Thoughts on Spelling

Children begin to learn to spell words after they have an understanding of the phoneme-grapheme relationship; sounds are represented by letters in the English language. Once they see this in written form they can then begin to write themselves. Invented spelling is a necessity if the student wants to write her thoughts on paper. They begin their exploration of spelling by representing sounds with the letters they believe represent that sound. If they are successful then they are able to read their own writing. Handwriting becomes important as well as writing from left to right down the paper.

Many students are stuck thinking they have to spell everything correctly in order to be successful in their writing. It requires positive encouragement of the use of invented spelling and the experience of successful reading of their own writing for students to be freed up to let their ideas flow. When they are not able to read their writing all the time then they are encouraged to remember what they have written and to try and add a few more words or sounds so they can read their writing.

Spelling is important to writing only in that it allows the writing to be understood. Spelling is thus a social necessity in that if you want your writing to be understood and shared, it must follow basic phonemic representations. Many adults are hung up on conventional spelling and believe it is crucial in written communication. I believe with the increased use of computers, spell check and word processing applications that spelling can be less cumbersome and thus allow ideas to flow more naturally. I knew a student once who passed all of his spelling tests and even had good recall later yet, when he wrote he did not use conventional spelling. I saw this as a failing and asked for improvement. I realized this caused his writing to decrease and his ideas to be less complete. We talked about this and we both agreed he should write as he had been in the past and that he would need to edit when he finished getting his ideas down. He is a successful writer.

I do not recall much of my early spelling efforts. I know that I participated in the classic weekly spelling tests and that I did well. I am not sure why, whether it was because it came natural to me, I have a good memory or because I studied. Today, I believe I spell well because I care enough to re read and edit my writing and because I use a computer that supports my correct spelling efforts.

I will be implementing a spelling/phonics lesson next week to first graders that focuses on hearing the phoneme short /a/ and writing the grapheme a when the sound is heard at the beginning and middle of words. This is a natural first step to understanding the phoneme-grapheme relationship and its use in writing. After the lesson the students will practice writing the letter a in their handwriting books. This lesson is a part of Reading Workshop. After these two activities they will have independent reading time and then Writing Workshop. Thus they will have the opportunity to use these skills for their continued learning.