2015: ALEA/TATE Conference Keeping It Real Spelling: What s Worth Teaching and Learning? anne.bayetto@flinders.edu.au
Influences on Students Spelling Skills Auditory and visual skills Oral language skills Words spoken are words written Generally speak more words than can be correctly spelled Expectations Family, school, government, society Potentially diminished academic, vocational, and social opportunities When others read what is written they will judge
Relationship of Spelling and Reading Reading (decoding) Partly visual May not need attention to every word/letter to gain meaning Receptive language ability Not dependent on motor skills Spelling (encoding) Mainly visual Need awareness of each letter/sequence of letters Expressive language ability Mostly dependent on motor skills
Reading and Spelling Reading skill is a necessary but insufficient condition for development of good spelling (Hughes & Searle, 2000, p. 203) The way a student spells a word provides information about how a student reads a word (Adapted from Ness, 2010, p. 114) Humans are pattern seekers
Is English Spelling Predictable? 50% are predictable based on sound-letter correspondences 34% are predictable except for one sound (knit, boat) If word origin and meaning are considered only 4% of words are truly irregular and so may have to be visually learned (Joshi, Treiman, Carreker, & Moats, 2008-2009, p. 8)
Some Points Students must double the amount of daily sustained writing Need a reason to write to have a reason to spell committed writers are more likely to strive to become good spellers (Hughes & Searle, 2000, p. 204) If you don t have a rich writing program, you don t have a spelling program (Hughes & Searle, 2000, p. 208)
Spelling Competencies
Phonetic Skills Sentences may be segmented into words, words into syllables and onsetrimes, and syllables and onset-rimes into individual sounds Phonemic awareness Rhyming Alliteration Segmentation Blending Isolation Manipulation Phonological awareness Phonemic awareness + Syllabification + Onset-rime
Visual Skills Making links between words Letter patterns Important when learning irregular or novel words Letter/letters don t represent most common sound (was, said) Mnemonics
Morphological Skills Especially important when learning multi-syllabic and more complex words (Sayeski, 2011) Root words can be extended and/or altered with affixes Compound words Homographs (fair) Homophones (sale/sail)
Etymological Skills Origin and history of words Portmanteau words brunch, freeware, Singlish, lupper, Skype Clipped words ad, burger, copter, limo, tux Onomatopoeic words achoo, fizzle, cuckoo, meow, whirr Palindromes eye, radar, kayak, level, refer
Evidence and Data: Spelling Age Tests Single test does not provide sufficient range of items needed to understand a student s specific strengths and weaknesses (Calhoon, Greenberg, & Hunter, 2010, p. 169) Must analyse error types Actual spelling abilities not often evident Strengths/weaknesses not apparent Strategy use not shown Spelling ages rarely support programming Tests may be too close together to offer reliable data
Error Analysis Look for error pattern as errors are generally consistently wrong Not aware of what else to do Errors can be cause for positive acknowledgement as there s been an attempt to write new words Focus on worthwhile errors
Observations What is student s confidence level? Does student only write easy words? What strategies does student use when attempting to spell words? Does student check own spelling? First strategy used? Level of self-monitoring?
Conversations How do you know if you ve spelled a word correctly? What do you do if you can t spell a word you want to write? What do you do if you spell a word that doesn t look right?
Approaches to Spelling Instruction Incidental Based on student s errors/topic words Developmental Focused on spelling features i.e., letter patterns Published programs Year level assigned Not taught at all Osmosis
What Words Should be Learned? Words that students Can already pronounce Read Know the meaning of but cannot yet correctly spell
What Words Should be Learned? Essential, Desirable, Later What words offer a high rate of return? High-frequency/security words Onset letter patterns Initial consonants Consonant blends Consonant digraphs Rimes Morphological elements Errors from a student s own writing Words students want to know how to spell Should not be finding words in dictionary
How Many Words Should be Learned at One Time?
Goal Setting and Being Proactive Goal setting What words do you want/need to know how to spell? How many is enough for now? Self-Talk The word is I can see letters I can hear sounds A letter pattern is Another word like it is
How Should Spelling be Programmed? Separate discrete lessons 10-15 minutes X most days of the week Teachers intervening quickly as needed AND those teachable moments Systematic and explicit instruction Demonstration Guided practice Process feedback Independent practice Ongoing review
Research and Commentary Says Planning for the term Intentional but not fixed Weekly spelling contracts Issue of contracts as homework
Questions About Published Spelling Programs How were words chosen? How many words are in each section? What words do student already know how to spell? Are all students ready to learn same words? Are the words worth learning? Are learning activities meaningful, useful and relevant? Gentry: Fad programs
Approaches to Teaching: Whole-School How do your colleagues teach spelling? How do they assess spelling? How do you and your colleagues introduce and reinforce spelling strategies across year levels? What are your colleagues responses to invented spelling? Do your colleagues accept globalised spellings?
Approaches to Teaching: Whole Class Shared language about spelling approaches Confirm correct pronunciation Confirm a word s meaning/s Compare and contrast words Introduce phonetic, visual, morphological, and etymological skills Teacher demonstration and modelling of spelling strategies Model proof-reading skills
Approaches to Teaching: Group Group by learning need Specific spelling goals e.g. initial consonant blend Specific type of instruction e.g. syllabification Teach, practice, consolidate, disband Use heterogeneous approaches Poor spellers talking with more competent spellers about ways of thinking about and learning words Use peer tutoring Importance of training and practice
Fixed list Monday Words introduced and learning activities Tuesday-Thursday AA Friday Summative test Monday: New list of words Programming Flow list Monday Words introduced and learning activities Tuesday-Thursday AA Friday Summative test Monday: New list of words including errors from last week s test
Phonetic Learning Strategies When I hear a word Say the word slowly Say the word in syllables Name all the individual sounds Use a memory strategy: Mnemonic Say the word in a funny way e.g. is-land Ask someone else what they would do
Visual Learning Strategies When I look at a word Say the word slowly Say the word in syllables Name all the individual sounds Look for letter patterns Use a memory strategy: Mnemonic Use a spelling generalisation Ask someone else what they would do
Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check Look at and think about: whole word and identify letter patterns, small word/s in the longer word, break into syllables, check for affixes Close eyes and visualise (see) the whole word Say: word by stretching out sounds in the word while still looking at it Name the letters Cover: the word Write: whole word from memory while saying it slowly Check: whether you wrote the word correctly If yes, go to your next word If no, go through steps again
Air and Table Spelling Look at whole word Say the word Using a whole of arm movement, name each letter as you write them in the air Say the word again Now close your eyes and name each letter as you finger spell (or use an inverted pen or pencil) the word on the table Say the word again Now write the word
www.spellingcity.com Enter own words to learn Range of practice activities www.speld-sa.org.au SOS: Spelling for Older Students