Strategies For Spelling

Sixty-five lessons to help children become more proficient spellers.

Teaching Spelling: Exploring commonsense strategies and best practices equips teachers with the vital knowledge and skills needed to help their students become proficient writers and spellers. Peter Westwood provides a very clear and concise account of the important skills and processes that underpin accurate spelling, and describes in very practical terms, many evidence-based strategies and methods that teachers can use to help all students become confident, capable and independent spellers. The book also addresses the purposes of various forms of assessment of spelling skills, to guide teaching and planning. Chapters in this accessible and timely text include: the importance of correct spelling visual, auditory and cognitive components of spelling ability general principles for planning instruction proven teaching strategies and methods word study as a teaching approach formal and informal assessment At the end of each chapter the author provides a list of online and print resources, thus enabling readers to extend their knowledge in the various topics. The extensive reference list is also an invaluable source of information on recent research and thinking on the topic of spelling instruction. Teaching Spelling: Exploring commonsense strategies and best practices is an essential resource for all those in teacher education and taking in-service courses.

Concise and engaging, this text provides pre-service and practicing English language teachers with the knowledge they need to successfully teach the spelling of English. Offering context and explanation for the English spelling system as well as uniquely addressing specific problems in learning the spelling of English words, this book empowers readers with strategies for coping with these problems. Divided into six accessible sections, Brown covers the history of English spelling, the influence of technology on spelling, the role of punctuation, the features of present-day English spelling, teaching strategies for coping with difficult spelling, and the future of spelling and literacy. The short, digestible chapters include practical learning objectives and end-of-chapter exercises to help teachers understand and explain English spelling concepts.

Many pupils with dyslexia have poor spelling and handwriting, even when their reading is adequate. This practical yet evidence-based book shows teachers who work with pupils with dyslexia how they can effectively address these areas of weakness. Diane Montgomery introduces her popular Cognitive Process Strategies for Spelling (CPSS) and provides guidance on how this direct action can be successfully used in both primary and secondary contexts. The book describes dyslexia-friendly approaches in Logographic, Alphabetic and Orthographic phases – ‘the three faces’ of dyslexia. Best literacy practice for all children is illustrated in a developmental reading and spelling approach, handwriting as a support to literacy teaching is explained and strategies for overcoming handwriting difficulties are detailed from Reception onwards. Dyslexia-friendly Strategies for Reading, Spelling and Handwriting is full of new research, case examples and practical methods that have been tried and tested in the classroom. This is a must-read guide for all teachers and SENCOs in primary and secondary settings working with pupils with dyslexia.

Based on the active and innovative approach of making words that teachers and their students have grown to love from Cunningham, "What Really Matters in Spelling" presents teachers in grades kindergarten through eighth grade with a clear approach to what really matters in spelling.

The new revised edition of Lidia Stanton's bestselling book of mnemonics demystifying over 200 of the most difficult spellings. The book is structured around confusing pairs of words, such as homophones or words that 'go together', tricky everyday words and tricky academic words, with memorable illustrations on every page to help you connect the word's meaning and graphical features with how it's spelt. This is not a traditional spelling book, but a resource that will really get you thinking, and laughing out loud. This guide encourages active learning and recollection, breaking away from repetitive methods such as 'look, cover, write, check', enabling you to effortlessly recall and identify once-confusing spelling patterns.

A recent survey of 200 teachers asking the question ‘spelling is...?’ resulted in the following adjectives: ‘difficult’, ‘complex’, ‘confusing’, ‘random’, ‘confounding’. Spelling for Life offers lucid, accessible tools which help to reveal that, when explicitly and systematically taught, spelling is scientific, law-abiding and even elegant. It explains that spelling is the manipulation of symbols according to agreed-upon patterns that produce predictable results. Spelling errors also fall into sets of predictable patterns. Success in spelling is not a product of intelligence. Many people struggle to spell due to coping strategies developed in place of explicit instruction. What gives spelling its ‘complex’ veneer is the fact that different ways of thinking are required at different levels from word to word. Some words can be spelt as they sound, others have to be visually memorised and some rely on knowledge of core rules about word-structure. A lot of words require more than one strand of knowledge. This book makes clear which strand needs to be applied in different situations. Often pupils who can read and express themselves competently nevertheless find spelling difficult. False assumptions about spelling, such as believing the English language is complex and/or irregular, damage confidence and lead to reluctance to even attempt to spell correctly. Spelling For Life enables teachers and pupils to: learn what the common spelling coping strategies are gain insights into undoing poor spelling habits work together to notice patterns not only in regular spelling, but also in words which on the surface seem to break the spelling rules practise successful spelling strategies, progressing from simple to complex words rapidly and with confidence. Using a synthesis of theory, research and teaching experience, the fascinating nature of English spelling is systematically teased out. The examples and exercises offer an encouraging, accessible way to implement the programme of study and strive to reveal the beauty of spelling. Aided by example lessons, progressive assessments, unique tools and extensive practice lists, this highly acclaimed overview of spelling succeeds in developing critical thinking and confidence when reading and spelling. It can be used in conjunction with any established phonics programme.