How to Teach Spelling
Whether using a spelling program or a collection of spelling resources, most teachers apply this traditional method of spelling instruction:
How to Teach Spelling
- Pretest a list of 15−20 themed words on Monday. Students pass in their tests for correction. The themes might be holidays, months of the year, animals, plural words, words with prefixes, words ending in “tion,” the vocabulary words from social studies or a reading selection, etc.
- Assign some form of spelling practice using the pretest words: a crossword puzzle, a word search, write each word ten times, partner quizzing, use each word in a sentence, etc.
- Ask parents to practice the words with their children.
- Posttest on the same list of words on Friday.
How’s that working for your students? Are you seeing tangible evidence of spelling improvement in their writing?
My guess is “No, you aren’t.” After all, you’re reading an article titled, “How to Teach Spelling.”
Fair to say that the traditional instructional plan makes 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. The second task of an informed teacher is to make use of the diagnostic data to differentiate and individualize instruction.
So, how can an informed teacher make sense of the Monday spelling pretest to differentiate and individualize spelling grade-level instruction? Simply follow these four steps:
1. Pretest
Dictate 15—20 words in the traditional word-sentence-word format to all of your students on Monday.
Of course, the words do matter. Rather than selecting unrelated theme words such as described above choose a spelling program or do the Google work to create weekly word lists designed to teach the English-American orthographic system. In other words, the conventional spelling rules and developmental spelling patterns. Check out the spelling sequence of instruction I use in my Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 spelling programs. Unlike the themed word lists (including the all-too-common teacher practice of combining vocabulary word memorization (a good practice) with spelling (a bad practice), teaching these spelling rules and patterns will improve your students’ spelling ability.
Display the spelling pretest words with the spelling patterns identified in boldface. Teach students to self-correct their own pretests by circling any misspelled spelling patterns.
2. Personalize
Now, use the diagnostic data your students have provided by personalizing the weekly spelling list. Tell your students to copy up to 10 of their pretest spelling errors to begin a 15−20 word personal spelling list. For younger students, the personal spelling list can be kept in a spelling notebook or word study notebook. For older students, the personal spelling list can be placed following a binder divider labeled “Spelling.”
Students supplement their pretest errors to complete their 15−20 word personal spelling list with the following resources:
- Writing errors: Have students add up to 3 spelling errors marked in student writing.
- Last week’s posttest errors: Have students add up to 3 spelling errors from last week’s spelling posttest.
- Supplemental spelling word lists: outlaw (non-phonetic) words, most often misspelled words, commonly confused words, and the 450 highest frequency words. However, not the words which students already know how to spell. Parents should dictate these word lists and create an unknown words list for their child. Student pairs can also produce this diagnostic data.
If created from these resources, the weekly 15−20 word personal spelling list will be a list of 100% unknown words for each student.
Spelling Pattern Sorts
3. Practice
Have students practice weekly focus spelling pattern by completing a spelling sort of the spelling patterns within the conventions spelling rule. For example, in the chart to the right, four spelling patterns comprise the .ion/ spelling rule. No crossword puzzles, word searches, write each word ten times, partner quizzing, use each word in a sentence, etc.
Do teach your students and their parents how to study. Circle problem spelling patterns. For non-phonetic spelling words, teach students to create their own picture spelling words. For example, for the irregular schwa ending syllable in principal, circle the “pal” spelling and use the circle as your friendly principal’s face. Or for the commonly confused words: desert-dessert, circle the one “s” in desert and attach palm branches on top; circle the “ss” in dessert and attach two lighted candles on top to create a birthday cake.
4. Posttest
On Friday (or why not test every two weeks for older students?) tell students to take out a piece of binder paper and find a partner to exchange dictation of their personal spelling list words. Now, this makes instructional sense—actually using the posttest to measure what students have learned! But, you may be thinking… what if they cheat? For the few who cheat…It would be a shame to not differentiate instruction for the many to cater to a few. Truly, they are only cheating themselves. Have the partners correct the posttest and do so yourself.
See it in action! Check out this four-minute video to review the Pennington Publishing 1. Pretest 2. Personalize 3. Practice and 4. Posttest plan to differentiate and individualize grade-level spelling instruction.
Now that you know how to differentiate and individualize grade-level spelling instruction, HOW WILL YOU HELP REMEDIATE PREVIOUS GRADE LEVEL SPELLING PATTERN DEFICITS FOR YOUR STUDENTS? Read the next article, INDIVIDUALIZED SPELLING PATTERNS INSTRUCTION, to learn how to use the Diagnostic Spelling Assessment (a FREE comprehensive spelling patterns assessment audio file) to determine individual spelling pattern deficits. Students complete targeted worksheets corresponding to the spelling patterns they missed on the diagnostic assessment.
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Grades 4-8 Spelling Programs
Differentiated Spelling Instruction is a complete grade level spelling program built upon conventional spelling rules and developmental spelling patterns. Five programs are available: Grade 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. This digital download (eBook) program includes all resources teachers need to individualize instruction. Developing a weekly spelling plan that differentiates instruction for all of your students is a challenging task for even the best veteran teacher, but help has arrived! There is no better spelling program for your grade level students, GATE students, special ed, ESL/ELD, and below grade level students. Perfect for RtI.
Plus, get the Diagnostic Spelling Assessment and the targeted spelling pattern worksheets you need to remediate previous grade level spelling deficits for all your students. Now that’s effective differentiated and individualized instruction! Your students can catch up, while they keep up with grade level spelling instruction. You’ll also appreciate the helpful resources in the appendix, including how to study spelling tips, spelling proofreading, word lists, spelling rule memory songs (Mp3s), and spelling review games.
The program is easy to teach. We even provide two quick YouTube training videos to ensure your success!