize after the experience has come to pass. Nevertheless, I hope I did the right things.
5. Teach. Before, after and in between all those aforementioned activities, I gave inputs. Inputs like breaking down long words by their root words and suffixes so that they can easily spell them, etc. With the help of a book which Ms. Ceniza got from the school library, tricks of the "spelling trade" were discussed. Aside the serious and technical stuff we did, we also prayed before and after our sessions. I took them out for doughnuts for snacks since all the school stores were closed. We spelled while we walked. We spelled while we ate. We laughed at our mistakes. There were also some times when I scolded them for being careless or for retaining the spelling words that were previously taught and discussed but we never dwell on those moments. Learning, after all, is a lifelong process. When they get to my age, I believe they can even be more knowledgeable than I am. These were just necessary steps to get to where they are and where their potentials could take them.
Are my strategies effective? Would they be enough to merit them a medal or two?
I don't know.
I really don't.
I just pray that they go out there and do their best. I hope they make me proud. That they make us proud. That we make HIM proud. :D
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