Left-handed children & writing out spellings at school

[karise]

How does your school teach spellings?
DD was originally given a sheet with words down the left side & told to 'cover the word with her left index finger while writing the word with her right hand!'
In fairness they hadn't realised they had any left handers in the class & after much nudging they gave us an exercise book for her to practise her spellings in at home. We had been cutting out the spellings from the sheet & sticking them in the back of the book so she could cover them.
School now says we must stop doing this as she needs to keep the sheet in one piece to write her homework on the back of (writing meanings from the dictionary) & without seeming to understand have told her to just hold the spellings sheet to her right as she copies them. Surely there must be a better way of doing things?
Does anybody out there have any ideas?

I don't but will watch with interest as we are in the same boat.

I would ask the school to supply a sheet with the words on the right hand side. In these days of computers, it wouldn't be difficult for them.

Its awkward enough learning to write when you are lefthanded, without the school making it MORE difficult!

I couldn't agree more & have asked school to do this but they won't as they 'wouldn't like her to feel different from the others'
Hello- left-handed is different!

Suggest an experiment, they try writing with their left hand and doing what they are expecting her to do. Its crazy, I'm left handed and when I think about all the adaptations I had to make, I'm mad on behalf of your DD! Both my 2 are right handed, so don't have this problem

The worrying thing is, that if I wasn't left-handed myself I may not have even picked up on the problem

Create your own sheet on the PC? If it were a disability issue, they'd be in trouble! And in many ways it IS a disability, given that we live in a right-handed world!

Give her a bookmark shaped peice of cardboard to use to cover the words up with instead of her finger. That is the easiest solution and means the teacher doesn't have to make specially printed sheets.

Might resort to that!
As if I's not busy enough creating extra sheets etc. for my own pupils!
Am a wrong to think I shouldn't have to be doing this sort of thing?
I'm already spending lots of time & money finding reading books as school don't have anything appropriate for her reading age

If you do have to do anything...do the strip of cardboard thing. She could even decorate it to make it her personal word cover....then the rest of the class would bloody feel left out

I used to give my lefthanders a sheet in reverse, so the spellings were on the right hand side and the practise area was to the left.

Thing is, they aren't allowed to bring their own things to school so whatever I do with her at home school will still do what they want!
I even caught her using a small whiteboard when I went to pick her up the other day which they had promised me she wouldn't be doing

Could she just cover them with a bookmark or similar? Or am I missing something?

Oops I'm a bit behind, took me ages to actually post that!

Go and tell her teacher that you will be putting a "bookmark" in her book bag so that she can practice her spellings properly.

Failing that complain to the head. She cannot practice her spellings the way you have described.

Kids take things very literally- if teacher says cover with your left index finger she thinks she will get told off if she does anything different.
Will mention the bookmark idea to her teacher- will probably be seen as me interfering again but will do anyway!