Spelling & Word Study
What the experts say about spelling & word study:
When our spelling is perfect it's invisible. But when it's flawed it prompts strong negative associations.~ Marilyn vos Savant
An environment of frequent purposeful writing provides numerous opportunities for teachers to help students discover more about spelling words. ~ J. Richard Gentry
Learning to spell is not a matter of memorizing words, but a developmental process that culminates in a much greater understanding of English spelling than simple relationships between speech sounds and their graphic representations.~ Charles Read
Read more about spelling & word study!
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OVERVIEW of spelling & word study
Spelling and word knowledge are building blocks for effective written communication. To ensure that students go beyond simply memorizing word spellings, teachers can build students' knowledge of English spelling patterns and spelling strategies. Doing so will allow children to spell many more words than memorization alone. Model and provide practice on using new words in sentences.
TEACHING spelling & word study
Teachers can help students become proficient spellers by teaching word analysis and spelling strategies systematically. This includes teaching spelling patterns and spelling strategies like identifying prefixes and suffixes. Games can be used to support students in memorizing the spelling of common, irregular words like "the," "of," and "I."
ASSESSING spelling & word study
One of the best ways to assess students' spelling skills is to observe their writing. Teachers can observe whether students represent all of the sounds in a word, spell high frequency words correctly, and display familiarity with the spelling patterns and word families taught in class. It is important to have reasonable expectations based on the student's grade and individual ability.
Featured Videos
Interactive Word Wall:
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Wheel of Fortune:
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Blooming Prefixes and Suffixes: VIDEO
All Spelling & Word Study Recipes
Get to the Root of It: Exploring Word Roots to Enhance Vocabulary and Spelling
Fix My Mistakes: Helping Students Practice Editing Skills
Attack that Word: Reviewing Decoding Strategies
Where's Ed?: Discovering the Sounds of the "-ed" Spelling Inflection for Past Tense Verbs
The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in Pre-Kindergarten
Concentrating on Sight Words: Promoting Reading and Writing Fluency
Transform-a-Verb: Enhancing Students' Understanding of Inflectional Endings
Exploring Compound Words: Improving Vocabulary Knowledge and Spelling Skills
What Rhymes With This Picture?: Exploring Rhymes Orally and In Writing
The Three Eds: Discovering the "ed" Spelling Rules for Past Tense Verbs
Word Explosion: Linking Vocabulary and Spelling
Climb the Word Ladder: Raising Spelling, Vocabulary and Phonics Skills
Working With Words: Making Words in Third and Fourth Grade (Virtual Tour)
Word Wall: Expanding Vocabulary in Second Grade (Virtual Tour)
Clap and Chant: Spelling Word Wall Words in Second Grade (Virtual Tour)
Word Banks: Supporting Spelling and Vocabulary Growth (Virtual Tour)
New Words Game: Expanding Vocabulary (Virtual Tour)
Word Wall in the Upper Grades: Expanding Vocabulary and Spelling (Virtual Tour)
Parts of Speech: Developing Spelling Skills (Virtual Tour)
Heart Words and Interactive Word Wall: Learning to Spell Words by Heart (Virtual Tour)
Word Work In The Second Grade: A Component of the Daily Five (Virtual Tour)
Word Wall: Learning To Spell High Frequency Words in Second Grade (Virtual Tour)
Math Word Wall: Expanding Vocabulary in Third Grade (Virtual Tour)
Interactive Word Wall: Learning to Spell High Frequency Words in First and Second Grade (Virtual Tour)
Contractions Review: Promoting Meaningful Understanding of Writing Conventions
Wheel of Fortune: A Word Wall Activity
Balderdash!: Building Vocabulary by Studying Word Roots and Affixes
Be a Mind Reader: A Word Wall Activity
Word Cheers: A Word Wall Activity
High Frequency Words Review: Promoting Reading and Writing Fluency
Tricky Words Strategies: Promoting the Flexible Use of Word-Solving Strategies
Looking for Homonyms: A Word Wall Activity
Making and Breaking Compound Words: Building Students' Word Knowledge
Search-A-Word: Improving Word Recognition and Spelling
Word Work: A Component Of The Daily Five
At-a-Glance Words: Improving Word Recognition
Word Family Listening Center: Developing Phonemic Awareness (Virtual Tour)
Magnetic Letters: Making Words in First Grade (Virtual Tour)
Word Wall and Star School Word List: Spelling High Frequency Words in First Grade (Virtual Tour)
Word Work at Home: Providing Opportunities to Practice Spelling (Virtual Tour)
Home-School Connection: Practicing Letter Sounds and Sight Words (Virtual Tour)
Writing Center: Using Whiteboards to Practice Spelling Words (Virtual Tour)
Learn to Read with Starfall: Using the SMART Board to Develop Letter Sounds (Virtual Tour)
Word of the Week: Spelling High Frequency Words in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
SMART Board Riddles: Promoting Motivation for Literacy with Technology (Virtual Tour)
Walk and Stop: Finding Letters and Common Words Around the Classroom (Virtual Tour)
Letters and Words Center: Practicing Letter-Sounds and High Frequency Words (Virtual Tour)
Building Word Families: Making and Breaking Words in the ABC Center (Virtual Tour)
Build Your Own Poem!: Making Rhymes Based on Spelling Patterns (Virtual Tour)
Kindergarten Word Wall: Developing Print Awareness and Word Recognition (Virtual Tour)
Morning Messages: Developing Concepts of Print, Word Recognition and Rhyming (Virtual Tour)
Poem of the week: Developing Concepts of Print, Word Recognition and Rhyming (Virtual Tour)
Meaningful Attendance: Question of the Day Prompts a Written Response (Virtual Tour)
"Pop Corn" Words: Learning High Frequency Words that Pop Up Everywhere (Virtual Tour)
Pop Corn Word Hunt: Practicing High Frequency Words (Virtual Tour)
Fancy Color Names: Practicing High Frequency Words with Arts and Crafts (Virtual Tour)
Chant, Chant, Chants: Building Sight Vocabulary and Motivation for Literacy (Virtual Tour)
News of the Day: Using the Morning Message to Build Skills and Confidence (Virtual Tour)
Play it Again!: Motivating Games for Word Analysis and Spelling (Virtual Tour)
Content Word Walls: Learning to Spell High Frequency Words in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
Can You Read Me?: Building Spelling and Vocabulary (Virtual Tour)
Empower Reading Program Assessment: Assessing Students' Reading Progress Throughout the Year (Virtual Tour)
Developmental Reading Assessment: Assessing Students' Reading Progress Throughout the Year (Virtual Tour)
Echo Reading, Cloze Reading, and Vocabulary Discussion: Practicing Reading Strategies (Virtual Tour)
Word Families: Building Skills in Letter-Sounds (Virtual Tour)
Say, Spell, Say: Practicing Spelling (Virtual Tour)
Daily 5 Choices: Fostering Independence in Reading and Writing (Virtual Tour)
Cross-Curricular Word Wall: Expanding Vocabulary and Spelling in the Content Areas (Virtual Tour)
Literacy in Mathematics: Building Math Vocabulary and Word Problem Strategies (Virtual Tour)
The Daily 5 in First Grade: Engaging Students with a Balanced Literacy Approach (Virtual Tour)
Word Wall in First Grade: Building Sight Recognition and Spelling of High-Frequency Words (Virtual Tour)
Phonics with Starfall: Using the SMART Board to Read Decodable Books
Push That Sound!: Blending Sounds into Words to Build Phonemic Awareness
Get to the Root of It: Exploring Word Roots to Enhance Vocabulary and Spelling
