Twelve Strategies to Help You Grow Better SpellersFor Grades K8by J. Richard Gentry, Ph.D.

THE LANGUAGE ARTS AND READING COMPANY

Twelve Strategies to Help You Grow Better SpellersFor Grades K8by J. Richard Gentry, Ph.D.

InadditiontowritingthepopularbooksThe Science of Spelling,Breaking the Code,SpelIs a Four-Letter Word,Teaching Kids to Spell,My Kid Cant Spell!,andThe Literacy Map,Dr.Gentrycontinuestoconductworkshopsthathave

helpedthousandsofschooldistrictsthroughouttheUnitedStatesadoptbetterpracticesforspellinginstruction.Apopularspeakerateducationalconferencesnationwide,Dr.Gentryhasspentmuchofhisentire,successfulcareerfindingbetterwaystoteachspelling.

I myself am a struggling speller. I have a personal record of 252 scores of 100 on the Friday spelling test, but Ive always struggled with spelling in my own writing. I know what its like for a child who scores 100 on the Friday test, but the following week misspells those very same words in his own writing. Spelling is complex. There are many better ways to learn spelling than memorizing a list of words.

Dr.Gentrybeganhiscareerasaclassroomteacher.Later,heearnedhisPh.D.inReadingEducationfromtheUniversityofVirginiaandservedasprofessorofelementaryeducationandreadingatWesternCarolinaUniversity,wherehedirectedthereadingcenter.Asaresultofhisspellingresearchandeducationalexperience,hehasbecomeawell-knownauthorityonhowspellingabilitydevelopsandhowitcontributestoachildswritingandoverallliteracydevelopment.

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About the AuthorJ. Richard Gentry, Ph.D.

Dear Teacher: Research says that spelling is taughtnot

caught. Im always looking for easy-to-grasp

classroom strategies to share with you and

help you grow better spellers. Here are twelve tried and true strategies

you might like. Ive provided the grade level,

purpose, and time needed for each strategy to

help you in your planning. Enjoy these strategies,

and keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

3Words-for-Free

Word Walls

GRADE LEVELS: 12

PURPOSE: To encourage kids to check their spelling against a reliable source

MATERIALS: chart paper, marker

TIME NEEDED: ongoing

Boost spelling skills with wall charts

W hilevisitingclassroomsacrossthecountry,Iveseenexcellentusesofwallchartsforteachingspelling.Herearetwoofmyfavorites.

Words-for-Freechartsnipfrequentlymisspelledwordsinthebud.Choosefiveorsixwordsthatstudentsoftenuse,butspellincorrectly.First-gradeandsecond-gradeteachersusuallynoticeculpritssuchasthey,our,andwhen.Writethewordsonachartandpostitinyourclassroom.Whenkidsfinishapieceofwriting,remindthemtochecktheWords-for-Freechartforcorrectspellings.

Wordwallsarethefootsoldiersofbuildingspellingskillsyourfirstlineofdefenseforbuildingspecificknowledgeaboutwords.

Calloutafrequentlymisspelledwordonthewordwall.Havestudentssaytheword,chantitsspelling,andthensayitagain.Coverthewordandhavestudentswriteitdown,thencheckthespellingtogether.Whencheckingthespelling,havestudentsputadotundereachletterastheychantthespellingaloud.

Practicefrequentlymisspelledword-wallwordsbyplacingtheminsentences.Supposeif,in,me,come,andletareonthewordwall.SuggestthattheentireclasswriteLetmecomein!(Coverthewordwallwithstick-onnotestokeepstudentsfromseeingthewords.)

GRADE LEVELS: 23

PURPOSE: To build spelling awareness; to help kids master frequently misspelled words

MATERIALS: a word wall

TIME NEEDED: ongoing

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800.421.3018 www.zaner-bloser.com

Teach these 5 reliable rules that every speller can use

A fewspellingrulesshouldbeapartofeverywritersrepertoire.Herearesomeofthemostdependableones,alongwithactivitiesforteachingthem.WhilethecomplexsystemofEnglishspellingisbestlearnedthroughreading,writ-ing,andfocusedwordstudy,internalizingtheserulesisaboosttoeverydevelopingspeller.

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GRADE LEVELS: 12

MATERIALS: chart paper, marker

TIME NEEDED: 10 minutes, plus follow-up

GRADE LEVELS: 23

MATERIALS: chart paper, marker, index cards, or stiff paper for making word cards

TIME NEEDED: 20 minutes, plus follow-up

WritetheSilentERuleatthetopofachart.

Conductawhole-classhuntforsilentewordsandlistthemonthechart.

Crossoutallwordsthatdonottakeendings,suchascameandare.

Makewordcardsthatcontainonesilentewordplusonelegitimateending.

Writethecombinedcorrectlyspelledwordonthebackofeachcard.

Sortallwordsintotwocategories:DroptheeandKeepthee.

The SilentE Rule4

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2When words end in silent e,

1. drop the e when adding endings that begin with a vowel.

2. keep the e when adding endings that begin with a consonant

STRATEGY

DROP THE Elat + er laterlove + ing lovinggive + ing giving

KEEP THE Elate + ly latelylove + less lovelessgive + s gives

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The QU Rule3 WritetheQURuleatthetopofachart.

Havestudentsfindandcutoutquwordsfrommagazinesandnewspapers,andpastethemonthechart.

SearchthroughsamplesofyourstudentswritingforexamplesofcorrectandincorrectusesoftheQURule.Conferwithstudentswhoarehavingdifficulty.Displaytheircorrectsamplesnexttothechart.

Challengestudentstomakenewquwordswiththesefamiliarspellingpatterns:-it,-ack,-ick,and-ake.

Askstudentstoreadandspellfiveshortquwordssuchasquack,quick,quiet,quarter,queen,andquestion.Theycanalsoaddtheirownquchallengewordstothelist.

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Q is almost always followed

by U.

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Writethe IE/EI ruleatthetopofachart.

Havestudentschanttheie/ eiruleuntiltheymemorizeit.

Doawhole-classhunttofindieandeiwords.

Prepareawallchartwithheadings:ie,cei,eithatsoundslikea,andexceptions.

Havestudentsorganizetheirwordsunderthecorrectheadings.Leavethechartupallyearandinvitestudentstoaddtoit.

Throwanie/eipartywheneveryonehaslearnedtheruleanddiscoveredasignificantnumberofexceptions(sofar,Ihavefound18:caffeine,fahrenheit,seizure,andprotein,amongothers).

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The SyllableRule

WritetheSyllableRuleatthetopofachart.

SearchthroughsamplesofyourstudentswritingforexampleswheretheSyllableRulehasntbeenused.Conferwithstudentswhoarehavingtrouble,andmakecorrectionstogether. Postrevisedsamples,withgoldproofreadingstarsaffixednearthechart.3

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Every syllable has a vowel or y.

3GRADE LEVELS: 12

MATERIALS: chart paper, marker, gold stars, or other types of stickers

TIME NEEDED: 10 minutes, plus follow-up

The Changing-Y-to-I Rule

WritetheY-to-IRuleatthetopofachart.

Firstconductawhole-classhuntforsingularwordswithyendingsandclassifythemintothetwocategories.

Thenhaveeachstudentwritethepluralformofawordonacard,andorganizethecardsintotwocolumns.

Usingthesetofcards,studentscanpracticewordsortswithspellingbuddies.4

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GRADE LEVELS: 34

MATERIALS: chart paper, marker, index cards, or stiff paper for making word cards

TIME NEEDED: 20 minutes, plus follow-up

When the singular form ends with a vowel + y,

add s (such as boy, boys).

When the singular form ends with a consonant + y,

change the y to i and add es (such as baby, babies).

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The IE or EI Rule

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5Write i before e,

except after c, or when it sounds like a as in neighbor

and weigh. Weird, their, and neither arent the same

either.

GRADE LEVELS: 46

MATERIALS: chart paper, marker, index cards, or stiff paper for making word cards

TIME NEEDED: 20 minutes, plus follow-up

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Reviewwritingsampleswithstudents,usingthesequestionsasaguide.

Doesthestudentproofreadspelling?How?

Doesthestudentavoidmakingsloppyspellingerrors?

Whatstrategiesisthestudentusingtocorrectmisspelledwords?

Isthestudentdevelopingacaringattitudetowardspelling?

Isthestudentusinghisorherwritingasasourceofneed-to-knowspellingwords?

Take stock of kids spelling progress

Midyearisagoodtimetoassessstudentsspellingdevelopment,whiletheresstilltimetohelpthosewhomaybestruggling.Thefollowingquick,informalassessmentswillhelpyoucompareyourstudentsprogresstotypicalmidyearbenchmarks.Useyourfindingstoplaninstructionfortheremainderoftheyear.

Are They Developing Phonemic Awareness?8

Whenweassessveryyoungchildrenforspelling,weshouldcheckforphonemicawareness,aprerequisiteforunderstandingletter-soundcorrespondence.Itsimportanttorememberthatphonemicawarenessisaboutsoundsinwords,notletters.Thischeckwillhelpyoudeterminehowmuchoralpracticestudentsneed.

Checkeachstudentsabilitytoblendsoundsintowords.Askstudents,forexample,/p//i//g/.Whatwordis/p//i//g/?articulatingthesoundofeachletter,nottheletteritself.Repeattheprocedurewithwordssuchasbatandpop.Forstudentswhoneedmoreblendingpractice,choosesimilarwordsfromread-aloudbooks. Checkphonemesegmentationskills.Havestudentssayawordsuchasbe.Thenask,Whatarethetwosounds,notletters,inbe?Repeattheprocedurewithwordssuchasdayandno. Checkphonemedeletionskills.Havestudentssayawordsuchasbat.Thenask,Whatisbatwithoutthe/b/?Repeattheprocedurewithwordssuchasfanandpin.

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Does Spelling Matter?9

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STRATEGY

STRATEGY

GRADE LEVELS: K1

PURPOSE: To determine students grasp of constituent phonemes in words

TIME NEEDED: a few minutes per student

GRADE LEVELS: 28

PURPOSE: To assess attitudes and consciousness about spelling

MATERIALS: student work

TIME NEEDED: a few minutes per student

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Isthepercentageofwordsspelledcorrectlywithingrade-appropriateparameters?Usethefollowingguidelines.Second-gradersspellabout60to70percentofthewordscorrectly.Third-gradersspellabout70to90percentofthewordscorrectly.Fourth-,fifth-,sixth-,seventh-,andeighth-gradersspellmorethan90percentofthewordscorrectly. worksbelowgrade-appropriateparameters workswithingrade-appropriateparameters worksabovegrade-appropriateparameters Aremostofthemisspelledwordsgrade-appropriate?Usethechartbelowtogetaroughestimateofspellinglevel.

misspellingsseemtobebelowgradelevel misspellingsseemtobeatgradelevel misspellingsseemtobeabovegradelevel

Arethewordsyourecoveringinclassfromwordwalls,spellingcharts,andindividualizedspellinglistsspelledcorrectlyinthesamples? Yes,thestudentisapplyingclasswork. No,thestudentisnotapplyingclasswork.

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Spelling Growth ChecklistCollecttworepresentativewritingsamplesfromeachstudent.Reviewthemforspelling,usingthechecklistbelow.Theinformationwillgiveyouasenseofwhetherstudentsareworkingwithingrade-levelparameters.

GRADE LEVELS: K8

PURPOSE: To assess spelling growth through writing samples

MATERIALS: student work; reproducible checklist below

TIME NEEDED: a few minutes per student

Spelling Growth ChecklistFor Grades K1 For Grades 28 Whatdothesamplesdemonstrateaboutthechildsknowledgeofthealphabet? extensiveknowledge someknowledge limitedknowledge

Dothesamplesindicategrowthintemporaryspellings?Hasthewritermovedfromrandomletterstospellingsthatshowsomeletter-soundcorrespondences,suchasbdorBldjkjforbirthday,orktforcat?Matchingsomeletterstosoundsisakindergartenbenchmark. someletterscorrespondtosounds lettersdonotcorrespondtosounds

Hasthewritermovedtophoneticspelling?Phoneticspellingisamidyear,first-gradebenchmarkwheretemporaryspellingsarespelledliketheysoundandmatchorresemblethesesamples: meetsthebenchmark belowthebenchmark exceedsthebenchmarkbyspellingathigherlevels

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ESTIMATED SPELLING LEVEL IS

IF THE MISSPELLINGS MATCH OR RESEMBLEclean, find, ridingtaught, circle, afternoonafraid, steel, stealapplesauce, chocolate, sentenceopportunity, grammar,groceriestelegram, saxophone,telescopebeneficiary, equilibrium, malpractice

second gradethird gradefourth grade

fifth grade

sixth grade

seventh grade

eighth grade4 Hasthewritermovedtotransitionalspelling?Transitionalspellingisanend-of-first-gradebenchmarkwheretemporaryspellingsarespelledbyeyeusingvisualconventionsthatmatchorresemblethesesamples: meetsthebenchmark belowthebenchmark exceedsthebenchmarkbyspellingathigherlevel

bottomhiked

botm/bodmhikt

eagledress

egljras

WORD PHONETIC SPELLING

PHONETIC SPELLING

WORD

bottomhiked

botum/bottumhicked/highked

eagledress

eguldras

WORD TRANSITIONAL SPELLING

WORD TRANSITIONAL SPELLING

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Thefollowingstrategywillproveinvaluableatparent-conferencetime.Itwillhelpyouexplaintoparentswhatyouknowabouttheirchildrensspellingandhowyouareworkingtoimproveit.Everythreeweeksselecttwopagesofeachstudentsfirstdrafts.Reviewthemjustforspelling,withthefollowingpointsinmind.

Notewhetherthemisspelledwordsmatchthedifficultylevelofwordsonthechildsweeklyspellinglist.Forexample,afourthgraderwhomisspellspretty,does,andstoriesinhiswritingshouldnthavewordslikeordinal,conifer,andfibrous rootonhisspellinglist.

Doanoverallassessmentofthedraftsandrankstudentsasgood,average,orpoorspellers.Whileyoudontneedtobroadcastyourrankings,viewingstudentsthiswaywillhelpyoufocusonsupportingaverageandpoorspellersdevelopment.

Determineifstudentsaretransferringweeklyspellingwordsintotheirwriting.Encouragestudentswhoarenttransferringwordstocontinueworkingonthosewordsbykeepingthemonindividualizedspellinglistsandbyusinghave-a-gostrategies.

Dontacceptsloppycopy.Talkseriouslytostudentswhoarenotspellingwelloutoflazinessorpoorhabits,ratherthanoutofinability.Remember,believingthatspellingmattersisinfectious.

Zaner-BloserEducational PublishersP.O. Box 16764Columbus, OH 43216-6764800.421.3018

Articles were reprinted with permission from Instructor magazine

Convince parents youre serious about spelling

Mykidcantspell!Ifyourelikemostteachers,youveprobablybeentoldthatafewtimes.Parentsoftenfocusonspellingbecauseitsconcrete.IntheirchildrensletterstoGrandma,holidaywishlists,andofcourse,schoolpapers,theyseespelling.Whentheyspoterrors,theymayassumeitsbecausespellingdoesntmattertoyou.Theseactivitieswillhelpyouprovethatspellingis,infact,apriority.

GRADE LEVELS: K1

PURPOSE: To get to know your students individually as spellers and communicate what you learn to parents

MATERIALS: student writing

TIME NEEDED: ongoing

GRADE LEVELS: 28

PURPOSE: To get to know your students individually as spellers, and communicate what you learn to parents

MATERIALS: student writing

TIME NEEDED: ongoing

Show Growth with Samples11 Assesseachstudentsdevelopmentalspellinglevel.(Forguidelines,seeTeaching Kids to SpellbyGentryandGillet;Heinemann,1993.)Whenachildmovesupalevel,tellhisorherparents,usingexamples.Movingfromtemporaryspellingssuchaseglandlaztoegulandlayzeeisabigleap,soshareit! HelpfirstgraderskeepWordsThatICanSpelllistsmadeupofwordsfromtheirwriting.Thatwayyoucanfocusparentsattentiononwordstheirchildrenhavelearned. Composealistofhigh-frequencywordsthatyourstudentscommonlymisspell.Putthosewordsonwallchartsforstudentreferenceandfocusedstudy.Whenparentsvisit,explainhowyouusethechartstoteachspelling.

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Glean Useful Information From Student Drafts12

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