Your Guide to Acing This Week’s Spelling Test
For right-brain thinkers, studying sight words and vocabulary can be challenging. Rote memorization and recitation just don’t align with how they naturally absorb new concepts. Instead, we need to adopt more creative, visual, and hands-on techniques to help them thrive. When I hear from parents who have embraced these strategies and seen success, I am deeply grateful to be part of such an important conversation.
Let me share McKenna’s story—a perfect example of how adapting learning techniques can make all the difference.
McKenna’s Journey
“My daughter McKenna is beautiful, smart, and full of life. At nine years old, she lights up every room. Yet, despite her brilliance, she struggles in school. As the youngest of three, her older siblings excel effortlessly, leaving McKenna feeling left behind. My husband and I knew she was smart but felt frustrated that, even with our involvement, we couldn’t help her achieve the academic success she desired.
Then we discovered Being Visual by Bette Fetter. It was a revelation! McKenna is a right-brain thinker through and through. We finally understood her learning style and how we needed to adjust her study techniques to align with her way of processing information. Being Visual suggested using more visual methods during homework and test preparation, so we gave it a try—and the results were astounding!
Last week, while preparing for a vocabulary test, McKenna’s tutor initially used a traditional approach, reading words and asking McKenna to recite their definitions. It wasn’t working, as this method suits auditory learners better. Recognizing McKenna’s right-brain strengths, we switched gears and had her draw pictures on flashcards to represent the words. And guess what? McKenna aced the test with an A!
Thank you, Bette, for guiding us toward understanding McKenna’s learning style and helping us connect with her in a way that works. In fact, I’ve even started using some of these techniques in my own life because, as it turns out, I’m a right-brain thinker too!“
DOWNLOAD a visual vocabulary and spelling words activity to do at home.