Let's get brains excited about spelling!

Why it Works: MySpeekie® for Spelling and Word Mapping Mastery®
 

By typing the sounds they hear using Phonemies, children engage directly with the speech-to-print process. This helps them understand how spoken words are made up of sounds, and how those sounds are represented in writing. They start from speech, which is the most natural entry point, and check whether their speech sounds are used in the word. If they are not, that actually becomes a valuable learning moment.
 

When children type the word itself, usng Check Mapping, they see its graphophonemic structure. This makes visible what so many find difficult to understand. English has an opaque orthography, and its letter–sound combinations can appear chaotic or confusing. So we show it. They can see the structure when they need it - not dependent on a curriculum 'Scope and Sequence' or needing a phonics lesson Without the pressure of memorising hundreds of graphemes and their associated sounds, and hoping that particular combination results in the correct word, children build confidence. They begin to see spelling patterns and realise that there is logic to English. Seeing the words let's childrenunderstand that the whole code is highly structured and mathematical, with every letter having a role. No 'spelling rules' are taught, because the brain recognises patterns- and when the usual patterns shift - eg if trying to remember 'i before e, except after c' they will spell receive incorrectly! Or 'when two vowels go walking, the first one does the walking' -try that with the words boil, vein or steak? It also mixes up the concept of letter names, what a vowel is  and how letters map to speech sounds. When they type the sounds and see the spelling, they realise this. When they see the word fully mapped to show the graphemes and phonemes, everything is made clear. A discovery learning approach is also more engaging that memorisation or learning and trying to apply rules.    
 

If the word they want to type does not appear, either because it is not in the dataset or the sounds they typed do not match, they can say the word aloud using Check Mapping to explore its structure. They can then return to MySpeekie® and go through the typing process again. This act of typing is key. It builds phonemic awareness and strengthens working memory. It also reinforces the connection between speech and spelling. The issues relating to speech are addressed - the word might be in the word bank, but not with the sounds the child uses when speaking. Phonics is designed to connect speech sounds and letters in a fairly prescribed and rigid way, and no synthetic phonics programme addresses this. If an Aussie child uses the sounds like p/air/n/t to say the word pant they have to learn that in phonics a different second sound is used. By using the tech they hear and see this - it's a world first, relating to acknowledging and embracing linguistic and neurodiversity. The way we speak affects how easily we can learn - and teach - phonics.   
 

MySpeekie® for Spelling supports children with dyslexia and other neurodivergent profiles by addressing the core difficulties that often prevent progress. Phonemic awareness and phonological working memory challenges can use up so much cognitive effort that children struggle to move into the self-teaching phase. This is the first tech that does not try to band-aid or offer assistive technology to compensate for learning challenges, it actually addresses the underlying learning blocks - while also giving children the correct spelling immediately - if they can say it, the tech will show them the word and the structure. Even if they say it with a different accent! This is a HUGE advancement for children who struggle with reading and spelling.    
 

Reaching the self-teaching phase (Share, 1995) means children can recognise and read words automatically, without needing to laboriously decode each one. This frees up cognitive resources so they can focus on fluency, comprehension, and meaning. MySpeekie® for Spelling reduces the mental load by allowing children to explore word structure in both directions. They learn to link sounds to spellings and spellings to sounds.

Using the Map and Drag tool, children can create and print their own words through MyWordz®, building personal word banks that reflect their vocabulary and interests. Having their own word bank gives a sense of ownership. They more easily reach the self-teaching phase, and are more engaged in the word mapping process - not having to wait for help or instruction. As reading and spelling issues are not linked with intelligence, for dyslexic minds, they often do not want to keep asking for help! They can feel helpless or stupid - the system can also have created a level of learned helplessness. This tech offers dyslexic minds the opportunity to get the information they need, and check their attempts - and all they need is an internet connection.    
 

This approach helps children more quickly and easily store thousands of words in the brain’s word bank, known as the orthographic lexicon. This is essential for fluent reading and spelling. It supports the move toward orthographic mapping, where children connect pronunciation, spelling, and meaning with increasing ease and confidence (Share, 1995; Ehri, 2014). The more words they store, the easier it is to read more!
 

This is how learners move toward Word Mapping Mastery®. Word Mapping Mastery® is not only about mapping speech sounds to 'Sound Pics' (graphemes). The process also introduces learners to morphology, which refers to the smallest units of meaning, and to etymology, which explains why words are spelled in particular ways. For example, why does we map 'toes' as t/ oe/ s and yet 'goes' as g/ o/ es'? Read the Word Mapping Mastery® blog to find out why!
 

Research shows that teachers, although skilled readers, often struggle to explain word structure (eg Brady & Moats, 1997; Moats, 1999; National Reading Panel [NRP], 2000). This is because they do not need to think about how letters and speech sounds connect when reading, unless they come to a word not stored in their own brain word bank. Most of the mapping they do is unconscious. The learning is implicit. This process helps adults guide children with greater clarity and confidence. Concepts that teachers already apply automatically become more visible and explicit. While many children will develop these understandings through reading, a deeper, conscious awareness can only support the process, especially for those guiding others.

MySpeekie® for Spelling is arguably as valuable for teacher training as it is to support neurodiverse learners.