My students had spelling problems back at my old high school, especially when it came to spelling participles. My answer? I created spelling flowcharts they could use to help them avoid the mind-numbing drudgery of learning spelling rules and all their exceptions. It worked "okay" there, but this idea has really taken off here any my college. My students prefer the flowcharts and claim, at least, that the charts make it easier to learn how to spell words correctly.

I have a collection of about ten flowcharts now. I have flowcharts they can use to spell present participles, past participles, plural nouns, comparative adjectives, superlative adjectives, adverbs, and other "problem" words. These actually function well in my classes.