SPELLING TO LEARN

A previous Blog entry discussed nominalisation (the replacing of a verb with a noun/noun group, a single topic or event). The result of nominalisation is that older students are faced with specialized and more sophisticated vocabulary.

If it is the case that word meanings make up 70%-80% of comprehension (Bromley, 2007, p.528), some children could be greatly disadvantaged when reading texts with such unfamiliar vocabulary to fulfil assignments. No wonder educationists make the comment that students’ motivation is affected and efforts to comprehend texts declines in higher grades as students attend to academic and technical vocabulary?

Children in the early years mostly write and read vocabulary they hear in every-day speech. However, in the upper grades there is generally a shift to specialized vocabulary associated with exposition texts and many times they are words they have not heard or seen before. 

Beginning a new inquiry topic or introducing vocabulary associated with science, mathematics, history, English, health etc., specialized vocabulary and cohesive vocabulary (e.g. furthermore, although, however, summary) should be part of all students’ spelling programme. Not only will they learn to recognize the word, know its meaning within a context and know why it is written in that context, they reinforce the learning by learning to spell the word.

For older children, teachers make spelling something a child has control over.  As older students read and write, dictionaries (hard copy and on-screen) are close by! Students are instructed how dictionaries ‘serve all sorts of needs’ (Liz Simon 2004). Give a child a dictionary and see how they love to thumb through it finding unusual words, funny words (sometimes rude words!). To make dictionary use valuable show students how pronunciation of words work, stated meanings, grammatical forms and history of words.  When reading children predict the meaning of the word, “the information is about... I know that... so the word could be...” If writing they feel comfortable to have a stab at spelling the word, “I know it begins with... I think I remember seeing... in the middle of the word”. Then they look for the word in the dictionary to confirm their predictions and tries. Habitual use of dictionaries throughout the day should be an instinctive reaction in the classroom.

When introducing a new topic, a teacher provides vocabulary support. She initially shows a piece of text that contains a number of the topic words on an interactive whiteboard or similar and highlights the technical words (or unusual words) that students will constantly come across while investigating.  
She begins a glossary. In this shared environment, words are displayed, and sentences are read so prediction of meanings happens. Later students in pairs confirm meanings by finding the words in dictionaries; they pronounce and read the words (figure 1). They discuss meanings and spellings. This prepares readers for reading fluently / reading independently.

WORD	PREDICTING ITS MEANING	USING THE DICTIONARY. LOOK CLOSELY AT THE SPELLING ON THIS CHART. WRITE MEANING
culture explorers, example is Marco Polo exploration dangerous	It sounds like it would mean how the people live. They go to new places. Does it mean the same? I have heard this word before. What it says in the information would probably mean that it is unsafe.	Culture means – there are lots of meanings but we think for this information it means the type of civilization, customs of peoples.

Figure 1

Constant functional grammar instruction, discussion and practise done within the context of continuous print in whole class and small groups. Students knowing the difference between spelling a verb form and adding suffixes (endings) to change verbs into nouns (nominalisation)  - for example manage, (verb) and management (noun) - are essential for exposition writing.

The management (noun) of the firm is handled by the director and deputy director; the departments have managers (noun) in place to manage (verb) the more day-by-day business.

Following the learning students are involved in active practise activities. For example, have cards with generic instructions

In your latest non-fiction reading find verbs                                                     that have been changed into nouns because a                                                     suffix has been added. Look carefully and                                                     note in you journal the difference between                                                     the noun and verb. Multiple instruction. A word is examined from different viewing sources. Spelling and the function of the word go together. For example, the meaning of the word ‘inundation’ is made clear, the student analyses it by breaking it into syllables and listening for sounds, looking for the small word.     Connections are made which extend student’s vocabulary e.g. ‘flood’, ‘deluge’. At the same time they learn a grammatical feature, the suffix ‘tion’, has changed ‘inundate’ (the verb) into the noun form (figure 2).

Multiple instruction
Meaning       Inundation -land is covered with water                                                 inundation	Visual Analyses By  breaking it into syllables and listening  for the sounds, looking for the small word Looking at the ending
Form a same meaning connection ‘flood’, ‘deluge’	Grammatical connections Prior knowledge: know the role of suffixes  The suffix has changed ‘inundate’  (verb) into the noun form ‘inundation’.

Figure 2

Involvement in multiple opportunities to probe words when spelling and reading happens when students are constantly reading and writing. With struggling students this does not always happen.

But the older struggling spellers and readers should not be left in the too hard basket, or given a one-off lesson and expected ‘to know’.  Instead, they are repeatedly supported and reminded of strategies they can use. With the advent of interactive whiteboards more complex text can be easily scanned and displayed for a struggling reader to read with teacher support; attention is drawn to strategies which in turn help students broaden their knowledge about words.

The view that by using as many senses as possible when learning - listening, looking and feeling  - helps students grasp of words. Similarly, multiple ways of finding out about words and how they function is potent.

Teachers who engage in explicit instruction know that it is far more interesting and productive learning about words than learning words per se. Varied learning, individual attention, discussion and investigation of how words function in continuous print; playing with words is so much more interesting than being given a list of spelling words.

Rationale for spelling competence:

·         The worthiness of learning spelling strategies not only for writing but also reading

·         National: Meet standards ...teachers explicitly instruct relevant knowledge, concepts, skills.     The teacher provides strategies to enable students to connect and organise new and existing knowledge

·         Interest to teachers: Teachers are looking for ways to improve spelling standards

·         Connecting to grammar and multiple strategy instruction are new ways to approach spelling instruction. They are effective/easy to implement

·         Pursuing ‘Knowledge about words’ is more interesting than spelling lists of word.

REFERENCE
Bromley, K. 2007. Nine things every teacher should know about words and vocabulary instruction. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 50(7), 528-537.

For more information about learning spelling in upper years see Liz Simon Strategic Spelling Every Writers Tool 2004, ISBN 0 325 00589 3 custserv@heinemann.com (USA) or order through the online retailer Amazon.

I welcome replies to any of my entries.

Next teaching thought:

Individual spelling for younger children. Here will be a list of spelling strategies that can be used for older students having spelling (and reading) difficulties.