S3.4 Letter Name – Alphabetic and Within Word Pattern Stages of Spelling Development

Integrated Spelling Instruction  

As you engage in the readings and activities in this section, remember that the developmental stages represent a continuum of development. Some students will exhibit a range of features from several stages and will vary in performance, depending on the complexity of the task. In addition, differences between reading, writing, and spelling development often exist. It is not uncommon, for example, to find that some students who are accomplished readers lag in their spelling development. Also, some instructional activities may be multilevel and appropriate for a range of students.

Addressing the needs of students in your classroom who are at different developmental stages in spelling is very challenging. In "Word Study Groups: Analyzing Words for Their Phonetic, Structural, and Morphemic Features," Taberski explains how word-study groups allow her to meet the needs of students at different stages in spelling. Notice how she tackles management issues, such as how to set up flexible word-study groups, as well as the ways she addresses important spelling concepts and provides examples of instructional activities that have direct links to reading and writing. Keep in mind, though, that despite our best attempts at differentiating instruction based on spelling features, that some students might require even more direct instruction than Taberski’s approach provides. 

Online Journal: What are the differences between Wilde's and Taberski's perspectives on spelling instruction? Open the Online Journal and respond to the prompt below:

Instructional Activities for Letter Name - Alphabetic Stage 

The activities presented in the the video and reading in this section help students develop knowledge about phonological and spelling patterns.

Watch the video "Phonological Patterns: Finding Patterns in Books" in which first-grade students are looking in books for examples of a phonological and spelling pattern they have just studied. As you watch, notice how the students are prompted by the teacher to discuss the patterns they have found.

Read the lesson plan demonstrated in the video.

To further your understanding of activities that can be done within the Letter Name – Alphabetic State, read through the information in the description of the Sequence of Word Study for Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage. Note that there are developmental progressions in skills within this stage from what would be considered Early Letter Name-Alphabetic (Early LNA) to Middle Letter Name-Alphabetic (Middle LNA) to Late Letter Name-Alphabetic (Late LNA).

Word Patterns Activity & Reflection 

Word sorting is an important way for students to apply their word knowledge and to develop a deep understanding of phonological and spelling patterns. Sorts can be classified as “closed” where the teacher defines the categories for sorting. Sorts can also be classified as “open” where the student determines the categories for sorting upon inspection of the word items presented. In either case, students will need modeling and guided practice in sorting words into phonological and orthographic categories before they are expected to do this independently.

Within Word Sorting Activity: In this Within Word pattern activity, you will complete an open sort. You are expected to create 2 categories by which to classify the 54 words provided and complete the open sort. Complete the Within Word Patterns activity yourself and then check your answers. This assignment is not uploaded to the facilitator for a grade. 

Letter Name Alphabetic Stage Reflection: Now that you've tried a sorting activity on your own, address the questions below. Jot down your answers in a document and upload your reflections for your facilitator.

1. Describe two instructional activities you would use in your present/future classroom for students in the Letter-Name-Alphabetic stage, using the information from the readings, video and activities in this session.

2. Describe two instructional activities you would use in your present/future classroom for students in the Within Word Pattern stage, using the information from the readings, and activties in this session.

You may use these questions to guide your reflection: 

1. What spelling knowledge and strategies will students learn in each activity?

2. How will you modify the activities to meet the needs of students who are diverse learners?

3. How will each activity meet your literacy goals for reading and writing? 

Spelling Instruction at the Syllable and Affixes Stage 

As you read the next article, you will notice that the authors define word study differently than Taberski. With more accomplished readers and writers, the instructional focus shifts. The emphasis is no longer on using orthographic knowledge to decode words and to spell words when writing. Instead, students use patterns in order to better understand how spelling represents a word's meaning and its grammatical function. Students engage in a variety of word sorting activities in which they categorize words according to both spelling and meaning.

Read "Integrated Word Study: Spelling, Grammar, and Meaning in the Language Arts Classroom." In this article, Invernizzi and Bloodgood describe how to make spelling/word meaning connections explicit through a carefully planned word-study program in an integrated language arts unit. As you read, notice the students in these classrooms are accomplished readers and writers at the Syllable and Affixes stage.

Spelling Instruction Activity Assignment  

One challenge of using a developmental approach to teaching phonics and spelling is that each classroom has students spread along a developmental continuum. One lesson plan will not address the developmental needs of all of the students. Teachers implementing a developmental approach usually find themselves preparing multiple lesson plans. In this assignment, you will practice designing a spelling lesson with multiple activities for different groups of students. Remember to carefully review the Spelling Instruction Activity rubric to understand how your work will be assessed.

Assume that you are in a third-grade classroom that has the following groups of students:

Group A: four students who are struggling with r-controlled vowels (star, more, first, curl, ear, her)

Group B: five students who are struggling with abstract vowels, such as ou/ew (double oo sound as in bloom or double oo sound as in blew), oi/oy (oi sound as in annoy and avoid), oo/ou (double oo sound as in book or could)

Group C: nine students who are struggling with doubling final consonants with -ed and -ing, (such as bat, batted, batting as opposed to blend, blended, blending)

Group D: four students who are struggling with prefixes and suffixes

Group E: three students who are ready for silent versus sounded consonants, such as assign, autumn, and bomb

Follow these steps to complete the assignment:

Step 1: Design a 20-minute word-study activity for each group of students. Each description of the activity should include (in 6-8 sentences):

• A statement of how you would organize the classroom and manage the different groups.
• Directions for the various activities.
• A rationale for using each activity from the readings in this session.

Step 2: Post your spelling instruction activity plans for peer review. Begin with an introductory posting and attach your activity descriptions. 

Step 3: Review the postings of one other learner and provide constructive feedback. Use the Spelling Instruction Activity rubric and Peer Review Guidelines to guide your feedback.

Additional Resources (Optional)

"Using Phonics and Spelling Patterns"
In this chapter, Cunningham describes how to use these and similar activities to encourage students' independence in decoding and spelling regular one- and two-syllable words.

Sources

Cunningham, P. (2000). Phonics they use: Words for reading and writing, 3/e. Allyn and Bacon: Boston, MA. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Invernizzi, M., Abouzeid, M., & Bloodgood, J. (1997). Integrated word study: Spelling, grammar, and meaning in the language arts classroom. Language Arts, 73(3), 185-192. Copyright (c)1997 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Reprinted with permission. See website, www.ncte.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Taberski, S. (2000). Word study groups: Analyzing words for their phonetic, structural, and morphemic features. Heineman: Portsmouth, NH. Reprinted by permission from On Solid Ground by Sharon Taberski.

Wilde, S. (1992) Building a knowledge base in spelling. Published by Heinemann, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc., Portsmouth, NH. Reprinted by permission from You Kan Red This!

All IRA articles are used with permission from the International Reading Association.