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Does Spelling

Really Matter?

An Orton-Gillingham Approach to Teaching Spelling

Eileen Tresansky, MS Ed.

Fellow, AOGPE

January 23, 2015

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Helps students become better writers and readers

Research has shown that learning to spell and learning to read rely on much of the same underlying knowledge

Proficiency in spelling actually supports reading

Accurate spelling reflects more advanced linguistic knowledge because it requires the integration of knowledge in:

Phonology Orthography Morphology (Moats, 2005/2006)

Structured and Explicit Instruction

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Hores 3rd grader

I like hores. Hores have other hores frinds. Hores like carots. You woudn’t think they coud but they can put thir legs strait up. Hores make you feel good. My dad wants a hores but my mom says no. When I am. 16 or 20 I will buy my own hores.

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Spelling opens a remarkable window to a child’s mind

Anything that is going to cause trouble in child’s reading will show up dramatically in child’s spelling and writing

Good spellers are not born; they are taught

(Moats, 2005/2006)

What did you discover?

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English is Complex… 26 letters

44 phonemes

250 different spellings

BUT teaching reading and spelling together can be mutually beneficial because it creates additional opportunities to practice applying common patterns

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Nearly 90% of English words can be spelled if you know the basic patterns, principles, and rules of spelling

50% of words are predictable based on sound-letter correspondences alone (slap, pitch, boy)

37% of more common words are almost predictable except for one sound (knit, boat)

(IDA Fact Sheet, 2014)

Is Spelling Predictable?

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How many ways can you spell…

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Children gradually develop insights into how words are represented with letters

Instruction that is systematic, explicit, and structured will enhance this learning

Evaluating spelling errors help map the developmental sequence of skills

How does spelling ability develop?

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Error Analysis

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Make it easier to recognize the nature and quality of errors

Demonstrate that spelling needs to be a thinking subject

Rules = have some exceptions

Generalizations = are a matter of choice of the different ways to spell a sound

“Stage Models” of Development

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Spelling instruction that explores word structure, word origin, and word meaning is most effective

Types of instruction include:

Whole word Phonetics, Phonology, & Phonics Syllable patterns Morphemic spelling

Implications for Instruction

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Grades K-5Identify common root words (begins at grade 1)Use common prefixes and compound words (begins at

grade 2)Decode words with common Latin suffixes (begins at

grade 3)Know and use common Greek and Latin roots (begins at

grade 4) Grades 6-12

Clarify meaning of unknown or multiple meaning words by…analyzing word parts (begins at grade 6)

Use common grade appropriate Greek and Latin affixes (begins at grade 6)

Demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge (begins at grade 9)

Common Core State Standards

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Whole Word Spelling

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Some words are puzzling…

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These are words that must be approached as wholes rather than by sound blending

Some but not all high frequency words are “irregular” words

All high frequency words should be recognized as sight words even though some of them are spelled regularly

Sight Words, Red Words, Learned Words, Trick Words, Oddballs

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Good Spellers vs. Poor Spellers

Often are good readersOften have difficulty

with reading too

Dependent on good phonological skills

Possess an orthographic memory

Know how a word should look

Draw support from syntax, morphology, & semantics

Have difficulties recalling letter sequences

Have difficulty dealing with several layers of language simultaneously

Have a limited knowledge of spelling rules

Can be “free-spirited”

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Trace – Trace the word 3 times saying the letters as you write them.

Copy – Copy the word 3 times looking at the model.

Cover – Write the word 3 times without a written prompt.

Closed – Write the word 3 times with eyes averted or closed.

Trace, Copy, Cover, Closed T.C.C.C.

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L-A-U-G-H Long And Ugly Goat Hair

S-A-I-D She Answered I Do!

S.W.E.L.L. Sight Words Easily Learned by Letters by Carol K. Radis, 2009

Teaching Spelling Cards by Diana Hanbury King, Kildonan School Publication

Creating a Mnemonic

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Vocabulary

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Practice and MORE Practice

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Phonetics, Phonology, & Phonics

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Knowledge of phonetics heightens teacher’s awareness of speech sounds◦ Helps to provide correct models for students

Knowledge of phonology gives teachers insight into why a student has difficulty segmenting words

(Carreker, 2005)

Why is this Knowledge needed?

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SIMULTANEOUS ORAL SPELLING

Tutor says the word. Student repeats the word. Student segments phonemes in word. Student says each phoneme naming the

letters. Student writes each phoneme naming each

letter as he writes it on paper. Student reads the entire word he has

written.

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Buzz Off Miss Pill!◦ Floss Rule◦ If word has only one vowel and ends in f, l, s, or z,

then double the final consonant

Longer Spelling Right After Short Vowel◦ LSRASV◦ Use –ck, -tch, -dge right after a short vowel

Teach Spelling Rules

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Unscramble the words that end in zz, ff, ss, ll.lil ___________ tsfaf ____________ sasp _________ fisft ____________fifts __________ azjz ____________zifz __________ ldil ____________fnsif _________ hlesl __________lefl __________ hsis __________srags ________ glirl ___________isms _________ sems __________fufh _________ illsk ___________flifc _________ fwifh __________sums ________ rsdes __________fupf _________ slelp __________ When do you use zz, ff, ss, ll?

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Add –ck, -tch, -dge.ca____ pi___ ske___clo___ stre___ la___blo___ bri___ du___ha___ scra___ do___we___ che___ bu___e___ smu___ ju___

**This is not an activity to use f---. Be careful what you are asking for.

Longer Spelling Right After Short Vowel

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Syllable Patterns

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C.L.O.V.E.R.

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Sort these under the correct heading.lo den com bur -bleso mail plete box sta

Sorting Detached Syllables

C L O V E R

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Generalizations Are guidelines for spelling sounds that

have more than one grapheme

Ways of spelling /oi/: Oil that toy

Ways of spelling /ou/: Loud cow! ou used in beginning or middle of

word/syllable ow used at end of word/syllable

Also, before a single l or n (brown owl), el and er (vowel power)

Spelling Becomes A Thinking Subject

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The 3 main syllable divisions Rabbit VC.CV rab.bit Tiger V.CV ti.ger Camel VC.V cam.el

Student relies less on reading and spelling sound-by-sound as he learns to divide polysyllabic words into syllables and choose the correct vowel sounds

Patterns for Syllable Division

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Syllable Division Rules

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Spelling patterns◦ Also called spelling rules◦ Include the 3 great spelling rules

Doubling Rule Sneaky E + Suffix Rule Final Y + Suffix Rule

Initially, the most common Anglo-Saxon suffixes are used (e.g., -s, -es, -ing, -less, -ful, -ed)

A shift in thinking evolves as student begins to learn about word structure ◦ Basewords and suffixes

Spelling Patterns

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Can be vowel suffixes or consonant suffixes-ly -ness-ing -able-est -ty -ful -ment-ous -age -ed -s-less -er -en -al

Suffixes

Vowel Suffixes Consonant Suffixes

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Doubling rule (1 syllable words)◦ CVC (in 1-syllable word) + vowel suffix -- double the

final consonant tap +ing = tapping; rest + ing = resting; red + ness =

redness Sneaky E + suffix rule

◦ Drop it or Keep it Drop e before a vowel suffix: like + ed = liked Keep it before a consonant suffix: like + ness = likeness

Final Y + suffix rule◦ Keep it or change it

Vowel y -- keep the y: joy + ful = joyful; play + ed = played Consonant y -- change y to i: rely + ed = relied Unless the suffix begins with i: rely + ing = relying

The 3 Great Spelling Rules!

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CVC + VS Double Final Consonant

**Never double the final letters w, x, and y.big + er = _____________mad + ness = __________clap + ing = ___________tall + est = __________strut + ing = _________shim + er = ___________snob + ish = ___________flat + en = ____________snow + ing = ____________

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Words ending in Sneaky  ‘E'  + vowel suffix love - loving, lover, loved, lovable (or loveable)

make - making, makeruse - using, usable, user, usedhave - havingadore- adorablecare - cared, caring, caresmove - movable, moving, mover

Exceptions - words ending in 'ce' or 'ge' Keep the 'e' before -ous and -able (because it softens the 'g', 'c' sound) manage - manageable  (BUT  drop the 'e' with -ing, -ed, -er

er managing, managed, manager) notice - noticeable  (BUT drop the 'e' with –ing for noticing,

noticed) courage - courageous service -

serviceable

Drop it or Keep it – Sneaky “E”

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Keep it or Change it! Vowel + Final Y + any suffix = Keep the Y !

play + -ed = played obey + -s = obeys delay + -ing = delaying

Consonant + Final Y + any suffix = Y changes to i! carry + -ed = carried supply + -er = supplier worry + -ed = worried *If the suffix begins with i, then keep the y and add -ing.

worrying modifying supplying

Final Y Rule

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lower + -ingsmile + -edsalvage + -ablebetray + -edhappen + -ingtax + -edlabor + -ernine + -tyargue + -mentpeace + -ablebag + -y =pain + -ful =pity + -ful =

couple + -ing =hug + -ed =bar + -ed =mud + -y =quiz + -ed =empty + -ed =crazy + -est =fury + -ous =likely + -hood =apply + -ance =company + -on =deny + -ed =remove + -al =

Double, Drop, or Change

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Henry, Marcia K. (2010). Unlocking Literacy. Boston, MA: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Johnson, K. & Bayrd, P. (2002). Megawords 2. Cambridge, MA: EPS, Inc.

Rudginsky, Laura T. & Haskell, Elizabeth C. (1984). How to Teach Spelling. Cambridge, MA: EPS, Inc.

Steere, A., Peck, C.Z., & Kahn, L. Solving Language Difficulties. (1998). Cambridge, MA: EPS, Inc.

Resources

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Morphology

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Morphemes : the smallest unit of meaning◦ SOMETIMES morphemes can change their

spelling◦ talking, reopened, tourists, hunters, reactivate*

Different types of morphemes◦ Free morphemes: stand by themselves◦ Bound morphemes: must be attached to

another morpheme ALL affixes are bound morphemes

Differences You Should Know

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A second cognitive shift occurs when studying suffixes

Student begins to think beyond sound-symbol correspondences ◦ Begins to understand morphological units◦ Learns to recognize the suffix rather than rely

solely on sound-symbol correspondences

What Happens Now?

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Building Word Part Connections

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Before reading and spelling a word, must consider if an affix has been added to a baseword ◦If yes, the next step is to consider what

affect the prefix or suffix has on the word’s Meaning Spelling Function (part of speech)

What Happens Now?

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Begins to learn many Latin roots and affixes, and Greek combining forms

Begins to discover and appreciate the logic and regularity of English

Can understand that to eliminate the letter g in sign is to lose the meaningful relationship with its companion words signal and signature

Recognizes that health is spelled with an a because health comes from the verb to heal

Analyze words morphologically, not just syllabically

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Simple and frequently used prefixes are taught 1st ◦ Those that negate the baseword (un- or in-) ◦ Or indicate its number (uni- or bi-)

Later, learns that some prefixes are spelled differently when they join a Latin root -assimilated or chameleon prefixes◦ Under certain circumstances, the last letter of a prefix

changes in order to make a word easier to pronounce - the principle of least effort e.g., the prefix in- changes to il- in illegal, and the prefix

con- changes to com- before b, m, p e.g., combine is easier to say than conbine

Prefixes

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Prefix # Words with prefixun- 782re- 401in, im-, ir- il (not) 313dis 216en-, em- 132non- 126in-, im- (in or into) 105over- (too much) 98mis- 83

White, Sowell, and Yanagihara (1989) contends that only these 9 need to be systematically taught

The American Heritage Word Frequency Book, Carrol et al. 1971

The Most Frequent Prefixes

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scrib, script- ...................write spect, spec-.....................see, watch mit, mis- .........................send tend, tens, tant-..............stretch, strain ten, tant, tain-.................have, hold plic, ply-..........................fold fer-..................................bring, bear, yield duc, duce, duct-..............to lead fac, fact, fi, fec-...............make or do cept, cap, ceive, ceit-......take, seize, receive pos, pon, pose-................put, place, set sist, sta, stat-...................stand, endure

The 12 Most Useful Latin RootsMake up 70,000 words

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investments(3) in vest ments

dislocate(3) dis lo cate

interactive(4) in ter ac tive

performed(2) per formed

uninterrupted(5) un in ter rup ted

Divide These Words Into Syllables

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investments 4 morphemes

in- (in) + vest (clothing) + -ment (an act) + -s (used to form plurals)

dislocate 3 morphemes

dis- (apart) + loc (to place) + -ate (verb)

interactive 3 morphemes

inter- (with or on each other) + act (to behave, to function) + -ive (a tendency to)

Divide Same Words Into Morphemes

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performed 3 morphemes

per- (through, completely) + form (to shape, form) + -ed (past tense)

uninterrupted 4 morphemes

un - (not) +inter- (among, between) + rupt (to break) + ed (past tense)

Divide Same Words Into Morphemes

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Suffixes are taught for decoding and spelling

-cian = /shǝn/◦ -cian used for word denoting person’s profession musician, physician, electrician

ous and -us = /ǝs/◦ -ous used for adjectives and -us for nouns nervous - virus

-al and -el = /ǝl/ ◦ -al for adjectives and -el for nouns additional - shovel

Final Stable Syllables

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Latin words are studied first

Prefixes usually show direction or location con = together, with

Roots are usually verbs duct = to lead

FSS change the part of speech and are regular for spelling tion = noun

Vocabulary

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Finally, Greek words are studied◦ ph = /f/; ch = /k/; y = /ī/, /ĭ/, /ē/◦ Connective -o- is common

photosynthesis chromosome

Students will also need to study words of French origin for decoding and spelling◦ ch = /sh/, ee = /ā/, ou = /oo/

chevron, matinee, rouge

Vocabulary

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Games and Activities

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CLUSTERS

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Word for Word

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Spelling is an interactive process that involves phonological and orthographic knowledge

Spelling instruction enhances this knowledge through◦ Synthetic teaching (sounds to whole words) –

systematically builds awareness of sound-letter correspondences

◦ Analytic teaching (whole words to sounds) – provides for foundation of orthographic knowledge and reinforcement of phonological knowledge

Effective lesson planning employs both strategies!

Application of Rules

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Baseword Search: Ask students to search their reading and writing for words with endings then sort according to rule used. Do we always do the same thing? Finish by sorting the common pattern of the words.

Arm Stretch: Stretch out non-writing arm. Starting from the shoulder, the students says the word, then forms each letter with his index finger of his writing hand as if writing on his arm stating each letter as he spells it. Once finished, he sweeps down his arm saying the word again.

Application of Rules

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Baseball (or Run the Bases): Form 2 teams. One will be the writers up at bat; the other will pitch the words. Provide writers with a whiteboard. The pitchers reads a word card. The batter says the word and spells it aloud on their board showing the word he has written when finished. If correct, he gets a hit and moves to 1st base. If incorrect, he gets 2 more tries before striking out. 3 outs and then switch teams.

Application of Rules

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Take Your Best Shot: Dictate a word. Have a student write it using the SOS strategy on his whiteboard. If correct, he gets to take a shot using a yarn ball or a small hand size basketball. Boys especially love this game!

Application of Rules

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Ball in the Bucket: Yes, the game you once loved gets a new twist! Dictate a word or select a ping pong ball that has words written on them. Have a student write the word using the SOS strategy on his whiteboard. If correct, he gets to take a shot.

Application of Rules

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Application of Rules Minute to Win It!: Dictate one word. Using

a minute timer, each player writes the word on his whiteboard. When done, he turns his board over so no one else can see his word. When the timer goes off, each player shows his board at the same time. Every correct answer gets a point. First one to get 10 points is the winner!

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How Much Is It Worth?: Each player receives ten dollars worth of play money to start. Each player begins by placing his bet on the table. Next, dictate one word. Using a minute timer, each player writes the word on his whiteboard. When done, he turns his board over so no one else can see his word. When the timer goes off, check each player’s answer. Every correct answer wins the same amount of money. Each incorrect answer loses his money. Students are responsible for keeping track of their winnings. On game day, they get to trade in $100 earned for a homework pass. Middle schoolers love this!

Application of Rules

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Students will need many opportunities to write words accurately and with supervision before they can remember them

Immediate correction of misspellings leads to better outcomes

Building printed words with letter tiles greatly assists

Have these students keep a list for quick reference Will aid in mastery of those challenging words

Spelling Demons -the words they always miss

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I have a spelling checker.It came with my Pea Sea.It plane lee marks four my revueMiss steaks aye can knot sea.Eye ran this poem threw it,Your sure lee glad two no.Its vary polished in it’s weigh.My checker tolled me sew.

“Candidate for a Pullet Surprise” by Jerrold H. Zar

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Unless a student has already achieved basic spelling skill at about a fifth-grade level

Unless a student receives other proofreading help

Spellcheckers do not identify all errors and are not a substitute for explicit spelling instruction

Spellcheckers

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“Spelling can be improved through

◦Explicit instruction in several areas (phoneme-grapheme correspondences, phonemic patterns in letter sequences or syllables, rules for joining syllables or adding morphemes, elements of morpheme preservation in word formation, and strategies for encoding irregular words)

◦Careful selection of spelling words that capitalize on developing word knowledge of underlying structures of words

◦Repeated and cumulative practice in coordinating phonemic, orthographic, and morphemic knowledge”

(Reed, 2012)

Conclusions

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Beck, Isabel, et al. (2002). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. Guilford Press.

Birsh, Judith R. (2005). Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills. Boston, MA: Paul

H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Gillingham, A. and B. Stillman. (1997). The Gillingham Manual (8th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service.

Henry, Marcia K. (2010). Unlocking Literacy. Boston, MA: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

King, D.H. (2000). English Isn’t Crazy. Austin, TX:Pro-Ed.

Resources