What does Friday signal for many? The infamous spelling test. Across the three continents I have taught in and in the years since I was at school, little has changed in this weekly routine in very many classrooms and schools.
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Each week, some children barely glance at their spelling lists yet ace their tests. They could already spell the words and gain nothing from the test (other than perhaps making them feel good about themselves).
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Others study and study, do reasonably well in their Friday test, only to spell those same words incorrectly in their writing come Monday. This phenomenon is often referred to as “Friday test; Monday miss.”
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Yet more spend Thursday night in distress, fearing the inevitable failure Friday will bring, and each week chips away at their self-esteem and self-worth a little more. They continue to make little progress and the gap with their peers widens.
As we now know so much about the processes involved in language acquisition, word recognition and learning to read and write, we can apply this knowledge to the teaching of spelling. Louisa Moats (2006) highlights the foundation for reading and spelling is good understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. More than rote learning, “sound it out,” and “does it look correct” is required to master the complex linguistic process involved. So, how do we go about supporting spelling development and equipping children with the skills they need?
Patterns
Eminent researcher, Stanislas Dehaene points out our brains are hard-wired to look for patterns in language from the outset. As such, in teaching spelling, we should focus on the origins and meanings of words and their structure. This has led to one approach called Word Study in which the alphabetic, pattern and meaning layers of spelling are studied.
What does this mean?
The alphabetic layer refers to the matching of phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (letters). Children begin this from the outset at school as they study phonics. Very early on, they learn /k/ may be represented by c, k, and ck (other representations are taught later), so c-a-t and k-a-t are both logical options for the spelling of cat to begin with as children are yet to explore soft c (ce, ci, cy) words.
In the pattern layer, children learn the structure of words. At the beginning, they spend lots of time blending two phonemes. e.g., /a/ + /t/ = at and forming CVC (Consonant – vowel – consonant) words, e.g., sit. Here they will learn, for example, -ck almost always represents /k/ at the end of single syllable words so can spell back, lack, hack etc.
The meaning layer affords children the opportunity to study the semantic relationships between words. In distinguishing hear and here, they may spot that hear contains ear and relate spelling to meaning in this way. Similarly, here is to be found in where and there and children can associate these spelling patterns with locations.
Central to meaning also are morphemes – meaningful parts of words. If a child tries to spell fixed based on sounding it out, they may well write fixt. Understanding -ed indicates the past tense in words (but that it can have different sounds /t/, /d/ or /id/ – fixed, jogged or wanted) helps them to select the correct ending for their word. In this regard, it is useful, when asking children to spell words, to give a sentence demonstrating contextual use of the word.
Practice
It is important your child has a notebook in which they write their spellings as they practise them. A mini-whiteboard is useful also if you have one.
What to do if your Child has a Spelling List
If your child has been assigned word lists to study, the first thing to do is to go through the list ensuring (s)he can read the words, can tell you what they mean, and can demonstrate correct usage of each word in a sentence. Next, test you child to see which words (if any) are already known. It is a great motivator to be able to reduce the list at the outset in this way. The next task is to work with your child to break the list down and start to look for patterns in the words. They will use the entire list for this, mindful there are words on there they already know how to spell. Once used to examining word patterns, many children will be able to work independently on this task and it will be enlightening to discuss with them their reasons for grouping words together as they have.
One online spelling list I found features the following words:
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badge
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box
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bridge
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snow
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fudge
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huge
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change
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charge
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magic
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fog
Where to begin sorting this? How would you go about it?
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Let’s begin with those words with /o/ – box and fog.
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If your child knows this phoneme and grapheme, (s)he should be able to spell a whole myriad of other /o/ words, e.g., cot, rod, Tom, don, hop etc.
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Each day, your child should write /o/ words – both those on the list and others to rehearse the rule.
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Next, let’s consider the long o sound that features.
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O can represent a long sound in words, e.g. no, go, so.
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The grapheme ow is also used to represent this sound as in snow. If your child knows this, they should be able to spell bow, low, mow, row, tow, blow, flow, glow, slow, crow, show, throw etc. Later, (s)he will apply this in 2 and 3 syllable words, e.g., yellow and bungalow.
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Again, practise writing a few -ow words each day.
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Next we turn to words containing the /j/ sound, e.g., magic.
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Why does this have a g instead of a j? Explore soft g rules, considering words with ge, gi and gy, e.g., gel, giraffe, gym and then try to spell words that replicate the spelling word given, e.g., logic, tragic.
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Why does it end in c rather than -ck? When first learning to read and spell, children will encounter single-syllable words ending in -ck. Now they learn multi-syllable words (where there is more than one vowel sound) usually end in c, e.g., music, traffic, athletic, elastic etc. This does not apply to compound words, e.g., afterschock, backpack etc.
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Can your child correctly spell the words you call out each day? Can they think of other words demonstrating the rule in question?
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Finally, let’s examine the words ending in /j/. This can be represented by -ge or -dge. Is there a rule to determine usage?
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-dge follows the short vowel sound
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-ge is used if there is a consonant or vowel team before the /j/ ending sound. (u-e in huge constitutes a vowel team as would ie in siege and ou in gouge)
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Once your child knows the rules, (s)he should be able to apply them in writing words other than those on the list, e.g., dodge, midge, ledge and cage, loge, hinge, large, surge etc.
Only 10 words but look at the amount of word study involved and daily practise required! It is best to explore the spelling rule and look at ways to apply it to other words. If your child can do that, then it is clear they have made those connections in the brain. Regular retrieval practice (by way of a spelling check-up) still needs to take place of course. This means returning to learned words later and testing your child to ensure (s)he can still recall them.
With a list, the expectation is typically is that these are known for the Friday test. Rarely do we address what happens when the Friday test score is poor. Some children are made to re-write those words out again – a punishment exercise really as no learning is taking place.
There are a couple of options in this scenario. If your child is truly stuck with a word on the list and can’t seem to learn it, don’t be afraid to take a break from it to return to it later. Otherwise, keep it on their spelling list, reviewing it with the following week’s spellings and practising it daily until it is known. It is important not to allow lists to get too lengthy and overwhelming when working in this way.
What to do if your Child does not have a Spelling List
If your child has not been assigned a spelling list, a useful starting point for spellings is to see what mistakes s(he)is making in their writing and compile a spelling this based thereon. Try not to have too many spelling patterns in the list. If your child uses nite for night, think of words featuring igh, e.g., high, light, night, nightmare, might, sight etc. and examine split digraph i_e words at the same time, e.g., bite, cite, mite, site etc. Contrast the homophones and discuss their meanings, e.g., cite, site and sight.
You may also wish to check that your child can spell the words we commonly use. These are to be found on lists such as the Dolch List or the Fry Word Lists. Simply print off the lists and test your child on a few words at a time, having him/her write them down as you call them out. Add unknown words to a spelling list for your child and follow the advice in the next paragraph.
Irregular Words
Some words are irregular (though fewer than we imagine) or are very common and children might need to learn how to read and spell them before they study the phonics rules involved. For those, I recommend daily written practice. Create a list of spellings and test on a daily basis. Your child should use their spelling notebook for this purpose. They may also wish to add particular words they would like to learn (e.g., a character’s name) to this list and I recommend encouraging them to do so.
I include a sight word sample recording sheet from our Word for Word programme by way of illustration. I have created a blank spelling tracking template in this format for you to download. Each time your child gets a word correct, place a tick beside it. If an error is made, mark with an X. Once your child spells the word correctly 5 days in a row (so has 5 ticks in a row), it can be struck off the list. If an error is made, start them again at 0 and require a 5-in-a-row run of correct spellings before crossing it off the list.
As above, return to known spellings later and test again by way of retrieval practice. If you notice your child spells the word incorrectly in their writing, place it back on the list.
Establishing a new spelling routine may feel too onerous for your child right now, and that is ok. Remember all exposure to reading and writing supports their vocabulary and spelling development. Encouraging them to write little and often during these school closures will be of great benefit. I have put together some writing ideas for next week, so keep an eye out for those. By signing up to our blog, you will be sure to never miss a post! If you have any particular questions around the teaching of spelling, please do not hesitate to reach out and I will do my best to answer them.
As always, take care and stay safe.
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