Many schools have thrown out spelling instruction and have not replaced this vital piece of learning how to read and write. Spelling instruction usually encompasses:
- phoneme-grapheme correspondence,
- encoding,
- decoding,
- syllabication,
- morphemes,
- and semantics.
Spelling instruction is a form of word study. The depth of word study is dependent on the curriculum and how the curriculum is used. There is not a perfect curriculum, most will need to be altered to better meet the needs of current students. Teachers are usually responsible for interpreting the provided curriculum and developing instructional lessons based on their current students and state standards. I may need to provide a prerequisite lesson before the current lesson. You may need to add a scaffold for all or part of your current students. Jane across the hall may need to increase the depth of the same lesson, as most of her students have ownership of the current lesson. Some teachers may need to add a combination of the previously stated to provided grade-level instruction that allows all students to participate in the lesson.
Years ago, I learned in passing that campus wide many students struggled to accurately spell words. This was a common theme with parents during parent conferences. There was curriculum that I was using that included many of the usual pieces in good spelling curriculum. These students needed something more that would complement those lessons and not take much classroom time.
The following briefly discusses how I added word study into my classroom instruction to increase student literacy achievement. I found a word study workbook for the grade that I was teaching at the time. The curriculum workbook allowed me to reproduce the pages. The curriculum is systematic with a new set of words based on a different phonetic pattern each week. The curriculum also included worksheets about the meaning of the lesson words. The worksheets provided practice in writing and accurately using the words within sentences. The curriculum workbook pages change to fit grade-level norms.
Each week on Tuesday, students received a new set of words. I worked through the following steps with them. This takes about 10 minutes, once the routine is established.
- I projected the words for students to see at the front of the room. I modeled the process of analyzing the words. Then had students silently analyze the words for a couple of minutes. What do the words have in common? Are there words within the words? Do any of the words rhyme? Do the words begin or end with “ch”.
- Students were allowed to voluntarily point out one thing that they noticed about the current group of words. All students felt very comfortable in joining the conversation within a couple of months. After a while students usually found the important items as a collective group.
- I introduced the meaning and pronunciation of unfamiliar words. I usually included pictures to increase student ownership of the word meaning. This is especially beneficial for English second language learners, students with dyslexia, and visual learners.
- We (students and I) usually completed a workbook page about synonyms and antonyms. We worked together to find words that were the opposite or similar to this week’s words and to find words that related to the theme of a given group of words. I usually modeled writing in the words so everyone could see the correct answers. This allowed all students to participate. I usually glanced at each student’s workbook page for accuracy.
On Wednesday, I sent home the classroom completed worksheet, so students could complete the other side as homework. Students had one week to complete the worksheet to accommodate afterschool and other family commitments. I also sent home two more workbook pages of the same week as homework with students that were able to complete them mostly on their own. Students were happier with ability to increase their spelling knowledge and parents were happier with their student’s increase of word knowledge.
On Thursday of the same week, we would further analyzed/discussed the same words. I worked through the following steps. This takes about 8-10 minutes, once the routine is established.
- I chose five words that represented a variety of different spelling patterns from current week’s group of word. (Students had a designated place in their word-study journal for this exercise of writing weekly words and sentences.) We worked through one word at a time.
- I stated the word, then asked students to repeat the word orally.
- I/we segmented the word into each individual sound, stating how many different phonemes were present in the word. I modeled this process then had students complete the process with me. I finger tapped for each individual sound, as if I was counting them. There are other forms that may be easier for you to use, like arm tapping or pounding each sound.
- We wrote down the phonemes in the order that we heard These might be different than the actual letter that is used to represent the sound.
- I wrote/modeled the letters that are actually used to spell those sounds underneath the heard sounds. Many of the students were able to finish this step on their own. This gave opportunity to discuss how some sounds are represented by different letter(s) and possible corresponding rules. This process allowed all students to participate, reduced possible anxiety of the lower functioning students and ensured their accuracy of the task.
- I dictated two sentences that I generated around the current group of words and grade-level writing expectations. I orally stated a sentence. Then I repeated the sentence a few more times, before modeling how to write the sentence. I glanced at student journal entries for accuracy, once students had completed the exercise. This gave me great observation notes about letter formation, encoding, letter-sound correspondence, ability to proof-read, and copy from the board. It also gave me a chance to immediately give feedback.
When assessing student growth, I gave them a half sheet of lined paper. I asked them to complete the same process with each orally given word and dictated sentence. This took 5-10 minutes. I did not give this “quiz” each week. I did make observational notes to self each week. This gave me tangible evidence that I could use for academic deficiencies and growth.
