by Karen Harris, Steve Graham and Amber Ray
Original article: LINK
One big challenge students face when writing is spending too much time thinking about their spellings while they write. This can disrupt their flow of ideas and make their writing less organised and coherent. Misspelled words can also make it hard for readers to understand what it is they want to say and share.
It’s important for students to develop good spelling skills so they don’t have to think about spelling while they write. They also need to learn about different types of writing and how to plan, draft, revise, and edit their work effectively.
Teachers can use two proven methods to help students with these challenges. The first method is explicit instruction, where students are taught directly and given lots of practice until they master the skill. This works well for teaching spelling.
The second method is called self-regulated strategy development (SRSD). It helps students learn how to plan, monitor, evaluate, and regulate their writing process. This approach supports students in becoming more confident and motivated writers by giving them tools to manage their writing independently.
Spelling instruction
When teaching pupils how to spell, it’s crucial that they learn to spell most words correctly and automatically. They also need to understand the basic patterns behind how English words are spelt so they can spell new words correctly too.
Even though there are thousands of words in English, most of the words we use regularly make up only a small percentage of our vocabulary. For example, just 100 words cover half of what children write, and 1,000 words cover nearly 90%. So, by focusing on teaching a relatively small number of words each year, teachers can help students become strong spellers.
To achieve this, teachers should use research-backed methods for explicit spelling instruction. This means they clearly explain why students are learning new words, show them how to spell the words correctly, give them feedback to help them learn, and guide them through practice until they can spell the words automatically.
Which words should children study?
Teachers need to choose which words students should study for spelling carefully. These words should be ones that students are likely to use in their writing but might struggle to spell correctly. Teachers typically create weekly lists of about 10 to 20 words, focusing on two or three different spelling patterns each week. By including words with contrasting patterns, students can learn new spelling rules that help them spell other words correctly, even ones not directly taught in class.
One helpful resource for developing these spelling lists is a collection of the 850 most common words in children’s writing. These words are sorted by difficulty and can be used for students aged 5-12.
It’s important for students to understand the meaning of each word on the spelling list. However, there’s no quick fix for learning to spell well, but with thoughtful planning and practice, students can improve their spelling skills.
To find out which words students can and cannot spell correctly, they need to take a pretest using the weekly spelling list. After the pretest, students receive their test papers back along with the correct spellings of the words they misspelled. They then rewrite these words correctly to reinforce the correct spelling and understand which words they need to focus on.
Students create a list of the words they need to study, ensuring that each word is spelled correctly. It’s important for students to understand the significance of learning these words quickly because they’re likely to use them in their writing. This process helps students identify which words they need to work on and gives them the opportunity to practice spelling them correctly.
Studying their spellings
Students need to practice each word multiple times to master it. Here are three effective strategies for learning new spellings that complement each other and can be incorporated into any spelling unit.
- Tracing and visualisation: This strategy involves carefully pronouncing a word before writing it, then tracing it or visualising the letters in the word with their eyes closed. While doing this, students say the letters aloud, write them down, check if the spelling is correct, and correct it if it’s wrong. Teachers can teach students to use this strategy independently through explicit instruction or supervise them as they practise. A poster on the wall can also guide students through these steps.
- Spelling games: Many students enjoy learning through games. They can play games like tic-tac-toe where they ask each other to spell words from their spelling lists. If the word is spelled correctly, the student gets to make a mark on the game board. If not, they have to correct it first. Games work best when students have already practised their words using techniques like tracing and visualisation.
- Peer study partners: Students can work together in pairs to study their spelling words. At the beginning of the week, the class is divided into teams, and each student is paired with a study partner. Throughout the week, they take turns tutoring each other. The tutor says a word, and the other student writes and spells it aloud. Points are awarded for correct spellings, and bonus points can be earned for good tutoring behaviour. At the end of the week, students are tested on their words, and the team with the most points wins.
To really learn and remember how to spell words, students need to practice regularly, not just cramming everything into one big spelling session. This is called distributed practice, and it’s much more effective than trying to learn everything all at once.
Students should use the techniques we’ve talked about—like studying, playing games, and working with a partner for very short periods of time throughout the week. They should also keep track of which words they’ve mastered and replace them with new ones as they go along. It’s also a good idea to review words from previous weeks to make sure they don’t forget them.
But practice isn’t just about studying lists of words. Students also need to use the words they’re learning in their writing. This should involve having these spellings to hand when they are drafting and when they are proof-reading. This really helps children understand and remember how to spell these words correctly.
Word sorting
Helping students understand how words are spelled in English can be made easier with a technique called word sorting. Here’s how it works:
- First, the teacher picks a few key words that show different spelling patterns. For example, “cap” could represent words with a short ‘a’ sound, and “late” could represent words with a long ‘a’ sound.
- Then, the teacher reads these key words aloud to the students and tells them that they’ll be sorting other words based on their sounds and spelling patterns.
- As the teacher puts each word in the right group, they explain why it belongs there. For instance, “sat” would go with “cap” because they both have the short ‘a’ sound.
- Students pay close attention and try to figure out the rule themselves. If they can’t, the teacher helps them understand.
- Once the rule is clear, students get to try sorting more words on their own, even ones that might not fit perfectly. This helps them see that the rule usually works but not always.
SRSD instruction for writing lessons
SRSD, or Self-Regulated Strategy Development, is a teaching method that helps students become better writers. It’s based on how students learn best, especially when they find writing hard. You can find out more here. Research shows that SRSD works for lots of different students, from those who struggle with writing to those who are already good at it. It helps them write better and feel more confident about their writing.