Spelling is a tool for writing

Virginia Outred and Jane Denny (CSO)From David Hornsby lecture 4.6.12

Learning….. from….

• Meaningful to Abstract• Known to Unknown• Heart to head (affective domain to cognitive

domain)

Recent Brain research shows…

• Brains detect patterns in learning• Therefore it is more effective to teach

spelling…..• Pattern by pattern NOT word by word

How can we group words for patterns?

• Visual patterns• Sound patterns• Meaning patterns

Why can’t we teach spelling according to sounds only?

• English spelling is tied to meaning NOT sound • E.g. sign comes from signal. Therefore the ‘g’

stays when we write sign even though we don’t say it. To take the g out would change the derivation of the word meaning.

• This is the strength in English spelling- it helps us to spell.

Language serves meaning not sound

Our language is more tied to morphemic not phonemic.

Example: 4 – four, quatre, quatroAll over the world this word has the same

meaning but a different sound.

5 Strategies for Solving words

By Sound (phonemic strategies)

Words we can sound out- using sound to letter knowledge

By Look (visual strategies)

Words we remember by seeing them and using them a lot

By Meaning (morphemic strategies)

Words where I know the units of meaning and can combine them

By connections (linking strategies)

Using existing knowledge about a word to figure out a new word

By Inquiry (research strategies)

Using reference materials to learn more about words (dictionaries, lists etc)

Example to, too, two

• To- high frequency word, use visual memory• Too- sound pattern (zoo, moo)• Two- morphemic knowledge linked to the

meaning of 2. (twin, twice, twenty, between)

5 developmental stages of spellingStage characteristics

Pre communicative Writing cannot be read by othersRandom strings of symbolsNo indication of letter-sound correspondence

Semi- phonetic First attempts at letter-sound correspondenceInitial consonants, one letter representing one wordSometimes one or two sounds in the word representedA letter name sometimes used /Some sounds evident

Phonetic Paying attention to all soundsWriting can usually be read by othersThere may be a match between all essential soundsLetters used to represent dominant sounds heardNasal consonants may be omitted (wet for went)Past tense represented in various ways (d,t,id)

Transitional Visual and morphemic strategies become more importantMore aware of common patterns. Can be correct letters but in wrong sequence. Vowels are heard in every syllable

Conventional Not everyone reaches this stage

Teaching Spelling

• We are teachers of spelling all day every day• Help students to be word watchers in all KLA’s• Explicit teaching is ‘short, sharp, shiny’

(3-5mins) as part of modelled writing or shared reading (whole class)

• Expert spellers have excellent visual memory, poor spellers don’t.

• Teach all 5 strategies K-6. Use language appropriate to the grade

Teaching Spelling

• Begin with authentic texts- reading and writing

• Reading and writing of connected texts always takes priority

• Do not begin with the rule. Rules are not the known. Explore the words and patterns, discover the rules.

• Spelling Activities only help students to contextualise strategies they do not specifically teach spelling.

• A teacher is needed to make the connection between strategy and activity

• Strategies need to be taught either before, during or after the activity

• Can teach in group time- no more than 10 minutes (group according to developmental stage or need)

Group teaching of spelling• Sometimes group semi-phonetic, phonetic and transitional

chn on their own and sometimes together.• Whole class – shared text. Explicit teaching 4-5 mins max. It

must be a mini- lesson when its whole class 2 or 3 mins is best. Lots of very short mini lessons are valuable. For some chn it’s revision and practise. For some it’s new and for some it’s above them.

• THEY ARE ALL READY TO TAKE SOMETHING FROM THE SHARED SESSION. IT’S A PART OF WHAT WE DO. Groups focus much more specifically on what the groups need. Identify why you are using a particular sequence.

Assessing Spelling

• Writing samples• Dictation- can be a place to assess words you

have taught or a pattern that’s been looked at.• Test scores don’t reveal developmental stage

of the student

Testing spelling

Pure access to books makes a difference to children’s scores on tests.

Testing does not improve learning. Teaching improves learning.

If I don’t test how do I know what a child can spell?

A child’s independent writing is the best indication of their spelling.

How can we “use “ parent helpers?

• Parents can write a child’s spelling on the spelling analysis sheet to assist teachers.

• The teachers then look at this in light of the area where most of the ticks occur.

What can I do once I know what kind of speller a child is?

• Semi-phonetic- chn need help to pay attention to every sound in a word.

“Push and stretch”.• Phonetic – more visual patterns, more

meaning patterns and more gimmicks• Transitional – More of the same as the

phonetic

ATTITUDE MAKES A DIFFERENCE! It’s not the child’s fault.

Resources

• Hornsby and Wilson (2011) ‘Teaching Phonics in Context’ Pearson Education

• Gentry and Gillet (1993) ‘Teaching kids to Spell’• Peter Westwood (1999) ‘Spelling: Approaches to

teaching and assessment’ ACER press• Pinnell and Fountas Word Matters• Teaching Spelling K-6 NSW Dept of Ed Curriculum

Support Directorate 1998(download from Smart Data)• Rowe and Lomas (1996)‘Systematic Spelling’