Answer the following questions:

Does your child use an outdated technique like writing their spelling words 10 times each and using them in sentences?

Do you study the words out loud with your child just before the test?

Is your child disappointed when he or she gets a low spelling grade?

If you answered yes to any of the above, your child is using a spelling method, but not the one that works best for spelling.

Here is the great news! Spelling bee champions use a visual picture strategy that your child can follow, just like a recipe for spelling success.

Spelling achievement means more than just a grade to a student. Students often compare themselves to others in the class and gauge their self-image based on their grades.

Spelling appears to be such a simple thing to many parents and teachers, yet a student who experiences mediocre grades or failure week after week begins to see himself as inadequate or worse. Learning is no longer a delight, and the child suffers terribly inside.

So here is the inside scoop on spelling. Use the Super Speller Strategy that thousands of children have already used to get the grades they want.

The secret is that great spellers see a picture of the word in their mind. They do not sound out words, because most do not look like they sound.

Before a test, great spellers study a word and snap a picture of it, just as if using a mental camera. At test time they look up, above eye level, at their inner blackboard and recall the word they see written there.

Think about it for a moment. If you are already a good speller, do you ever write something down and say it does not look right? You are doing that because you are comparing what you wrote with what you have seen before. You already have picture in your mind of how the word should look.

Some kids simply do not know how to make those pictures, so they give up and think they are not great spellers. Not so.

Here is exactly what to do to help your child become a great speller now.

Tell your child to write each word on a separate colored note card. Use different colors on any letter that does not sound the same way it is spelled.

Next, take the card, hold it up, above eye level, and snap a picture of the word in their mind. Take the card away, look up in the air at their inner blackboard or magic spelling screen and write the word down. If it is not right the first time, just decorate the letters a little differently and repeat the process.

Spelling Success Hints

Talk with the teacher when your child begins to use this new strategy. You want your child to succeed and so does the teacher, so for the first few weeks, cut the list down to just a few words.

Your child can still take the whole test with the rest of the class, but just grade the words that were studied using the Super Speller Strategy. This will build your child's confidence before learning 20 or 30 new words all at once.

Next, insure success by introducing the spelling strategy using shorter words. When you do add longer words, fold the word card in half and do the process with half the word at a time. Or ask your child where he or she wants to divide the word.

Finally, remember to tell your child that learning is not about being smart. It is about strategy and anyone can learn strategies for success in anything.

Spelling bee champions use a visual picture strategy. Your child can duplicate the same strategy and watch spelling grades soar.