Approaches to supporting spelling

October 2015

-respect –responsibility –positivity –resilience –courage –honesty -aspiration -community –democracy –peace –freedom -diversity

Why children need to learn to spell correctly

*Poor spelling creates a bad impression

*Examiners and prospective employers place a lot of weight on spelling

*Anxiety about spelling inhibits a child's writing, especially their choice of words

*Even in this technological age there are still times when we need to write

Why is spelling a school priority?-‘Pupils’ spelling is not good enough.’

(Ofsted, March 2014)

-Spelling scores in end of KS2 tests below the national average

-Preparing children for the demands of secondary school

afternoon paused happiest international frequent

tapping unsure tough difference assistant

knee postage lorries fracture occasion

double judge system luckily potential

2015 Y6 spelling test

Research suggests…

To improve and develop their spelling children need….

*to feel safe about trying new words, not just words they're sure about

*to learn about the way words are built up using syllables

*to know about the basic spelling patterns of English

*to have a range of memorizing strategies

*to explore the meanings of words

*to understand prefixes and suffixes

*to read for pleasure

Useful memorising strategies

Mnemonics are useful for particularly tricky words, or for key spelling patterns:

Laugh – Laugh At Ugly Goat Hair

Because – Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants

Island – an island is land surrounded by water

Piece – a piece of pie

Parliament – Liam went to the Houses of parliament

Spelling patterns and rules

*Spelling ‘sorts’/investigations

black bag alwaysdate safe bratgate same plane

packing flat slap1. Sort the words into piles

2. Can you spot any spelling rules?3. Can you find any other words which fit the rules?

4. Are there any ‘wildcards’ or exceptions to the rule?

Spelling patterns and rules

*Spelling ‘sorts’/investigations

black bag alwaysdate safe bratgate same plane

packing flat slap

Short vowel soundsa/consonant/e (magic ‘e’)

wildcard

The Importance of Syllables in Spelling

*All good spellers are skilful at breaking words up into syllables.

care-ful = careful hos-pit-al = hospital

u-ni-ver-si-ty = universityBreaking a word into syllables makes it easier to deal with one small bit at

a time

*Clapping out syllables in names or places 

Prefixes as an aid to spelling

A prefix is a group of letters placed at the start of a root word to change its meaning. Some complicated words are less difficult to spell if you are

familiar with prefixes.

Here are some common examples:PREFI

X MEANING EXAMPLES

anti- against or opposite to

anticlockwise, antibiotic 

auto-  self autobiography, automat

dis- not, or away dissimilar, disconnect

in- not insane, inhumanil- not illogical, illegal

im- not immature, improbable

ir- not irrelevant, irregular

mis- wrong misunderstand, misspell

post- after postnatal, postscript 

pre- before prenatal, prehistoric

pro- for, or forward propose, pro-British 

re- again, or back rewrite, reconsidersub- under submarine,

substandardsuper- above supervisor,

superhumantrans- across transport,

transplantun- not, or in reverse unfinished,

unarmed

Speed Writing

How often can you write the word correctly in one minute?

Look for small words inside the word

 about - a, out, bout

teacher – tea, each, her, ache

Words that look similar

take is like …lake and fake

Three Times 

Write the word 3 times in different colours

 three three three

Words without vowels

b _ c _ _ s _  

Write each word with a line instead of each vowel.

Go back later and fill in the missing vowels

Word Search

Create your own word searches using your spelling words.

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp

Spelling Bank

http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/4831/1/c4b989c553cc6dd6f2b6fab92f6cb310.pdf