Spelling Instruction

1. Spelling Instruction

2. The New American Pronouncing Speller, 1887 ... no method can ever be successful in making thorough spellers that does not involve considerable labour on the part of both teacher and scholar: there is no royal road to learning.

3. Spelling for the Grades, 1925 Society looks upon the ability to spell words correctly as one marker of an educated person. To have perfect spelling in all your written work should be your aim. Nothing less should satisfy you.  

4. Programme of Studies for Grades 1 to 6 of the Public and Separate Schools, 1955 Regular use of an approved Speller ...Vigilant supervision of all written work … Special study of each poor speller …Special training in individual cases.

5. No book or program can make up for a weak language arts program. Marie Clay Three points to remember: 1. not everyone learns in the same way 2. by emphasizing memory we miss the beauty of the English language 3.focus on the child, not the exercises, or the methods or the words to be spelled

6. Profile of a Good Speller 1. Moves beyond the phonetic 2. Has a good visual sense of the word 3. Has integrated a wide variety of knowledge about words 4. Can spell many words automatically

7. Is English a chaotic language?

8. We do not have enough letters • 40 sounds and 26 letters • 21 consonants and 24 consonant sounds • 5 vowels to represent 16 vowel sounds • it takes over 200 rules to account for the common spelling patterns in English

9. English has adopted many words from other languages • wagon - Dutch, • kindergarten, blitz, hamburger - German, • zero - Arabic, • geisha, kimono, origani- from Japanese souffle, restaurant, boutique - German • useful to start with foods from other cultures - taco, tortilla, challah, spaghetti

10. Spellings vary according to a sound’s position in a word and are affected by other letters • judge - not juj • guide - need the u to make the g hard • dinner has a double ne to show there is a short vowel in the first syllable

11. How many silent consonants can you find? I have to say My life’s been dull I’ve never know a gnu, Wrested a knight Talk to Tom Thumb, or sat on a gnat or two. I have never done These things at all. Tell me true – Have you?

12. We have some arbitrary rules that are not even directed connected to pronunciation • odd, bee and wee are all 3 letters when 2 letters would work • usually only function words such as to, in are 2 letters

13. Not a memory task Spelling is a sophisticated process - not a simple, low level take - requires multiple cognitive functions “spelling is a thinking activity not a memory act” Phenix contemporary researchers have redefined spelling not as a low level rote memorization task but instead as a high level cognitive skill Phenix p. 8 spelling and thinking go hand in hand

14. Donald Graves 1992 Spelling and punctuation have been placed in perspective, as tools that writers use to make their thoughts more understandable to an audience, not as ends in themselves.

15. Beyond rote learning Spelling instruction does not require a “return to the sterility of rote-learning and workbook drill ... the biggest challenge we face in education today is to teach skills without losing the gains we have made in making our classrooms more child centred. Jo Phenix

16. We have perceived spelling to be the very soul and fiber of education, and at times, it seemed of society as well. Spelling was the bedrock of literacy, the barometer of intelligence, the measure of our schools’ successes. Shane Templeton

17. What good spellers do • Good spellers do more than memorize, they have a repertoire of skills upon which to draw

18. A comprehensive spelling program includes: 1. spelling patterns 2. spelling strategies 3. subject connections 4. games/fun 5. link with writing and reading 6. history 7. neat facts 8. time 9. reflection 10. developmental steps

19. The main aims in teaching spelling are to develop in students: * an understanding of the importance of spelling in the communication of meaning * the ability to use a variety of spelling strategies in their own writing * a positive attitude towards themselves as spellers and towards using conventional spelling in their own writing

20. Pattern by sound, meaning, and function - Phenix Las Vegas rules of always sometimes and never • sound - long a, sh, qu, ight • some of these patterns are highly predictable e.g. pencil, Nino

21. Pattern by Meaning • meaning of word often helps us - sound of some letters may change but meaning still there • please - pleasant • write - written • educate – educational • dissolve - dis and solve so 2 s, disappear - dis and appear • but seen and scenery - 2 different meanings and different spellings

22. Spelling reflects meaning as well as pronunciation • nation not nashun from native • signature from sign • nestle from nest • sign, signal, signature, design, designate • watch, watches, watching, watched, watchful   • medic, medical, medicine, medicinal

23. Pattern by Function • ed, ing, tion • plurals, possessives, contractions • students make generalizations e.g. goed - will apply these generalizations to spelling • wanted - ed sounds id • banged - ed sounds d • picked - ed sounds t

24. Pattern by sound • How do you make the long a sound?

25. How would you spell the word ?????

26. Spelling Strategy - Foldover 1. Pick a word you want to practise. 2. Fold a piece of paper into thirds. This makes 3 rectangles. 3. Write your word in the top rectangle. 4. Fold over your writing. 5. Now write the word without looking in the second rectangle. 6. Open up the paper and check your

27. Strategies • pronounce the word clearly • identifying the problem part of the word • visualize it • acrostic • exaggerate it • word in a word • mnemonic devices • word origins • root words • compound words • common rules

28. Kinds of Spelling Activities • word prints • fill in the blank • underline/ circle parts of a word • rhyming words • sort words • make charts • find root words • tic tac toe • word pyramid • word web • complete the sentence • 1 word poems

29. crosswords • change-a-letter • use homophones in sentences • make lists • look at own writing samples • look in your reader or library book • look at pictures • concentration • match clues an sentences • scorpion • rewrite poem

30. make plurals • choose the right spelling • word stairs • unscrambled the words • look in newspapers/magazines • fancy letters • count syllables • make headlines/titles

31. fill in the blank • collage • letter ladder • yarn pictures • scrunch up • word chains • word puzzles

32. To proofread means to check what you have written Ways to proofread 1. Circle words that look invented 2. Read it aloud 3. Read it backwards 4. Have a friend read it 5. Read it and point to each word

33. Games • school needs to be fun - manufactured games - e.g. Scrabble, Pictionary • other games: Concentration, Word Associations, Sort Words by Meaning, Pattern, Vowels. Letters, • Tic Tac Toe,

34. Subject Connections • Animal Collectives • Social Studies - history of name of your community, developmental of maps • Art - do an art collage - distorted spelling in advertisements delite, hi, valu, rite, quik, tastee, nite, foto, lite , lo • American spellings of words • word explosions - art, artist, artistic, artistically, artful, artless, artifact, artwork • in grade 2 favourite letter collage • Math - use fliers for problem solving in math - now look at the names of produces • Cultural Study - notes about languages from Native People - look at the names - ABC organizer

35. My Personal Dictionary