As soon as the child has developed the motor skills to align the slots on the plywood letters with the parallel rods, and put the letters up on it easily, they are old enough.
Not recommended for children less than 36 months.
Word Spelling Frame
Word Spelling Frame
Word Spelling Frame
In Stock - Expected delivery: 2–5 business days - more info
£175.00
The word speller is a device for helping learners of any age to get started with reading.
The 100 slotted alphanumeric characters are made of plywood. Consonants are coloured yellow, vowels blue and numbers red.
A wooden frame holds two parallel steel rods which match the slots on the letters and numbers. It is supported on two wood bases and can be set up on a desk or tabletop or even on the floor.
The user puts letters and numbers up on the frame one at a time, swaps them round and takes them off as they wish.
In a session the teacher can sit opposite. With word speller between them, teacher and learner can face each other for instant feedback during the session.
Frequently Asked Questions
For writing, when the child can draw pictures of the plywood letters, perhaps using the same colours, then the plywood letters and the frame can be put to one side. Double-lined paper can be used for the drawings, as the double lines are mimicked by the parallel supporting rods fixed to the frame.
For spelling, it may be useful later on, for paper-free spelling exercises. For example, a teacher can put up the correct letters for a word, but jumbled up, or with an extra letter that does not belong. Or a learner can change one word into another, one letter at a time, e.g ‘apples’ into ‘oranges’.