One of the most common instructional practices in American schools make me cringe. In spite of pedagological common sense, teachers throughout America, from primary grades to high school, continue to pass out the list of 15-20 spelling words on Monday. Students “study” these lists, and perhaps complete an obligatory worksheet, crossword puzzle, or write-the-word-ten-times assignment, and then they are tested on these same words on Friday. It’s tradition. It’s as American as apple-pie. Parents care more about these language-arts activities than any others.
So, what’s wrong with this picture? The weekly spelling test procedures, as described above, make no use of the teacher as an informed practitioner. The first task of an informed teacher is to determine what students already know and don’t know. But, hold on just a minute! Most teachers (at least in the elementary grades) do give a spelling pretest on Monday. True. However, the second task of an informed teacher is to make use of the diagnostic data to differentiate instruction. Oh…well that is different.
So, how can an informed teacher (that is you) spelling differentiate instruction in an efficient manner? Simply follow these five steps:
1. Prepare: Administer the free Diagnostic Spelling Assessment to determine which spelling patterns your students have and have not mastered.
Diagnostic American English Spelling Assessment: Print Assessment with “Normal speed” 22:38 and “Quick version 17:26 audio file links. Recording Matrix for Progress Monitoring
Diagnostic Canadian English Spelling Assessment: Print Assessment with “Normal speed” 18:53 and “Quick version 21:12 audio file links. Recording Matrix for Progress Monitoring
2. Pretest: Dictate 15–20 grade-level spelling pattern words in the traditional word-sentence-word format to all your students. Have students self-correct from teacher dictation of letters in syllable chunks, marking dots below the correct letters, and marking an “X” through the numbers of any spelling errors. Don’t rob your students of this learning activity by correcting the pretest yourself.
3. Personalize: Students complete their own Personal Spelling List in Elkonin Sound Boxes to connect sounds to spellings in the following order of priority:
Pretest Errors: Students copy up to ten of their pretest spelling errors onto a Personal Spelling List. Ten words are certainly enough to practice the grade-level spelling pattern. I suggest using Elkonin Sound Boxes to connect sounds to spellings.
Last Week’s Posttest Errors: Students add up to five spelling errors from last week’s spelling posttest.
Writing Errors: Students add up to five teacher-corrected spelling errors found in student writing.
Supplemental Spelling Lists: Students select and use words from the following resources to complete their lists:
For remedial spellers:
Heart Words
High Frequency Words
Most Often Misspelled Words
Commonly Confused Words
For grade level and accelerated spellers:
Greek and Latin Morphology (combined affixes and bases)
Academic Language—Tier 2 words previously introduced by the teacher
4. Practice: Explain the spelling patterns. Students complete spelling sorts to identify similarities and differences among the patterns.
5. Posttest: Students take out a piece of binder paper and find a partner to exchange dictation of their Personal Spelling List words.
A Model Grades 3-8 Spelling Scope and Sequence
Preview the Grades 3-8 Spelling Scope and Sequence tied to the author’s comprehensive grades 3-8 Language Strand programs. The instructional scope and sequence includes grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, and vocabulary. Teachers and district personnel are authorized to print and share this planning tool, with proper credit and/or citation. Why reinvent the wheel? Also check out my articles on Grammar Scope and Sequence, Mechanics Scope and Sequence, and Vocabulary Scope and Sequence.
FREE DOWNLOAD TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF PENNINGTON PUBLISHING AMERICAN ENGLISH AND CANADIAN ENGLISH SPELLING PROGRAMS. Check out these grades 3-8 programs HERE. Administer my FREE comprehensive Diagnostic Spelling Assessment with audio file and recording matrix. It has 102 words (I did say comprehensive) and covers all common spelling patterns and conventional spelling rules. It only takes 22 minutes and includes an audio file with test administration instructions. Once you see the gaps in your students’ spelling patterns, you’re going to want to fill those gaps.
Get the Diagnostic Spelling Assessment, Mastery Matrix, and Sample Lessons FREE Resource:
Get the Free Assessment Toolkit
Diagnostic reading and ELA assessments, each with its recording matrix.
From the store · grades 4–8
Comprehensive Vocabulary
56 vocabulary lessons with study guides, biweekly unit tests and a final exam — built for word-study rotations. $39.99 per grade, licensed per teacher.
Questions teachers ask
Can the programs be used in centers rather than whole class?
Yes. The remedial worksheets are keyed one-to-one to items on the diagnostic assessments, so students can work on their own gaps independently while the rest of the class rotates.
Do I have to buy anything to use the assessments?
No. Every diagnostic assessment on this site is free. Enter your email on the Free Assessment Toolkit page and the diagnostic assessments arrive as downloads, each with its recording matrix.
How are the programs licensed?
Every program is a digital download licensed for one teacher. School and district purchase orders are accepted through the store.
Mark Pennington, M.A. Reading Specialist
Thirty-six years teaching ELA and reading, elementary through community college, plus district reading specialist. He wrote every program on this site.
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