spelling inquiry 2015

7/24/2019 Spelling Inquiry 2015

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Willtheexplici

tteachingofs

pelling assist

learnerstoaccel

eratetheirwr

itinguency?

ASpellingInq

uiryforWritten

Language


2/26

Wonderings:

Will developing spelling uency raise the writing achievementin students from oom! " #r ! $ #r % students?

&ow can I get children to transfer their 'nowledge of &(W inreading into their writing?

)*+ ," -participate responsively in professional learning

opportunities within the learning communitythrough their planning and teaching" demonstrate their

'nowledge and understanding of relevant content"disciplines and curriculum documents


3/26

esearch availa.le around the transfer of high

frequency words into childrens/ writing0

http1$$www0righttrac'reading0com$howtospell0html

http1$$eric0ed0gov$?id234,5-677

3vidence of

)*+," !%*his demonstrates my commitment to initiate learning

opportunities to advance personal professional 'nowledge ands'ills and

systematically and critically engaging with evidence andprofessional literature to reect on and re8ne my practice
http://www.righttrackreading.com/howtospell.htmlhttp://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED496700http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED496700http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED496700http://www.righttrackreading.com/howtospell.htmlhttp://www.righttrackreading.com/howtospell.html


4/26

What the research says1

9Spelling" although a small piece of the writing process" is of great

concern to teachers" parents" and the general pu.lic: ;Laminac'"Lester" < Woods" !55-" p0 !7=0 >any educators" .oth locally andnationally" have noticed a common trend in students/ lac' of a.ility totransfer the correct spelling of high frequency and commonly usedwords into their daily wor' and writing0 Shah and *homas ;%77%=wrote 9according to the !55 @allop )oll" the nited States placed lastin spelling .ehind Australia" Britain" and +anada0 In addition" on theIowa *est of Basic S'ills" elementary school scores have droppedsteadily since !557: ;p0 C!=0 Shah and *homas provide evidence thatspelling is of national concern and is indeed in need of attention0

Dohnston ;%777= stated 93nglish spelling has traditionally .eenconsidered a trial and tri.ulation to those who teach it and those whomust learn it: ;p0 C6%=0 @entry ;%77,= discussed a possi.le

explanation for the diEculty of learning to spell the 3nglish language0


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But in 3nglish" the alpha.etic principle is complex" with a plethora of foreign

spellings" myriad spelling com.inations" a huge voca.ulary" and sometimes ar.itraryspelling patterns ;and= this complex system of 3nglish spelling ma'es it more diEcultto spell than an alpha.etic language such as Italian ;@entry" %77,"p0 !C=0

As educators" we 8nd it diEcult and frustrating to teach spelling .ecause the 3nglishlanguage has so many inconsistencies and words that do not follow spelling rules0

It is our opinion that many students can correctly spell high frequency and spellingwords in isolation" such as on a wee'ly spelling test" .ut they cannot correctly spell

these words in their daily wor' and writing0 We .elieve that students may not see apurpose or reason to ma'e correct spelling a priority in their writing0 *hus" manystudents simply spell words phonetically" even when the word was a word that theyhad .een taught and had already .een mastered on a wee'ly spelling test0 #et9correct spelling is not only important on a (riday spelling test" .ut in all areas of thecurriculum: ;>urphy" !556" p0 !=0



6/26

In addition to teachers teaching spelling simply for mastery on the wee'ly spelling test" we.elieve that teachers are not using the current research on spelling in their daily instruction0

According to @entry ;!56=*oo much that is 'nown a.out how to teach spelling isn/t .eing put into practice0 I can thin'of no su.Fect we teach more poorly or har.or more myths a.out than spelling0 In spite ofvolumes of research" teachers still use the same unsu.stantiated teaching formulas ;p0 6=0

*eachers must help students understand that spelling is important and is a reection of thestudents/ reading and writing a.ility0 As sighted in Brecher" @ray" )rice < Sayles ;!55= 9*hefocus for spelling needs to .e shifted from rote memoriGation to communication .etweenwriter and reader: ;p0i=0*he words that we expect our students to spell correctly are high

frequency words that are seen daily in reading and writing" and thus students need to 'nowhow to spell these words correctly0

We .elieve that spelling is an area that needs to .e addressed in the primary school years0We .elieve that with eHective spelling strategies" students/ a.ility to transfer spelling intotheir written wor' will .e enhanced0 )henix and Scott4une ;!55!= wrote that 9we need tostri'e a .alance in our teaching so that students understand the place of spelling" and haveenough con8dence as spellers that they are not inhi.ited as writers: ;p0 !6=0



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esources used1

Doy Allcoc' Switch onto Spelling J instructional techniques and strategies

Dolly )honics letter$ sound lin's practise

>easured >om practice games related directly to the instruction

)revious 'nowledge gained form my ALL Writing Inquiry %7!,

Support sourced from Sharon >erry *LB Lit

)*+ -"6demonstrate eHective

management of the learningsetting which incorporates

successful strategies to

engage and motivate K'onga


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Why is this necessary?*he children in my class have great ideas to write with .ut lac'

the phonological 'nowledge required to assist them to spell0 *hisis evidenced through the )seudo word test" testing of the 3ssentialWord Lists and .y classroom o.servations0

+hildren appear to 'now most letter sound lin's .ut are not usingthis 'nowledge to assist them to spell uently when writing0

+hildren are not using the word mats eHectively to assist theirindependent attempts at writing0

)*+

)*+ !!I analysed assessment information to identifyprogress and ongoing learning needs of my

K'onga


9/26

*he Inquiry

*erm Mne J implemented Dolly )honics to .uild letter sound lin's

+reated a wall of words to copy and use in writing providing acorrect model .uilds memory for text in readers and writers

4eveloped writing word .an's to .uild writing uency and memoryfor high frequency words

3ssential word lists in home .oo's for parents to assist children tolearn these0

)*+ !!I fostered involvement of whKnau in the

collection and use of information a.out thelearning of K'onga


10/26

Baseline data

I selected the pseudo word test to determine letter $ sound lin's for theinquiry of all students Doy Alcoc'

I tested the prior 'nowledge of 3ssential Word Lists of all students .ecausethese are referred to in the National Standards Learning >edia

WS were ta'en across the class to determine what students could dowithout teacher support

43+ISIMN1In order to meet the needs of my students I elected to apply myinquiry to all the students in the class I needed to incorporate all the learnersinto the inquiry and report on the selected students0 A factor in this decisionwas that I needed to 'eep my teacher aid time for reading .ecause I 8rmly.elieve that reading levels impact on writing a.ility0 )*+ !!"!%

I needed to analyse and appropriately useassessment information" which has .een

gathered formally and informally and

use critical inquiry and pro.lemsolvingeHectively in their professional practice


11/26

*he data says thisO

)*+ !!analyse assessment information to identify progress and

ongoing learning needs of K'onga


12/26

*he actionsOAll students were assessed and the data recorded

All students were taught how to use the word mats in the classroom Jrevisited from *erm !

All students were taught the diHerence .etween letters and words$sentences and long and short vowel sounds0

All students were encouraged to use word associations to assist spelling

e0g0 if I can spell .atO then I can spell hat" fat" mat" sat and cat0Word .uilding and .lends were also explicitly taught during guidedreading sessions appropriate to the text level of the .oo'0

Writing apps for &(W" story sentences" silly sentences " cut up sentences"word ladders and practice opportunities for spelling were part of thereading tum.le as well as reading practice0


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*he Inquiry*erm %

Sourced word matching .ingo games around short and long vowel

sounds and spelling patterns

MA4 BLM+P +hildren not used to managing learning using games JSolution 4A* Qs around sharing" turn ta'ing and respect forequipment0

*N1 Laminated cards with high frequency words practice andword ladders from a *LB Lit friend0

MA4 BLM+P1 +hildren not used to using tum.le .oards)*+ 5

modify teaching approaches toaddress the needs of individuals

and groups ofK'onga


14/26

*he Inquiry

R*N1 3xplicitly teach children how to manage materials and equipmentindependently

MA4 BLM+P1 developing a time frame allowing for the management oflearners with high needs0

*N1 3nFoyment of games were made diEcult due to the childrens/reading age and stage0 So focus on accelerating progress in reading" teachingword families and word .uilding s'ills and lin' to spelling through imaging0

With all the management s'ills in place it was time to collect .aseline data forthe inquiry0

)*+ !%I used critical inquiry and pro.lem

solving eHectively in my professional

practice


15/26

*he Inquiry

*erm C1

e Jesta.lished routines quic'ly now and introduced a tum.le.oard for spelling groups 0

Set activities up the night .efore as we only had a %7 minutewindow of time to get through two teaching groups per day0 Busy

+ontinue to ma'e explicit lin's .etween reading the word andimaging the word to assist children toward correct spelling0

At the end of Wee' retest children .ased on 3ssential Word Listand )seudo Word list to esta.lish performance over the inquiry0


16/26

What this loo's li'e

>odelling .oo's eading

>odelling .oo's Spelling

*as'.oard Spelling

)*+ 5select teaching approaches" resources" technologies

and learning and assessment activities that are

inclusive and eHective for diverse K'onga


17/26

*he data saysO

)*+ !!communicate assessment and achievement information

to relevant mem.ers of the learning community


18/26

*he target studentsprogress


19/26

*he target studentsprogress 3very child has made

gains in their spellinga.ility .ased on pre

and post test datafrom the intervention0

*he conclusion to .edrawn from thisintervention was thatit was indeedsuccessful as aspelling intervention0We need now todetermine that itwas successful as a

writing intervention0

)*+ -" !!articulate clearly the aims of their teaching" give

sound professional reasons for adopting theseaims" and implement them in their practice

analyse assessment information to reect on andevaluate the eHectiveness of the teaching


20/26

MayWL

MayEWL

AugustWL

AugustEWL

+hild ! #ear % Below C5 At

+hild % #ear % Below %- At C

+hild C #ear % At C, At --

+hild , #ear % Atfragile

C! At secure %

+hild #ear ! At low !, At secure C,

+hild - #ear ! At ,5 A.ove 5-


21/26

Has this transferred into

their writing?

(or all of the students involved in the inquiry I would certainlyconclude their spelling of &(W has improved from the interventionand their willingness to attempt other words has .een noticed andidenti8ed through results in their WS pre and post intervention0

I have noticed the a.ility in more students to their writing uency;the a.ility to add length to their writing=0

@iven the age of my students I .elieve the intervention has had apositive eHect on their a.ility to transfer the learning into theirwriting0


22/26

ecommendations1

I .elieve this intervention could .e applied across the school with adaption fordiHering levels of the curriculum0

4evelop a school wide spelling programme that meets the needs of most students

4evelop similar routines across the school in order to ease children into newclassrooms ;research shows that children can loose up to C months of instructionsettling into a new teacher and classroom=0 *his is especially relevant to our high

needs and highly dependent learners0Share my decisions and concerns with the leadership team and wor' with them tocreate a functional spelling programme$s for school wide use that feed into eachother to reduce the fall oH in spelling instruction when students change rooms0

(or example1 Dolly phonics vs 3arly Words0 Should we .e using one or the other?

Will having two similar .ut diHerent programmes confuse students? &ow much has

the school invested in resources and 'nowledge that will .e lost?


23/26

Students voice1

)*+ assist K'onga to thin' critically

a.out information and ideas and toreect on their learning

)arent voice1 Initially wondered why home spelling was not part of

formal homewor'O0 4elighted with her childs/ progress0


24/26

Where to from here?

)arent education a.out spelling0

Share my learning with my colleagues and encourage them to trythese interventions and with the support of the leadership teamresearch" identify and test spelling programmes that could .eused to raise student achievement in spelling

)*+ !!foster involvement of whKnau in the collection and

use of information a.out the learning of K'onga


25/26

Barriers identied:

*arget students regular a.sence from school0

*imeta.ling constraints very narrow window of time to implement thelearning % mins

)arent interruptions to the programme .y lateness to class" needingassistance .etween 0am and 50!7am0

No speci8c .udget for the photocopying of resources to assist theInquiry0

>y own a.sence from class due to leadership professionaldevelopment and .ereavement0


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Post interventionobservations:

Ree!tionsIn the last few wee's of the term the children have fully engaged with thetum.le.oard activities now and I shall 'eep this up" as it is .ecoming anormal routine in the class0

>y thoughts for next year will .e to introduce it earlier perhaps the secondhalf of the 8rst term0

Dunior children need longer time to adFust to tum.le .oards and need time to

settle into the routines required0

After ta'ing the WS it is clear to me that the spelling approximations andlevel of transfer of correct use of &(W is .eginning to ta'e place J August%7!

4o we need to have a common use of a spelling programmes across theschool to minimise the drop oH eHect that occurs .etween diHerent teachingprogrammes?

)*+ !!analyse assessment information to reect on

and evaluate the eHectiveness of the teaching

spelling inquiry 2015

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