Eileen MattmannRosanne Cowan

www.spellingscholar.com

“Spelling is the foundation of reading and the greatest ornament of writing.” –Noah Webster

Word Study Makes a DifferenceExplicit word study instruction and inquiry learning

enhance acquisition of reading.

Word structure and analysis helps build fluency (alphabetic and pattern layers)

Understanding affixes and roots contributes to vocabulary growth (pattern and meaning layers)

Fluency and vocabulary increase comprehension.

How Predictable is Spelling?Three Layers

Alphabetic LayerSound/letter relationship

Pattern LayerSpelling patterns, rules and inflected endings

Meaning LayerHomophones, contractions, affixes, Greek and

Latin word parts, word origins

50%

34%

12%4%

Dispelling the Myth

Sound/Letter

One sound

Meaning/Origin

Irregular

Moving from Alphabetic to Meaning

jumpt, stade, wouldent

Great Vowel ShiftMove from Middle English to Modern English

(1400-1600)Blending of French and EnglishVowels sounded as they do in the romance

languages Spellings stayed the same as in Middle English Vowel sounds start to shift at different rates Some spellings changed, some didn’t

Printing press instrumental in locking in spellings Vowel sounds constantly changing-dependent on

area of country

Vowel Spellings“ough” combination - 10 pronunciations

cough, through, dough, bough, slough (slaw, sluff) Each standardized at a different time during the Great

Vowel Shift, causing the confusion that we have today.

Long /e/ - 23 different spellings eat, debris, fleet, field, happy, key, deceit, people, meterarely said incorrectly, and occurs early in children’s

speech Short /i/ - 33 different spellings

hit, myth, sieve, busy, building, pretty more difficult for children and non-native speakers to master

the short "i" sound.

Alphabetic Layer-Common CoreKindergarten

Rhyming words, blending onsets and rimes, isolate and pronounce C-V-C pattern, spell simple words phonetically

Grade 1Long and short vowels, every syllable has a

vowelSpell untaught words phonetically

Pattern Layer-Common CoreKindergarten

Identify long and short vowels -2 vowels vs. 1 vowel

Grade 1Know final “e” and common long vowel letter

teams, open and closed syllables, every syllable has a vowel, spell untaught words phonetically

Identify root word to add endingGrade 2

Know spelling/sound correspondences for common vowel teams

Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage →badge; boy →boil).

Pattern Layer-Common CoreGrade 3

Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).

Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns).

Recognize word structure in reading, apply it in writing (suffix rules, meaningful word parts).

Grade 4-6Spell correctly.

Meaning Layer-Common CoreGrade 2

Use an apostrophe to form contractions.Know final -e and common vowel team

conventions for representing long vowel sounds. (Gr. 1-2) (Homophones)

Grade 4-6Homophones (bare, bear; meddle, medal)Word originSpell grade appropriate words correctly

Alphabetic Layer ConceptsIntroducing the “magical” vowels

Vowels make you keep your mouth openVowels and word families

Vowels and Word Families

Alphabetic Layer ConceptsWord Builder Cards

Identifying long and short vowel sounds-Long and Short of It Game

Long vowels in the alphabetic layer“o” and “i” can be long with one vowel in word

(gold, mild, find)

b

Pattern Layer ConceptsLong or short vowel?

tch, ch

dge, ge

Open Word Sorts: Inquiry Lessonc/ck/kThe open sort-What do you notice?How should we group?Let’s make a rule.

comic pack seek trick

attic panic speaklook

ask tuck blank soak

duck traffic music

milk

Completed SortWords end in “ck”

Words end in “c” Words end in “k”

pack comic seek

trick attic peak

duck panic soak

music look

What about words like make, trunk, ask, and milk?

What about picnic, arctic, and jacket?

Pattern Layer ConceptsOpen and Closed Syllables

Rabbit Rule

Pattern Layer ConceptsCommon vowel teams (long vowel sounds)

Ai, a-silent e, ayEe, eai-silent eOa, o-silent e ue, ew, u-silent e

“I” Before “E”

When sounding like ē, it’s i before e,

Except after c,

And when sounding like ā as in neighbor, ī as in height, or ĭ as in foreign.

“I Before E”

Other Vowel TeamsVowel pairs(oy/oi)

Try It!

• Vowel pairs (au/aw/al)

• Vowel pair (au/aw)

• Vowel pairs (ou/ow)

Powerful Silent “e”Powerful Silent “e”

Makes a long vowel CVCe (make)Words don’t end in “i” or “u” (lie, blue)Clarifies meaning, pleas/pleaseCVCCe

Makes “c” and “g” soft, dance, prince, cringe, badge Reading-Watch for 2 consonants before the silent e.

Changes the sound of the last consonant (tens/tense)Words that end with /v/

give, have, love,

givving/giving, havving/having, lovving/loving

Provides a needed vowel in a syllable

“The Spelling Scholar” Unit:Discovery and Discussion

title single level mammal

civil

tickle maple channel

pencil

handle simple camel

“le” “el” “al” “il”

Pattern Layer Concepts

Inflected endingsSuffixes that don’t change the meaning of the

base word or the part of speechNouns-plural (desks, beaches)Verbs-tenses (plays, played, playing)Adjectives-comparative/superlative (fancy,

fancier, fanciest)Contained in the dictionary base word entry

Find the Base Wordhopping vs. hoping

1-1-1 Rule or V-C

Silent “e:” Find the Base Word

What happens when we want to add a suffix to a base word that ends in silent “e?”

pile + ed = piled mule + ish = mulish

dive + ing = diving broke + en = broken

What happens if we add a suffix that begins with a consonant to a base word that ends in silent “e?”

wire + less = wireless huge + ly = hugely care + ful = careful

PracticeDrop “e” Keep “e”

huge + ly separate + ly surprise + ing

admire + ation achieve + ment commute + er

delete + ed amuse + ment double + ing

bubble + ing trouble + ed engage + ment

Drop “e” Keep “e”

separately hugely

admiration achievement

deleted amusement

commuter engagement

Inflected EndingsY to I

Other Spellings for Vowels

e, i, y: softens “c” and “g”

e, i, y: softens “c” and “g”

Pattern Layer Concepts

Meaning Layer ConceptsWord Origin-Words from French

A long a sound at the end of a word can be spelled: with et as in cachet, crochet, and croquet.

A long e sound at the end of a word: ie as in prairie and sortie.

Words ending with an \zh\ sound: spelled age as in collage, mirage, dressage, garage, barrage, camouflage, entourage, and fuselage.

A \k\ sound at the end of a word is often spelled que as in mystique, boutique, and physique.

Words from GreekSpell short i with “y” as in acronym, calypso, cryptic,

cynical, dyslexia, homonym, Olympian, polymer, symbiosis, synonym, synopsis, and syntax.

More Thinking Strategies as Stories

England always doubles (labeled vs. labelled)

Mnemonics (ight, ould, aught, ought)

Words with short U, spelled with O (love,

come)

luve/love, cume/come

Websiteshttp://www.design215.com/toolbox/wordfind.php (build word lists)http://www.a2zwordfinder.com/http://www.myspellit.com/lang_latin.html (list of roots and

meanings)https://www.msu.edu/~defores1/gre/roots/gre_rts_afx2.htm (list

of roots and meanings)General Student Practice Siteswww.spellingcity.com (practice games for your list or theirs)www.kidsspell.com (more challenging games; your list or theirs,

very easy to difficult)www.starfall.com (word family work)http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/

literacy.html#12 (many games)www.gamequarium.com (many games)www.wordsortwizard.com (word sorts provided or make your

own)

“When children are taught to think about language, it allows them to learn HOW to spell, not just memorize words.” (Moats, 2009)

ResourcesDevelopmental-Spelling Research: A systematic

Imperative, Marcia Invernizzi, Latisha Hayes, Reading Research Quarterly, 2004

How Spelling Supports Reading, Louisa Moats, American Educator, 2005-2006

How Words Cast Their Spell, Malatesha R. Joshi, et.al., American Educator, 2008-2009

Questions Teachers Ask About Spelling, Shane Templeton, Darrell Morris, Reading Research Quarterly, 1999

Why Spelling is Important and How to Teach It Effectively, V. Berninger & M. Fayol, Encyclopedia of Language and Literacy Development, 2008

Word Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom, Cheryl Williams, et.al., The Reading Teacher, April 2009