Spelling has never been my forte. That being said, I never understood the
concept of looking up words in the dictionary that you don’t know how to
spell. I remember having teachers in
school that would say, “Go look it up in the dictionary.” In my mind I was always thinking, “I would if
I knew how to spell it.”
I shared the above story because many students with special
needs also struggle with spelling, and I understand their frustration with the
dictionary. I recently discovered a new dictionary app
that I love. It makes sense to me! I
believe it will make sense to many of the students you serve too. My new favorite dictionary comes in the form
of an ipad app. It is The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This
dictionary app offers a voice search tool.
No more looking for the word “phone” in the F’s for elementary students,
or the word “psychology” in the S’s for middle school students. Technology is a wonderful thing! If you have an ipad, check out The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is
free to download. Better yet, if you
know of individuals that struggle with spelling, tell them about it!
