How To Teach Spelling

Having an intimate knowledge of how words work and being able to apply strategies is critical for deciphering difficult spelling words.

Applying the correct spelling of words also enables students to become powerful readers and function as part of a literate society.

Teachers must understand how students actually are learning word structures and how to improve spelling.

Foundations for How to Teach Spelling

• teach specific sounds, patterns and meaningful parts
• use a multi-sensory approach: students must feel how words are spoken and written
• study patterns
• memorize "No Excuse" words (sight words)
• provide ample opportunities to practice
• make the students accountable in their personal writing
• Use spelling games for kids in your lessons

The best books on how to teach spelling are:

Word Journeys: Assessment-Guided Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary Instruction and the Words Their Way series.

These books are grounded on research-based principles on how to improve spelling:

1. Our brains work best with sequential patterns, hence spelling should be taught as patterns.
2. Understanding of roots, suffixes and prefixes enhance spelling of bigger words and comprehension of texts.
3. Breaking words into the syllable level and into morphemes creates accessible "word bits."
4. Direct teaching of odd words (only 5% of English) is necessary.

First Step to Improve Spelling

Students will fall into four general categories, and that provides a foundation for creating differentiated lists from the Words Their Way books.

Use Word Journeys to assess levels. These short, easy to administer screening tests will provide you with a lot of insight into how your students are spelling.

Individualized spelling lessons will now fall into one of 4 categories: Emergent, Letter Name, Within Words, Syllable Juncture or Derivational Constancy.

There are many subcategories within each of these, and the book includes appropriate methods for how to teach spelling within each category.

Once students are assessed and placed (with the understanding that I may change them as I watch their actual performance), I can begin to implement meaningful and effective spelling instruction.

Click here to view a Comparison Chart of different levels in Word Journeys and Words Their Way to other spelling texts to guide you in how to teach spelling.

Spelling Lessons for No Excuse Words

These are the words that go on my Word Wall and the students are responsible for spelling them correctly every single time they use them. No excuses or invented spelling.

• Every Monday during our Gathering Place time, I introduce 10 new No Excuse Words.
• We read it, tap out the letters, grab apostrophes in the air, clap out the syllables and scoop the words.
• Tuesday through Friday, we follow the same pattern. These words require lots of repetition to gain automaticity.
• We use these words to play Word Wall Games, such as Mystery Word: "I'm thinking of a two syllable word that starts with p and has a long e sound at the end." (pretty)
• Some days we will write Rainbow Words: Tracing a Dolch word with six different colors, thus making a rainbow (I follow ROYGBIV - gotta get that science in wherever I can!).

Kids learning how to spell correctly is not only good practice, it is critical.

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