Welcome to All Teach, All Learn: Spelling

1. Welcome toAll Teach, All Learn: Spelling Thank you for coming this morning Tuesday 22 January 2019 9.00 – 9.15am – PE Hall HT Presentation about Spelling 9.15 – 10.00am – Into Classes to see Spelling Lessons 10.00 – 10.15am – PE Hall for Feedback Forms and Resources/Ideas Pack

2. Spelling Development: Emergent Literacy Mark Making Initial Sound First and Last Sound First, Middle and Last Sound (CVC, VCC, etc.)

3. Spelling – which words do we learn? The first 25 most common words make up about 1/3 of all printed material in English. The first 100 comprise 1/2 of all written material, and the first 300 make up about 65% percent of all written material in English. (These may be ‘tricky words’ to learn – ‘whole word’ techniques need to be used to learn the spelling)

4. Spelling – which words do we learn? In addition to ‘tricky words’, there are words that are spelled the way they sound. These words are spelled phonetically. They are broken down into their component sounds (‘phonemes’) and sounded out. CVC words are the first of these type of words that are learned. They are made up of Consonant, Vowel, Consonant. Their spelling can be sounded out (unlike ‘tricky words’, which must be learned). Examples: HAT PEG BIN LOT DIP SUN CAR

5. The Importance of Vowel Sounds in Spelling HAT HOT HIT HUT PIG PEG PUG BAT BIT BUT BET BOG BEG BUG BIG BAG

6. Whole Word Approaches – All Stages • Practise (weekly homework) • Use in different contexts • See words in Reading (‘My spelling doesn’t look right’) • Start to see the ‘shape’ of words • Consider common mistakes/learn the error NOT to make (It’s not ‘Febuary’ but ‘Feb-ru-ary’) • Say tricky words the way you spell them when you are trying to write them (i.e. ‘Wed-nes-day’) • Spelling mnemonics – big elephants can always understand small elephants (because), or make up own

7. Good Habits (and Bad Habits) • Always check through your work – does your spelling make sense or ‘look right’? Break longer words into syllables to sound out and blend • Have others read your work before handing in (if appropriate) • Use a dictionary if you need to check spelling • Keep a notebook for new spelling words and try to learn them • Believe that spelling matters – how you come across on paper/in emails is just as important as how you come across on the phone or in person, it shows ethos, attention to detail – ask for help if needed • Use additional strategies if spelling is challenging for you (paper colour, extra time) • Practise – a little and often, spelling words around the house, join in with Spelling Bees, use a range of different spelling ‘games’ to keep up motivation to learn • Older children can consider learning more about etymology and prefix/suffix meanings • Try not to rely too heavily on computer spell check (of/if, the/they, then/than etc.)

8. Spelling at Milne’s • Single Word Spelling Tests (SWST) – Termly • Words in context (in work, jotters) • Curriculum for Excellence (Early, First, Second Level Spelling Experiences and Outcomes) • Weekly homework and spell checks (Fry’s common words) • Improving vocabulary via spelling (topic words) • CVC words, tricky words, spelling patterns (‘-ought’, ‘-ough’, ‘-ing’, ‘-itch’ etc.) • Celebrating spelling – Spelling Bees in Assembly • Teachers do NOT always mark spelling – if writing is creative, it is more important that children use interesting words (sounded out) than correctly spelled known words (such as nice, good, fun, big, cool, hot, red, big etc.)

9. Ideas • Word, sentence, word – When stating the word that needs to be spelled a sentence is given too (some words have two or more meanings). For example ‘Knight. The knight wore shining armour. Knight.’ • Dictation • Link word with Meaning • Choose word that best fills a gap in a sentence • Use cut letters to make spelling words • Find words within other (longer) words (‘alliteration’ – at, rate, later) • Let children see you writing – model sounding out/dictionary • Encourage and celebrate success, your child can only try their best

10. Why is Spelling Important? “Invented spelling is an analytical process. In the early 1970s, a researcher named Charles Read asserted that young children’s attempts at spelling words were not displays of ignorance. Rather, they were windows into each child’s word knowledge. Read coined the term “invented spelling,” which refers to the way a child spells words that aren’t stored in his/her memory phonetically. Earlier this year, Gene Oulette and Monique Sénéchal published a study on invented spelling. In it they state that “Allowing children to engage in the analytical process of invented spelling, followed by appropriate feedback, has been found to facilitate learning to read and spell, not hamper the process.” That’s right, we help students’ future success as readers by giving them the freedom to invent their own spellings when they write.”

11. Encouraging invented spelling allows children to take risks. We must praise emerging writers for their spelling attempts rather than punish them for not getting it right. Remember, invented spelling isn’t an “anything goes” approach. Conversely, it’s a necessary stage to develop the proficiency as a competent and confident writer. As kids move on through the primary grades, it’s important to teach them the difference between sloppy spelling (i.e., misspelling words they already know) and taking risks to try to spell new or less frequently used words.

12. Time for Spelling Classes Please return here at 10am for: • Feedback Forms • Hard Copies of Information/Resources/Examples