by Rebecca Treiman
Original article: LINK
Learning to spell is crucial for writing and reading, but there’s a debate on how best to teach spelling. While children naturally pick up some spelling as they read, it’s usually not enough for them to become strong spellers. They need structured lessons to understand how spelling works and not just memorise words.
Phonics teaching, where children learn the sounds letters make, is often seen as effective. However, it doesn’t always give a complete picture of English spelling. It might oversimplify things or even be inaccurate.
Instead, it’s more effective to teach pupils about the patterns in words. By studying these patterns, they can better understand how to spell different words.
Do children become good spellers by reading a lot?
If children could become great spellers just by reading, teaching spelling might not seem necessary. Some educators argue that if children are surrounded by books and encouraged to write, they’ll naturally pick up spelling skills over time. While reading does help children get better at spelling, it’s not a magic solution. Children who get structured spelling lessons tend to spell better than those who don’t.
How should spelling be taught?
In schools, spelling is often taught by asking children to memorise lists of words for a test. These words might be related to a theme or found in books they’re reading. However, this method doesn’t teach chihldren how the spelling system works, and teachers aren’t always happy with the results.
Phonics instruction is another approach. It teaches children how letters and groups of letters (like “sh”) correspond to the sounds we make when we talk. For instance, it teaches that the letter “e” often makes the vowel say its name, like in “gave.” Phonics helps kids understand spelling rules, like when to double a consonant after a short vowel, as in “rabbit.” While phonics is helpful, it has limitations. Some words don’t follow the rules all the time, like “swan” or “have.” Also, phonics doesn’t usually teach children to consider neighbouring sounds or word endings when spelling. Understanding these patterns could help pupils spell better.
Another aspect overlooked by phonics is morphology, which deals with the meaning of word parts. For example, in French, certain endings like “ette” mean “small,” so words like “fillette” mean “little girl.” English also has patterns like this, such as adding “ed” for past tense, as in “jumped.” But phonics doesn’t focus on these connections between word meaning and spelling.
To truly understand spelling, children should study words. By exploring why words are spelt a certain way, pupils can make exciting discoveries. Longer-term instruction in spelling can be helpful, especially in languages like English where spelling can be complex and tied to word meanings. For example, older pupils could learn about word parts like “cent” and how they’re used in words like “percent” or “century.” In this way, spelling lessons also have the potential to expand children’s vocabularies.