SPELLING
PR-2-24
PROCEDURAL
DOCUMENT
Effective date: 14-Aug-07
Rationale
Writing is
a form of communication. Spelling is a
means through which writing is understood, making this form of communication
successful.
Purpose
To give
our students the skills they need in order to be able to spell correctly in
their writing, and therefore become more effective visual and written
communicators.
Assessment
Regular testing based on words from a range of sources,
including students’ “words I can almost spell”, topic lists, and essential list
words.
Every term, students will be tested on the
Peter’s Spelling list and the results of these will be used in data collection,
including reports. These can be used to
determine whether, over time, a student is having difficulties with particular
word patterns.
Conclusion
Success in spelling can be fundamental to
success in reading, writing, viewing, and presenting. It assists students in receiving, processing,
and presenting ideas or information successfully.
Curriculum
Support: Spelling
July 2007
Objectives
-
for each student to build up a
core-spelling vocabulary that they will be expected to know. (Refer to school-wide tests);
-
to develop in each student,
independence in locating words for him/herself;
-
to develop in each student
independence in trying to spell words;
-
for the student to learn
specific skills or rules and apply it to their spelling;
-
for the student to learn to use
various references available in the school or home;
-
for the student to develop a
spelling conscience incorporating care and accuracy;
-
for the student to develop an
enriched vocabulary at his/her appropriate level.
Level One
Learning
words from their own writing
Learn
basic words from essential lists
Getting to
know letters of alphabet and sounds
Recognising
small and capital letters
Learning
alphabet sequence
Initial
consonants
Initial
blends
Final
blends
Consonant
blends
Vowels
Root words
Compound
words
Silent
letters
Dictionary
skills
Syllabification
Sorting
words into alphabetical order
Contractions
Build up
high-frequency word list
Level Two
Learning
words from their own writing
Learn
basic words from essential lists
Opening a
dictionary near to correct place
Using a
thesaurus
Prefixes
Suffixes –
ed, ing, es
Alphabetical
orders including 2nd and 3rd letters
Word
building, eg word families
Root words
and changing tenses
Consonant
blends
New words
from consonant blends – ‘…ate, crate, plate’
Adding
prefixes to make new words
Contractions
Singular/plural
Level Three
Learning
words from their own writing
Learning
basic words from essential lists
Atlas
Encyclopaedia
Guide
words
Pronunciation
Guide
Inhabitant/Country
eg Greek, Greece
Synonyms
Antonyms
Homonyms
Masculine/feminine
Acronyms –
NASA, ANZUS
Word
origins
Idioms
The Teacher’s Role in the Teaching of Spelling
-
ongoing teaching of spelling
skills and attitudes during class teaching programme and in particular writing
-
to encourage risk-taking by
students with spelling unfamiliar words;
-
to teach specific spelling
rules and generalisations;
-
to build up a core vocabulary
in each student based on Essential Lists 1, 2, 3 & 4;
-
to encourage students to use an
ever increasing vocabulary, and to explore/study words;
-
to develop in each student, a
spelling conscience by making students aware of errors when appropriate, and encouraging each
student to take an appropriate level of responsibility for their own spelling;
-
to provide a class wall
dictionary, which gives the spelling of basic words at an appropriate level, eg
Junior School – Essential Lists 1 & 2, Days
of Week, Months of Year, frequently used words, names, colours. Middle School – Essential Lists 2 & 3,
Days of Week, Months of Year, frequently used words, names, colours, words
instead of nice, said and went. Senior
School – Essential Lists 3 & 4, Days of Week, Months of Year, frequently
used words, names, colours, words instead of nice, said and went;
-
teach students how to learn to
spell a word based on the Spell Write system; ie written down rather than
orally tested;
-
to provide a range of resources
for students to locate words and to teach students specific skills in finding
words;
-
for each student to build up a
list of words they can nearly spell in the back of their draft writing book;
-
students should always try a
word at least twice before coming up to the teacher.
Monitoring
and Assessment
Ongoing
assessment and monitoring throughout the year will be based on the 11 bullet
points above and results put in the pupil profile books.
Spelling Lists
Level One
– Junior and Middle
Level Two
– Junior, Middle and Senior
Level
Three – Middle, Senior and Advanced
School Achievement Goals
Level 1 –
Can spell 90% of words from Essential List 1/ or Plateau School Spelling List
and uses these words accurately in their writing.
Level 2 –
Can spell 90% of words from Essential Lists 1 and 2 or Plateau School Spelling
List and uses these words accurately in their writing.
Level 3 –
Can spell 90% of words from Essential Lists 1, 2 and 3 or Plateau School
Spelling List and uses these words accurately in their writing.
Links to Curriculum Statement
Students
will achieve a progression of knowledge, skills, and understandings of language
features that enhance text.
Links to NEGS & NAGS
National
Administration Guideline 1
Each
Board, through the principal and staff is required to:
(i) develop and implement teaching and learning
programmes:
(a) to
provide all students in years 1-10 with opportunities to achieve for success in
all the essential learning and skill areas of the New Zealand curriculum.
(b) giving
priority to student achievement in literacy and numeracy, especially in years
1-4
(ii) through a range of assessment practices, gather information that
is sufficiently comprehensive to enable the progress and achievement of
students to be evaluated: Giving priority first to:
(a) a
student achievement in literacy and numeracy, especially in years 1-4
And then to
(b) breadth and depth
of learning related to the needs, abilities and interests of students, the
nature of the school’s curriculum and the scope of the New Zealand curriculum
(as expressed in the National Curriculum Statements):
(iii) on the basis of good quality assessment information, identify
students and groups of students;
(a) who are not achieving
(b) who are at risk of
not achieving
(c) who
have special needs
and
(a) aspects of the curriculum which require particular
attention
(iv) develop and
implement teaching and learning strategies to address the needs of students and
aspects of the curriculum identified in
iii above.
Essential Learning Areas
-
Shows willing involvement in
the learning situation
-
Communicates ideas clearly
-
Sets, evaluates and achieves
realistic personal goals
-
Develops self-appraisal skills
-
Takes responsibility for own
learning
-
Has sound work habits
Timetable
Spelling
is ongoing through the language programme.
Specific
spelling objectives will be covered as required with the whole class.
Testing
and learning of words, working on skills cards, editing, individual
conferences, will occur during the week.
Grouping
Whole
class, individual and group conferences.
Integration into Other Areas of the Curriculum
Spelling
words correctly goes across all areas where writing occurs. In areas other than the specific writing
programme (where students are encouraged to have a go) teachers will provide
more support, eg words on the blackboard.
Barriers to Learning
-
Students not learning words at
home – lack of parent support
-
Students having difficulty
remembering consistent spelling of basic words
-
Students continuing to write
only those words they can spell correctly
-
Not taking risks
-
Students not taking
responsibility for proof-reading
-
Limited writing output
-
Poor articulation (speech)
Students Needing Extension
More
interesting vocabulary development
Skills
cards
Maori
Teach
basic Maori words.
Thinking Skills
Students
to reflect on their own abilities.
To take
responsibility for improving.
Use of
Thesaurus
ICT
Spell
check. Write words on computer.
Homework
Once
students know a range of basic words they may take from 3-10 home each week to
learn.
They are
tested on these once a week.
Resources/References
“Spell
Write”
“Spelling
- Approaches to teaching and assessment”
“Spelling
Under Scrutiny” by Joy Allcock
Classroom Environment
All
spelling used in displays or captions must be correct. Classrooms should have a wall dictionary for
words used frequently at that level.
Class dictionaries and charts showing frequently used words.
Rationale Sheet
Each
teacher will complete a rationale sheet for teaching spelling.
Questions
How can we give students more ‘power’ in this area?
Use of
skills cards for self-directed learning.
Students
can increase vocabulary at their own pace.
How can we keep parents up to date with what’s
happening and involve them more in their child’s learning?
In share
trips, reports and homework.
What can we improve about the way we deliver this
curriculum?
Extending
students more.
Future ideas/directions?
Keep an
eye on phonetic spelling.