road to better spelling, The

Teaching Pre K-8, Feb 1998 by Manning, Maryann

Some strategies you can use to boost spelling skills.

I've been studying how students develop as spellers. In my attic and office, I have thousands of spelling samples I've collected from young children over periods as long as three years. I've watched some young children go from scribbling to conventional spelling quickly, while others seem always to have difficulty.

Needless to say, children enter school at varying levels of development in spelling ability. When teachers ask kindergartners or first graders to write on the first day of school, they observe children who draw pictures, scribble or make only strings of letters. Others invent spellings that can be read, reflecting their knowledge of letter-sound correspondence.

Six levels. In our studies of kindergartners' spelling development (M. Manning, G. Manning, R. Long and C. Kamii), we've noted six levels: Level 0: Children draw pictures or scribble rather than make letters or symbol-like forms.

Level 1: Children write a string of letters for a word, but there are no set number of letters from one word to another.

Level 2: Children write strings of letters that usually consist of three to six letters for each word. The letters may be different for each word or the same letters may be rearranged from one word to the next.

Level 3: Children at this level (consonantal level) make letter-sound correspondence, mostly by consonants. For example, they usually write smt for cement.

Level 4: Children at this level (alphabetic level) make their letter-sound correspondences by consonants and vowels. They might write vacashun for vacation or moshun for motion. Level 5: Children spell most words in the conventional way.

Different times. The development of spelling from letter strings to conventional spelling occurs at different times for children. Some make letter strings throughout kindergarten and into first grade and then begin to write at the consonantal level (invented spelling), while others develop to the consonantal level at a very early age. Within every grade level in elementary school, there are likely to be children at more than one level.

Teachers who teach writing develop good spellers by having students rehearse, draft, revise and edit. These teachers conduct mini-lessons focusing on age-appropriate spelling information. As students engage in independent reading and writing, they become better spellers.

I have students keep their own personal lists of words that cause them problems. The lists can be in an ordinary notebook, or in a commercial one such as the Word Books in the Literacy Plus Program published by Zaner-Bloser. The Word Books have lists of words on different topics that aid students in vocabulary growth as well as in their spelling development.

I'm skeptical about many spelling games. I believe students profit more from independent reading or writing on self-selected topics and then editing for misspelled words. I also find that writing sentences with spelling words or silly stories that use every word on a list waste precious time that could be spent on real writing.

I do, however, like Regie Routman's "Have-a-Go sheets" strategy in which students identify misspelled words from their writing. They make four columns on a piece of paper: Copy Word, 1st Attempt, 2nd Attempt and Standard Spelling.

They copy the word as they've spelled it in the first column, make two attempts to spell the word in the second and third columns, and then write the standard spelling in the fourth column.

The following strategies may remind you of others you've used in your classroom.

PRIMARY GRADES

Write words in invented spelling when demonstrating writing for kindergartners or older children who are at early levels. Use only consonants and letter name vowels to help students see that they can spell words.

Have each student keep an individual list in a notebook or commercial word book. Students can add to the list as needed.

Post a chart of the words that students use often. Leave space for students to add words they think should be on the list. A big book can be made with 26 pages (each page representing one letter).

Notice words that students have difficulty with and conduct minilessons to help them.

Have students engage in peer conferences and ask them to identify words that need to be checked before a piece is published.

Discuss briefly spelling rules you feel second and third graders can understand. Use only rules that work a majority of the time.

INTERMEDIATE GRADES & MIDDLE SCHOOL

Encourage independent reading, which helps students develop a visual memory of conventional spellings.

Post a chart listing hard-to-spell words. Identify content words from your current theme. If you use a chart rack, you can add sheets for words from new themes and still leave the old ones up for easy reference.

Ask students to keep their own personal list of words they have problems remembering how to spell. Encourage them to add to the list whenever they find new words.

Keep copies of a variety of dictionaries and other writing aids in different locations in the classroom for easy reference. Some students may want to keep small paperback copies in their book bags.