Her technique was very technical. Put your spelling cap on and see how many KS3 words beginning at te you know.
"I'm an intuitive musician. I have no real technical skills. I can only play six chords on the guitar." - Patti Smith.
One of the easiest types of errors to make in spelling is to mistake a pair of homophones for each other (is it a "pear" of homophones, or a "pair"?). Here is an interesting fact about the homophones "chord" and "cord". "Chord", as in the quotation above, means a combination of musical notes which sound good when played together. A "cord" on the other hand is a rope or strong string.
But these words did not always have the spellings we use now. "Chord" was spelled "cord" until the 17th century, because it derives from the word "accord", which means to agree. Playing certain notes together makes a harmony, the sounds "accord". Something odd happened, however, with this pair of homophones, because while "chord" used to be spelled "cord", "cord" was once spelled "chord"! This is because "cord" came from the Latin word, chorda. Can you guess what chorda means? String. Well, gut. And the strings for musical instruments which were made of gut....
When homophones can swap spellings in this way, what is a diligent student of spelling to do? Practise, of course! Test your spellings with this quiz.