Dysorthographia exercise: irregular words

Some words are not spelt at all as they sound: “femme”, “monsieur”, “oignon” or “second”. A child with dysorthographia, who writes by ear, cannot guess them. They have to memorise them one by one. Here are some exercises to make this memorisation easier and more lasting.

Words you cannot guess

For most words, the ear gives at least part of the spelling. For irregular words, it even misleads: “femme” sounds as if it were spelt “fame”. A child who relies on the sound will inevitably spell these words wrongly.

The only solution is to memorise their image, just as one remembers a face. This requires a visual memory of words, which is often fragile in children with dysorthographia. Specific methods help to strengthen it. They rely on active observation rather than copying. The page learning irregular words gives an overview of these methods.

Start with the most frequent ones

There are hundreds of irregular words, but a small number come up very often. We start with those the child uses every day, such as “femme”, “monsieur”, “second” or “automne”. Three or four are learnt per week.

The list can be drawn from the child’s own writing, by noting the irregular words they often get wrong. These words mean more to them. They see the point of learning them. They are often more motivated than by an imposed list. The words learnt are kept in a box to review. This box grows over the weeks, which makes progress visible.

Spotting the irregular part

In an irregular word, often only one part causes a problem. In “femme”, it is the “e” that sounds like “a”. In “monsieur”, it is the “on” that sounds like “e”. The child colours this part in red.

By focusing on the difficulty, they no longer have to remember the whole word, only the trap. The rest is spelt normally. This method lightens the memorisation load. It can be applied to all irregular words. The child eventually learns to spot the tricky part of a new word on their own.

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Making up a story

To remember the trap in a word, the child can make up a little story or picture. For “oignon”, one can imagine an onion that has lost its “i” but keeps it hidden. The funnier the story, the better it is remembered. For “femme”, one can imagine a lady wearing two “m”s like earrings.

These mnemonic aids work much better when the child invents them personally. The adult can suggest the idea, and the child completes it. The story can be drawn in their word notebook. The page learning words with colours offers a similar approach.

Writing from memory

After observing the word and spotting its trap, the child covers it and writes it from memory. They check by looking at the model. If they have made a mistake, they look again and start over.

This exercise is repeated the next day, then a few days later, then the following week. These spaced reviews are the key to lasting memorisation. They take little time. The child can do them alone with their word box. A small calendar helps them know which words to review each day.

Finding the words in texts

Once learnt, irregular words are looked for in texts: books, magazines, posters. The child highlights them and checks that they remember their trap. They see them in context. This spotting shows that these words are not curiosities, but everyday words.

You can also ask them to write a sentence with each word learnt. They then check the spelling with their notebook. This passage through writing consolidates the learning. It makes sure the word is available when writing, and not only in an exercise. The page on invariable words offers similar work.

Speech and language therapy support

If memorising words remains very difficult despite regular practice, it may be a case of lexical dysorthographia. The speech and language therapist can suggest strategies suited to the child’s memory. The exercises on this page complement remedial work, without replacing it.

To find a speech and language therapist, the directory ProfessionnelsDys lets you search by town, indicating your child’s age. Remember to show the word box worked on at home. To understand the role of memory, see the page visual memory of words.