The Tale Of The White Whale

This video supports the learning and retrieval of words containing the wh words. There are only approximately 50 ‘wh’ words in the dictionary. This video creates strong associations between each written word and a memorable visual image. Seeing the word alongside its corresponding image helps strengthen the connection between the word’s meaning, pronunciation and orthographic (spelling) representation.

Students are then encouraged to actively retrieve as many words as possible and record them on a mind map, providing valuable retrieval practice rather than passive recognition. The visual associations provide additional memory cues that students can draw upon when attempting to recall and spell these words independently. The activity also provides an engaging opportunity to expand vocabulary by explicitly introducing less familiar words such as whimsical, whippet, whelk, whelp and whey.