Spelling Instruction

Templeton and Morris: What aspects of spelling instruction mentioned in this article do you see playing out in your placement? Pick one aspect to describe and discuss how it works with children.

In my placement I have seen students doing word sorts with their spelling words. From what I can tell they are closed sorts because the teacher has given them certain categories to sort their words in to. Students are in three different groups which are based ability level. However, I don’t think the kids know which level they are at because each group is working on different spelling patterns. One group’s words aren’t necessarily harder than another group’s words, they are just different. They do the sorts on their own and they also do them with a partner where they test each other for speed. Also during the week, they pick about 10 words to write in sentences. This helps them learn the meaning of the words and gives them more practice writing the words. When Friday comes and they have their spelling test, the teacher randomly picks about 15 words from their lists plus some words not on the list but that have same pattern they are learning. I like this method because it eliminates the potential for memorization and regurgitation. Students really have to learn the spelling pattern and how to apply it.