Transcript Slide 1

Jacari Workshop MT 2009:
Teaching Spelling
Workshop outline
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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?
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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 (auditoryvisual 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 investigation
My word
My spell check
I omitted or added
a letter
I spelt it as it
sounds
I used the wrong
homophone
ataked
attacked
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x
jumpt
jumped
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x
their
there
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I forgot / used the
wrong
spelling
pattern
Setting spelling targets
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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!