by Misty Adoniou
Original article: LINK
This article talks about what new teachers need to know to teach spelling well and how they can learn to teach it effectively. It’s based on a study of 14 new teachers who were learning to teach reading and writing in their first year of teaching. The study aimed to see if there were ways to better prepare teachers for their first year in the classroom. One big thing they found was that new teachers felt unsure about how to teach spelling. They weren’t confident in their own spelling skills, and they didn’t know the best ways to teach it to their students. The article explains what these new teachers needed to know about spelling.
Spelling is a learned skill
The literature on spelling provides several key insights that teachers should understand:
- Spelling is a learned skill, not something we’re born with. This means it can and should be taught effectively.
- English spelling follows rules and patterns, despite common beliefs that it’s chaotic. This means it’s teachable.
- Spelling is not just about memorisation; it’s a linguistic skill that develops through interaction with language and text. It’s crucial for both reading and writing, helping us make sense of what we read and convey meaning to others.
- Some teaching methods assume that spelling ability is innate or can be absorbed through exposure to print alone. Others rely heavily on repetition and memorization, divorcing spelling from its connection to meaning.
- Effective spelling instruction requires explicit teaching from teachers, not just leaving it up to chance or expecting children to learn on their own.
- Simply providing lists of words to memorise isn’t enough; spelling instruction should be purposeful and meaningful, integrating spelling with reading and writing activities.
Understanding these points can help teachers approach spelling instruction more effectively, focusing on teaching the rules and patterns of spelling while connecting it to meaning and language use.
Spelling is a linguistic system
Understanding spelling as a “teachable” skill involves recognising that English spelling is not chaotic but rather based on principles, even if they’re not always obvious. English spelling reflects the rich history of the language, which has borrowed words and structures from various languages over time. Despite its alphabetic nature, English spelling doesn’t always follow consistent sound-symbol relationships, making it phonetically irregular. This means you can’t always predict the pronunciation of words just by looking at their spelling, nor can you always spell words accurately by hearing them pronounced. English is particularly irregular compared to other alphabetic languages, with only about 12 percent phonological consistency. By the age of 10-11, children encounter many words each day that can’t be decoded using phonological strategies alone.
English is considered a morphophonemic language, which means that words are formed by combining sounds and meanings. Understanding the history and meaning of words can be helpful for spelling them correctly. A proficient speller relies on various aspects of language, including:
- Phonological knowledge, which involves understanding the sounds of language and how they combine to form words.
- Orthographic knowledge, which refers to understanding the spelling patterns and rules of the language.
- Morphological knowledge, which includes understanding the meaning and structure of word parts (morphemes), such as prefixes, suffixes, and root words. This also involves semantic knowledge, which relates to the meaning of words.
- Etymological knowledge, which involves understanding the origins and history of words.
- Visual knowledge, which involves recognising words visually and understanding their spelling patterns.
Proficient spellers draw upon all these aspects of language to spell words accurately.
Phonological knowledge
Many spelling programs in schools primarily focus on phonological knowledge, which involves understanding the sounds of language and how they relate to letters. However, English is not a purely phonetic language where sounds always map neatly onto letters. English phonology is complex and challenging, making it difficult to rely solely on phonological skills for spelling.
For low-performing spellers, especially, heavy reliance on phonological skills can be limiting. These students often struggle to grasp the underlying structure of words and may believe that symbols always correspond directly to sounds. They may lack other strategies for spelling words and may have received minimal instruction beyond basic phonological skills. This overemphasis on phonological knowledge in teaching spelling can lead to students who lack flexibility and efficiency in problem-solving, as they may become disconnected from the meaning of words.
Furthermore, exclusive attention to phonological knowledge in the classroom may lead to a “loosening” of the connection with meaning for children. Teachers need to understand that phonological skills are just one part of the broader repertoire of spelling knowledge.
Moreover, teachers’ own misconceptions about the phonetics of English can lead to inaccurate teaching practices. Without a nuanced understanding of English phonetics, teachers may struggle to effectively implement phonologically-based instructional programs.
Orthographic knowledge
Orthographic knowledge is another crucial aspect of spelling that goes hand in hand with phonological knowledge. It involves understanding which letter combinations are both possible and likely in English. Since English doesn’t have consistent correspondences between sounds and letters, knowing which letter combinations to use is essential.
Orthographic knowledge also encompasses understanding general spelling conventions, such as the rule that consonants are generally not doubled after long vowel sounds. This knowledge is vital for reducing the possibilities when spelling a word and minimising errors.
To teach orthographic knowledge effectively, teachers need to be aware of the various possible spellings for sounds and understand why there are multiple options, often related to the etymology of English words.
Morphological knowledge
Morphological knowledge involves understanding the meaningful parts of words, known as morphemes. Morphemes can include roots, base words, suffixes, and prefixes, which combine to create new meanings or change word forms. For instance, adding “un-” to “happy” changes its meaning to “not happy,” and adding “-er” to “teach” changes it from a verb to a noun, as in “teacher.”
Understanding morphology not only helps with spelling but also enhances vocabulary comprehension and composition. Children often demonstrate an early understanding of morphology, as seen when they correctly use plural markers like “-s” in words such as “dogs” instead of phonetically spelling it as “dogz.”
Unlike English phonemes, morphemes tend to follow regular patterns, even when pronunciation changes. For example, words like “jumped,” “loved,” and “hated” maintain consistent morphological constructions despite variations in pronunciation. Recognising these morphemic patterns can help make seemingly irregular words more predictable. For example, “magician” consists of “magic” + “-ian,” where “-ian” denotes a person related to the root word “magic.” Similar morphemic constructions are found in words like “electrician,” “physician,” and “technician.”
Morphological knowledge often comes into play when phonological knowledge may lead to confusion, offering insights into word structure and meaning that phonological analysis alone may not provide.
Morphological knowledge tends to be the least understood and least utilised aspect of spelling knowledge. Children and even many adults are not inherently aware of most morphemes in words and must be explicitly taught this knowledge to effectively use it when spelling.
The article emphasises the importance of teaching morphological analysis, stating that leaving it to be discovered by students on their own can disadvantage those who may not be linguistically curious. Without explicit instruction in morphological knowledge, students may struggle with vocabulary development, word reading, comprehension, and spelling compared to their peers who have been taught these skills.
Etymological knowledge
Etymological knowledge refers to understanding the origins and histories of words. English is a polyglot language, meaning it has borrowed spelling patterns from various other languages throughout its development. By understanding the origins of words, we gain valuable insights that can help us solve spelling problems.
For instance, knowing the etymology of a word can provide clues about its pronunciation, spelling patterns, and morphological structure. Even when the relationship between sounds and symbols seems unclear, exploring the word’s origin can often shed light on its linguistic components.
Visual knowledge
Visual knowledge plays a crucial role in successful spelling. This knowledge involves building mental images of the visual appearance of words, which helps make spelling more fluent and automatic. Exposure to words in meaningful contexts is essential for developing this visual knowledge. However, relying solely on visual cues for spelling is inefficient. It would require the learner to memorise each word individually.
Stage versus repertoire approaches
Some spelling programs adopt a repertoire approach to teaching spelling. Instead of relying solely on one linguistic resource, such as phonological or visual knowledge, these programs integrate multiple linguistic resources for spelling. This approach recognises that spelling proficiency relies on a combination of phonological, orthographic, morphological, etymological, and visual knowledge.
In contrast, stage approaches to spelling instruction may focus primarily on one aspect of spelling at a time, such as phonics. While these approaches can be effective for some learners, they may not provide the breadth of linguistic resources needed for comprehensive spelling proficiency.
Evidence from longitudinal studies have found that even very young children draw upon various types of linguistic knowledge when spelling words.
Findings from the study
The findings from the study indicate that spelling instruction posed significant challenges for beginning teachers during their first year of teaching.
In classrooms where spelling programs were in place, they often relied on standalone phonics-based approaches or commercial programs that assigned words based on developmental levels. The spelling programs observed in the study did not align with the comprehensive understanding of spelling outlined earlier. Instead, they exhibited the following characteristics:
- Exclusive focus on either visual or phonological aspects of words, such as memorisation through tracing or sounding out words.
- Delivery of spelling instruction as a separate activity, disconnected from reading and writing tasks.
- Emphasis on learning words in isolation, through spelling lists, without contextualising them within larger texts.
The teachers involved in the study were often critical of the methods they were using to teach spelling, recognising that they contradicted their broader beliefs about literacy teaching and learning. For example:
- Vicki expressed frustration with the drill and test approach to spelling but struggled to find an alternative method.
- Eva, who identified as dyslexic, was concerned about using a purely phonics-based approach due to her own negative experiences with it as a learner.
- Meg implemented a ‘letter of the week’ approach but found it ineffective and was concerned about wasting students’ time.
- Bea’s class practiced words they couldn’t read, copying them in various ways, because it was the approach used by other classes.
- Peter found his school’s approach of take-home spelling lists ineffective in improving spelling within writing contexts but continued to follow his colleagues’ lead due to lack of confidence and alternative approaches.
Overall, the study highlighted the challenges faced by beginning teachers in implementing effective spelling instruction.
Changes made by the teacher
Teacher Rose Patrick utilised the children’s book “Magic Beach” by Alison Lester as the focal point for literacy and cross-curricular exploration of natural environments with her kindergarten class. During this unit, which spanned six weeks, the writing focus involved collaborative and independent memoir writing based on children’s own experiences. Spelling instruction focused on developing a robust repertoire of spelling knowledge. Rose selected words from “Magic Beach” that the children had become familiar with through their reading. It was a prerequisite that the children knew the meanings of these selected words, which then served as vehicles for explicitly teaching spelling knowledge.
The words chosen by Rose were selected not simply because all kindergarten children should know how to spell them, but rather because they offered opportunities to teach broader spelling concepts. For instance, the word “starfish” was chosen to demonstrate that English words can be composed of meaningful parts called morphemes.
Rose’s spelling activities were designed to be both meaningful and engaging, while also being explicit and direct.
Here’s a breakdown of the sample spelling activities conducted by Ms Patrick:
1. Morphology:
- Word: Starfish
- Focus: Compound Words
- Activities:
- Discuss the appearance of starfish in Alison Lester’s book.
- Analyze why they might be called “starfish.”
- Explore the concept of compound words and demonstrate that even though “starfish” sounds like two words, it’s written as one.
- Record the word and its picture in their wordbooks.
- Brainstorm other examples of compound words.
2. Orthography:
- Word: Shells
- Focus: ‘s’ for Plural
- Activities:
- Model writing the word on the whiteboard and have children copy it.
- Discuss what happens if the plural ‘s’ is removed from “shells.”
- Emphasize that the ‘s’ indicates there is more than one shell.
- Generate other examples of plural words related to the beach.
3. Phonology/Graphology:
- Word: Shells
- Focus: Initial Consonant Blends
- Activities:
- Break down the sounds in “shells” and focus on the initial consonant blend ‘sh-.’
- Practice identifying words with the same initial blend.
- Create the ‘sh-‘ blend with cards representing individual consonants.
4. Orthography:
- Word: Digging
- Focus: Double Letters (adding ‘-ing’)
- Activities:
- Discuss the meaning of “digging” and model using magnetic letters to compare “dig” and “digging.”
- Explain the concept of doubling the last letter when adding ‘-ing.’
- Practice adding ‘-ing’ to other words.
5. Visual:
- Word: The
- Focus: Word Recognition
- Activities:
- Point out the frequent appearance of “the” while reading.
- Discuss the importance of knowing common words like “the” for writing.
- Engage in a treasure hunt for instances of “the” during the school day.
6. Morphology/Etymology:
- Words: Magic, Beast
- Focus: Word Origin and Meaning
- Activities:
- Explain the origin of the words “magic” and “beast” and their meanings.
- Draw connections between English and other languages.
- Encourage creative thinking and drawing related to the words.
These activities aim to develop spelling strategies and meta-awareness skills while engaging students with meaningful and interactive learning experiences.
The overarching aim of Ms Patrick’s spelling program was not merely to teach a list of words, but to use a meaningful list of words as a means to teach spelling strategies. Thus, an essential component of these programs was the cultivation of meta-awareness skills in the children. This empowered them to apply the knowledge gained from explicit teaching episodes to their own spelling efforts. Various methods were employed to build these meta-awareness skills, including the use of spelling diaries and reflective word walls.
Below, you can see a checklist teacher Sami Wansink developed for herself to help her foster these meta-awareness skills in her Year Two class.
1. Morphology:
- Reflect on the word’s meaning.
- Consider if any parts of the word have known meanings.
- Analyse whether the word’s sound offers clues about its meaning.
- Determine if the word sounds like it comprises multiple words (compound word).
2. Phonology/Graphology:
- Identify the beginning sound of the word.
- Recognise any end sounds.
- Break down the sounds in the middle of the word.
- Attempt to write the sounds heard.
- Recall letters or patterns associated with the sounds.
3. Orthography:
- Check if any spelling rules could apply.
- Assess if there is a specific ending on the word.
4. Visual:
- Recall prior encounters with the word.
- Evaluate the appearance of the chosen spelling.
- Determine if the spelling choice seems correct.
- Recall where the word was previously encountered.
- Consider the shape and appearance of the word or its parts.
5. Etymology:
- Reflect on whether the word sounds like it originates from another language.
- Recall the word’s origin.
- Remember any stories or associations related to the word’s origin that could aid spelling.
Conclusion
English spelling is not chaotic or illogical; rather, it is systematic and intriguing. Children should be introduced to the system and stories behind English spelling from the beginning of their literacy journey. Orthography, morphology, and etymology are essential skills for all learners, especially those struggling with spelling. Teachers must possess a deep understanding of the linguistic aspects of spelling to provide such opportunities for their students.
This article has outlined the professional knowledge that teachers should have in spelling instruction. It emphasises moving beyond teaching spelling as mere letter sequencing and instead delving into the reasons and patterns behind how words are written.