Word Study
There has always been a lot of controversy regarding spelling tests and spelling instructions. Some children dread them and some parents find them crucial.
As an educator who has been teaching for about 15 years, I have tried all methods from giving 10 vocabulary words weekly to long dictation tests. I think a balance is what I am seeking. It is important that children study and learn about words. They should see patterns, understand spelling rules and also be able to spell the words they use often correctly. At different grade levels, there are high frequency words that they should know how to spell.
The key to being a good writer and speller is to be an avid reader. The more a child reads, the better they become at reading and writing. Lots of visual exposure to fantastic vocabulary helps them to remember the spelling of interesting words and also how to use them.
In our Grade 2 class, we use a few different approaches to achieve what I would like to think is a balanced strategy.
1. Grade Level High Frequency Words
Ms. Jana works with the children one on one for two mornings a week focusing on Grade level these words. These are words that would frequently appear in grade level texts and children are expected to know how to read and spell these words correctly.
She practises with them and tests them weekly until they get all the words right. This week, most of our children have progressed on to Grade 3 high frequency words. I have divided the words into three groups so that there is differentiation within the class as not all are ready for the high level.
I will be happy to send you these word lists if you would like to do extra instruction at home. However, I feel that we are pacing them well at school and really supporting and extending them, so extra pressure from home is really not necessary.
2. Spelling City Website
I use the spelling city programme to enable children to have lots of exposure to various words. Frequent visual exposure in the form of games would help them with their reading and writing as well. We will slowly move on to writing sentences, looking at subject verb agreement and other grammatical structures in the programme.
3. Weekly Spelling
We do the Writer's Workshop twice a week. In their writing, the children would need help with words that they cannot spell but want to use. These words are recorded in their personal word wall list. They would refer to their word walls when they need to spell the same word again.
Their weekly spelling is to get these words right. These are words that they use often in their writing and thus it is important for them to get them right as they might need to use the same words again.
Every Friday, the children would look at their five words, and do a "Look, Cover, Write, Check" on the whiteboards. When they have practised enough and are confident, they would attempt to do the test in their word study books.
Learning should be fun and meaningful. By letting the children pick their own words from their word walls, they can choose to either challenge themselves or perhaps give themselves a wee break. It really depends on how they are feeling that week. However, they are always learning to spell words that they have not quite got right yet.
