Stages+of+Spelling+Development

Spelling is all about PATTERNS. Children need to be taught to see the patterns so they learn patterns instead of memorizing every single letter of every single word. Word study teaches students to examine and discover regularities, patterns, and rules. It also increases specific knowledge of words--the spelling and meaning of individual words.

There are five main stages of spelling development:


 * 1. Emergent - Pre-Prep to mid Year One **
 * Scribble letters and numbers
 * Lack concept of words
 * Lack letter-sound correspondence
 * Pretend to read and write

In the emergent stage, the word study focus is on:
 * Develop concept sorts
 * Play with speech sounds to develop phonological awareness
 * Plan alphabet activities
 * Sort pictures by beginning sounds
 * Encourage fingerpoint memory of rhymes, dictations, and simple pattern books
 * Encourage invented spellings


 * 2. Letter-Name - Prep to mid-Year Two **
 * Represents beginning and ending sounds
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Has functional concept of word
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reads word by word in beginning reading materials

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the early letter-name stage, the word study focus is on:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collect known words for word banks
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sort pictures and words by beginning sounds
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Study word families (rimes) that share a common vowel
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Study beginning consonant blends and digraphs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Encourage invented spelling

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the middle to late letter-name stage, the word study focus is on:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sort pictures and words by different short vowel word families
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sort pictures and words by short vowel sounds and CVC patterns
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Continue to examine consonant blends and digraphs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Begin simple sound sorts comparing short and long vowel sounds
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collect known words for word banks (up to 200)


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Within Word Pattern - Year One to mid-Year Four **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spells most single-syllable short vowel words correctly
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spells most beginning consonant digraphs and 2-letter consonant blends
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Attempts to use silent-E markers
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reads silently and more fluently
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writes more fluently
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can edit and revise

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the within-word pattern stage, the word study focus is on:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Complete daily activities in word study notebooks
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sort words by long and short vowel sounds and by common long vowel patterns
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Compare words with r-controlled vowels
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After mastering common long vowels, explore less common vowels and diphthongs (OI, OU, AU, OW)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Review blends and digraphs as needed and examine triple blends and complex consonant units (THR, STR, DGE, TCH, CK)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Syllables and Affixes - Year Three to Year Eight **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spells most single syllable words correctly
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Makes errors at syllable juncture and in unaccented syllables
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reads with good fluency and expression
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reads faster silently than orally
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writes responses that sophisticated and critical

In the syllables and affixes stage, the word study focus is on:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Examine consonant doubling and inflected endings
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Focus on unaccented syllables such as ER and LE
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Join spelling and vocabulary studies; link meaning and spelling
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Explore grammar through word study
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sort and study affixes
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Study stress or accent in two-syllable words


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Derivational Relations - Year Five to Year Twelve **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have mastered high-frequency words
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make errors on low-frequency words derived from Greek and Latin combining forms
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read with good fluency and expression
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read faster silently than orally
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Write responses that are sophisticated and critical

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the derivational relations stage, the word study focus is on:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Focus on words that students bring to word study from reading and writing
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Join spelling and vocabulary studies; link meaning and spelling
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Examine common and then less common roots, prefixes and suffixes
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Examine vowel alterations in derivationally related pairs (native, national; combine, combination)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Explore etymology, especially in the content areas
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Examine content-related foreign borrowings