Jacari Workshop MT 2009: Teaching Spelling

Workshop outline

• Why teach spelling?• How do we learn to spell?• Phonological awareness (letter sounds• Patterns (not rules!)• Familiarisation and high frequency words• Checking spelling• Setting targets• Resources

I kn spel eny wey I lyk… Why teach spelling?

• Ensures accuracy of communication

• Boosts confidence

• Encourages writing fluency

• Helps with reading

• Rewards / exams / career plans

• Integral part of English language!

How do we “know” how to spell a word?

• "I listen to the sounds of the word in my head.” a• "I write a list of the possible spellings and choose the

one I think looks right." v• "I try to think of a spelling rule." l• "I break the word into bits and say their sound." a• "I know the word because I've read it and written it so

many times." v/l• "I see the word inside my head." v• "I link to other words that are in it or related to it." v/l• "I say the word aloud." a• "I look the word up in a dictionary." l• "I find it just comes." l

How are these methods of spelling achieved?

• auditory: developing phonological awareness• learning: developing understanding of patterns

in spelling• visual: developing familiarity with and

recognition of words• This is not necessarily a sequential progression!

In supporting your pupil with spelling you will find it useful to work on all of these areas.

Phonological awareness: understanding letter sounds

• How written letters correspond to audible sounds (graphemes to phonemes)

• Goes hand-in-hand with reading (decoding/encoding)• You are not expected to teach this from scratch• But you may find that you need to support your child in

this and it is worth knowing the systems they have been taught

• Revision in short, frequent sessions really helps! (Include in every lesson as a warm-up if at this stage.)

• Also, note that accent and knowledge of letters in another language may cause confusion and require extra work

Phonics in action: how to read the word “cat”

• See the word (eyesight)• See it is made of three different letters

(visual perception)• Link the three letters to three sounds

(visual -auditory memory link)• Blend the sounds (sequence in order to

convert to whole word)• Say the word and understand the meaning

(vocabulary)

…And in reverse: how to spell the word “cat”

• Know the meaning of the word to be communicated (vocabulary: "sense" cat to "word" cat)

• Say the word as a whole (whole word to component sounds)

• Break word into three component sounds• Link three sounds to three letters (auditory-

visual memory link)• Write down three letters and see word (eyesight)

Multisensory activities for teaching single sounds

• Visual: see letter, colour in, write in different colours, big/small

• Auditory: say sound, repeat in different voices/pitches, discuss what the sound is like (ssssnake!)

• Kinaesthetic: link an action to the sound, e.g. rub tummy for "mmm", tap table for "t", snake movement for "sss“

You write here + say sound

Child copies and says sound

Cover top line, child writes + says sound

Child writes with eyes closed

Ways to practise phonics-based spelling

• Reception activity: use letter cards or tiles (make these with your pupil) - say a word, then ask to find the letters to spell it. Then act out the word (e.g. cat, dog, wind)

• Year 1 activity: magic spells: similar resources, spell "cat", then say, "can you turn this cat into a 'rat' (mat/flat/etc)?" Don't forget a magic wand!

• The programme for teaching phonics is "Letters and Sounds", covered from reception to Year 1. (Resource 1)

• Many many worksheets are available! (Resource 2)

The problem with English…

• The issues:• Some graphemes (written letters or combinations of

letters) can be pronounced as a number of different phonemes (sounds), e.g. written "c" could be pronounced "s" or "c"; written "ough" is pronounced "off", "uff", "ow", "oo"... This is what makes reading English difficult!

• Some phonemes (sounds) can be written using a number of different graphemes (letters or combinations): e.g. "s" sound could be written "ss", "s", "c"; "oo" could be written "oo", "u-e", "ue", "ou", "ough", "ew"... This is what makes spelling in English difficult! (especially vowels: 5 letters but 20 sounds)

The solution…

• This is where it is necessary to start recognising, understanding and learning the patterns of spelling.

• There are absolutely loads of patterns to think about, teach, and practise.

• They may concern "silent letters", plurals, vowel placement, endings ("write" -> "writing" or "written")...

• There is not a finite list. Grouping by patterns may last the entire school career of a pupil.

• BUT there is a good summary! (Resource 3)

Which patterns to teach?

• Your pupil may have a list of spelling words each week from school, organised by patterns. If so, develop activities with these words.

• Or use your own. e.g., for "k"-sound words, provide a mixture of those spelled "c" and "cc" one week, and "ck" and "k" the next.

• See "Support for Spelling" (Resource 4) or "Teaching for progression: teaching spelling" (Resource 5) for indication of patterns taught and expected at particular levels.

• Talk about the pattern that occurs here: brainstorm examples and make a table / poster to show differences.

• Then use activities for practising.

Activities for practising

• Look, cover, write, check method... with modifications: can you write it in mirror writing? Can you write it upside down? Can you write it as small as possible? Can you write it in someone else's handwriting?

• Make up a wordsearch or crossword together, or a picture containing the words.

• Timed challenges: Pupil writes as many words that you read aloud as possible, in a given time. Use a "points" system: The number of correct words equates to the number of minutes spent playing a game at the end of the lesson.

• Combine spelling with a game you know your pupil enjoys: Snakes and Ladders, Bingo, Hangman, Top Trumps...

• Worksheets and prepared activities (see library and Resources 6 to 7.)

From using patterns to "just knowing"

• Of course, we do not become familiar with words just by thinking about and learning patterns.

• "High frequency words" are words that are used so commonly in English that they will become accessible not by sounds or patterning, but by unconscious memory (think of the, was, little)

• But to get to this stage, some more conscious memory will have to be involved!

Approaches

• List of high frequency words in Resource 4.• Use similar methods as with patterns-based words.• Mnemonics: it is "necessary" to have one collar and two

sleeves… Big Elephants Can Always Use Small Elephants

• Reading and writing: practice makes perfect!• Reading (reading, reading, reading!) : check against list

of high frequency words to show just how high that frequency is!

• Writing: keep list of words at hand for quick reference.

More “just knowing”: homophones

• Homophones are words that sound the same but are written differently: there, they're, their; two, to, too; sew, so, sow

• Take a few of these groups at a time and discuss the differences in meaning. Try to establish a link between meaning differences and spelling differences.

• E.g. THERE has a similar structure to "here" and "where": all relate to places

• THEIR is the only one to end like "her" - both relate to possession

• THEY'RE: apostrophe shows that a letter is missing - relate to "they are"

• Draw funny pictures: pair of pears; a poor cat using his paw to pour...

• Then write sentences using as many as possible.

Checking spelling

• Of course, you do not want to discourage your pupil by pointing out spelling mistakes in everything they write!

• Ask them to check first, with a dictionary or list of words.

• Choose a certain pattern for the pupil or you to check (e.g. plurals, -ing words, -ould words) and focus on those.

• Choose a certain number of errors to concentrate on.

• Always point out the good bits!

Self-check investigationMy word My spell check I omitted or

added a letter

I spelt it as it sounds

I used the wrong homophone

I forgot / used the wrong spelling pattern

ataked attacked x x x

jumpt jumped x x

their there x x

Setting spelling targets

• Specific• Measurable• Achievable• Relevant• Timed• e.g. not "improve at spelling regular words", but

"be able to spell phonetic words in the form CVC by the end of term"

• or "get at least 16/20 in a test on -able / -ible words in two weeks' time"

In conclusion…

• Work on phonics-based spelling if your pupil is still not sure about letters and sounds

• Then work on patterns and high frequency words in combination

• KEEP READING AND WRITING!