Spelling for Life

Uncovering the simplicity and science of spelling

Lyn Stone

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781134671533
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

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 andpupils to:

• learn what the common spelling coping strategies are

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• gain insights into undoing poor spelling habits

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• work together to notice patterns not only in regular spelling, but also in words which on the surface seem to break the spelling rules

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• practise successful spelling strategies, progressing from simple to complex words rapidly and with confidence.

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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.

1
Broken rules and word stories

But though writing is an artificial contraption connecting vision and language, it must tap into the language system at well-demarcated points, and that gives it a modicum of logic.

Pinker (1994)

There is a common myth that English spelling is hard to learn. Many of our words don’t have a 1:1 sound to symbol match, that is true, but the vast majority do conform to predictable rules. Chomsky and Halle (1968) and C. Chomsky (1970) refer to English spelling as ‘optimal’, in terms of conveying both sound and meaning. That’s a good sign. The problem is that it is tempting to be frightened of words which aren’t predictable by the better-known rules.

Exceptions

The lessons in this book are constructed not only to illustrate the core rules of English spelling but also to encourage discussion of exceptions. The idea is to get pupils to revel in the exceptions. Too often, a pupil is proud to learn and demonstrate a rule, only to be confounded by an exception. Looking for exceptions leads to confidence in the rules and ideally to the realisation that English spelling and reading is easier than initially thought.

In many cases, words which don’t ‘play fair’ (i.e. that appear to break the core rules) are common, so a pupil is likely to run into an exception very quickly. The only way round this is to boldly announce that there are exceptions to every rule and that they should be celebrated. This will not only build confidence and reinforce these very important rules, but will also build vocabulary and strengthen the ability to investigate.

Words which break the core rules do so for certain basic reasons that not only reflect past influences (their word story), but also highlight the ever-changing nature of language.

There is a common myth that English spelling is hard to learn. Many of our words don’t have a 1:1 sound to symbol match, that is true, but the vast majority do conform to predictable rules.

We will, then, examine regular and seemingly irregular words and do several things with them:

• notice which rule applies or is broken
• investigate the reason for the perceived break, i.e. the word story
• assign the words to groups that share common characteristics, what we will call word families.

Before pattern and core rule study begins, it is important to understand why certain words appear to break the rules and how to tackle them.

The seven major stories of exceptional words are:

1. Borrowed words – as we move toward globalisation, words from other languages continue to swell our lexicon (‘spaghetti’, ‘ski’, ‘haiku’).
2. Abbreviations – words which, when shortened, break conventional spelling rules (‘rev’ from ‘revolution’, ‘taxi’ from ‘taxicab’, ‘mini’ from ‘miniature’).
3. Acronyms – words made from the first letter or letters of other words (‘Qantas’, ‘lol’ etc.).
4. Names – place names often break the core rules because they belong to other languages with other sets of rules (‘Iraq’, ‘Benghazi’). Human names often don’t conform because they are created through a process of parental invention rather than linguistic evolution (‘Dannii’, ‘Keanu’).
5. Jargon – technical/scientific vocabulary (‘radii’, ‘caesarean’, ‘schwa’).
6. Old and/or common – words that are obeying rules from times past, whose spelling hasn’t caught up with the way we say them (‘horse’, ‘have’, ‘could’, ‘of’).
7. Slang – vocabulary used by a particular generation of younger speakers or groups (‘chav’, ‘wassup’, ‘ermahgerd’).

Or BAANJOS, as I like to remember them (said in a Southern US accent to help me remember the extra ‘a’).

Lesson plan

Skill level

This lesson can be done as soon as pupils start reading and writing words.

Materials

• Figure 1.1 Mouth picture
• Figure 1.2 Book picture
• Figure 1.3 Word stories example worksheet
• Figure 1.4 Word stories blank worksheet.

Figure 1.1 Mouth picture

Figure 1.2 Book picture

Figure 1.3 Word stories example worksheet

Pattern

When words appear to break the rules, it is because they entered our language by one of seven major paths. These paths are the word’s ‘story’.

Error pattern

Defeatism, or the belief that spelling is random.

Duration

10 minutes per word story. Not all stories have to be done at once.

Step 1

You can either have a target word in mind when you deliver this lesson, or you can just use the lesson to introduce the idea that there are exceptions to rules in spelling.

Figure 1.4 Word stories blank worksheet

© L. Stone, Spelling for Life, London: Routledge.

Distribute a word stories blank worksheet (Figure 1.4). Explain that examining how a word entered our language (their story) helps us understand why some words don’t ‘play fair’.

Step 2

Brainstorm the word stories and write them in the worksheet with examples. You might only come up with a couple of stories at this point. Refer back to this sheet as they occur. You can print multiple sheets for all the different lessons and you may also want to create a large, central word stories worksheet for display in the classroom.

Step 3

This is a visual way of explaining why some of our most common words are exceptional. Establish the relative rates of change of spoken v. written communication using a picture of a mouth and a book, to represent spoken v. written communication (Figures 1.1 and 1.2).

Example lesson

To help us understand why some words look like they don’t play fair, let’s look at their stories.

Brainstorm any stories your pupils already know and write examples. When it comes to number six, the ‘old’ category, a little more discussion is required.

There are two main ways in which we use language. What are they? (SPEAKING AND WRITING)

Draw or project a picture of a mouth and a book side by side (Figures 1.1 and 1.2).

NOTE: Body language is often suggested as an answer to this question. Point out that body language is mostly used to assist with spoken...