SPELLING EVENING

1
SPELLING EVENING

• AIMS
• To consider how our current spelling system has
  evolved
• To explain how we are teaching spelling at
  Fordingbridge Junior School
• To give some ideas of how you can help your child
  with spelling at home
• Outline of session
• The current state of spelling has it changed?
• A brief history of spelling
• What makes a good speller and how can we can
  promote and develop good spellers
• Our new approaches to teaching spelling at
  Fordingbridge Junior School
• Marking and Testing
• How can you help your child become a better
  speller
• Final thoughts

2
Good spelling instruction must give you the
powerto spell words you have never seen before

• My spelling is wobbly. Its good
• spelling, but it wobbles, and letters
• get in the wrong place.
• Winnie the
  Pooh

3
Was Spelling Better In the Old Days?

• Pupils are turned loose on society to shock it
  with their bad spelling, and disgrace the schools
  which they attended and in which they should have
  been taught.
• Spelling Textbook 1881

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A Brief History of Spelling
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What makes a good speller?

• Forget the idea that spelling is about memorizing
  words there are too many!
• Good reader doesnt necessarily mean good speller
• Good spelling is about word construction/ how
  words work
• Children should not be afraid of making spelling
  errors kiss of death to writing
• A spelling test is not a learning experience
• Children need lots of opportunities to write for
  real audiences
• Children need to know words are interesting
• Children need to know about spellings place in
  the writing process
• The learning should be based on the pattern not
  the list of words
• Children need to understand word parts e.g.
  prefixes, root words, suffixes and how to build
  up words teach chunking
• Good spelling instruction must give you the power
  to spell words you have never seen before

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The 3 part lesson

1. Collect lots of words which contain a certain
   spelling pattern
2. Sort the words into groups
3. What have you discovered

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Ideas for Creating Better Spellers

• Play the odds the Las Vegas Rules
• Put words with the same patterns together
• Good spellers can generalise a pattern, poor
  spellers cannot spot or generalise a pattern
  therefore raise awareness of the patterns, teach
  them to spot/describe patterns
• Teach proof-reading
• Teach dictionary use
• Let children play with, construct, sort,
  deconstruct words

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Marking Spelling
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Testing

• Ask them to learn the pattern not the list of
  words (except for exceptions)
• Get them to teach the rule to someone else for
  homework
• Mark for the rule/pattern in tests

10
How you can help your child at home

• Believe that your child can become a good speller
• Read regularly at home
• Take notice of environmental print at every
  opportunity
• Have fun with spelling e.g. playing games, making
  up limericks and riddles
• Give children real audiences for writing
• Do homework together
• Praise adventurous misspelt words
• Have a dictionary at home to use where
  appropriate
• Make sure children proof-read their written work
• Talk about words as much as possible

11
Final Thoughts

• Once you brain has been stretched by a new idea
  it will never go back to the same shape
  memorising doesnt do this.
• Once you have forgotten everything you memorised
  in school what stays with you is your education

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Where next?

• How will this workshop change what you do at home
  with your child?