Spelling development research necessitates replacement of weekly word list.

Over the last 30 years, much has been learned about how children develop as spellers. During that time, the literary confidence of many kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade children has been damaged by insisting they use conventional spelling when, in their thinking, it is impossible to understand how words can be spelled conventionally. For example, many young children believe that "of" is spelled "uv." In time, the child will read "of" in texts and decide that both "o" and "f" have more than one sound and so will begin to write "of" conventionally.

Maryann's attic is full of thousands of spelling papers collected during research projects over the past 20 years. Along with her colleague, Constance Kamii, they have documented the growth of many classrooms of kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade children. We have followed hundreds of these children from Level 1, letter strings, to Level V, conventional spelling.

This article offers a glimpse of what we have discovered about the spelling development of young children. In K-2 classrooms, the children spell at various levels. The older the children, the more there are who can spell at Levels IV and V. There is no one right level for all children at a given age. Children who live in highly literate homes and preschool environments are usually at higher levels, due to the number of literacy episodes they have experienced.

Using the following descriptions, you can easily determine the varying levels of your students. It only takes a few minutes to ask individual children to write a handful of words. Ask the child to write the words "tomato," "punishment," "karate," "motion," "cement," "vacation," and "ocean," and the sentence, "The giraffe is eating leaves." These words reveal the logical developing spelling system of the child. If the child uses the same letters ("sn," "son," "shn," "un") for the end of motion, vacation, and ocean, the child has invented a logical system of spelling. It is important to note that although some educators use the term "temporary spelling," we prefer the term "invented spelling." If you follow a child's spelling development over several years, periodically obtaining new spelling samples, you will see his or her gradual growth from drawing pictures to scribbling to forming letter strings, shorter letter strings, some letter/sound correspondence, and then increased correct letters until the words are conventional. No two children use exactly the same letters, although many children are confused over similar letters, such as "c" and "k." Some letters are easier and some patterns, such as consonant blends, are difficult for most children, suggesting that the continuum children follow to conventional spelling has a logical order. It is especially important to assess levels early in the school year, because you need to know how to support the child in interactive writing situations. It is also valuable to inform parents about their child's level so they don't become concerned about their child's spelling development and insist upon conventional spelling.

Level 0: At this level, children draw pictures or scribble, and they do not make letter-like forms.

Level I: Children write strings of letters that have no set length. The string may run across the entire page.

Level II: Children still write in strings, but the strings generally range from three to nine letters. No letter-sound correspondence yet exists.

Level III: Children begin to write using invented spelling that can be read. They primarily use consonants and letter name vowels. We also refer to Level III as the consonantal level.

Level IV: Children make all letter-sound correspondences, using almost all the consonants and most vowels. Some vowel confusion still exists at Level IV.

Level V: Children conventionally spell almost all words that are age-appropriate.

Students construct a great deal of knowledge about spelling and the writing system whenever they write and read. During shared reading, much is learned about spelling. At Levels I and II, interactive writing is often the most appropriate strategy; at Levels III and IV, however, students can benefit from a whole range of teaching strategies and activities. Many strategies are available to support the development of your students as you help them advance to the next level. Our personal list may strengthen your belief in these practices:

* Encourage students to write throughout the day, whether it is a page full of letter strings, the labeling of pictures, or compositions.

* Conduct many writing demonstrations throughout the day. Daily news is an especially effective strategy for kindergarten and 1st-grade children.

* Keep monthly writing samples so you can observe how students gradually add the correct vowels and consonants. The collection of monthly samples serves as valuable information during parent conferences.

* Use reading response journals even before children are reading independently. As soon as the child can write a few words, summarizing picture books that you have read aloud, begin the journaling.

* Assign for spelling words only those words that are one letter away from being conventional. For instance, if the child spells "monkey" as "monke," that word might be a candidate for a short list. We like the way many New Zealand teachers choose three words that are only one letter away from being conventional from the writing of the Level IV 5- and 6-year-old children. The children write their name and the three words correctly spelled three times on a small piece of paper they place in a basket. The teacher compiles a running list of the words each child has been assigned, so she can observe if the words are correctly spelled in future writing.

* Be aware of reading and writing connections as you conduct shared and guided reading sessions. For example, when you mask certain letters or words for a teaching point, the child will use the knowledge in both reading and writing.

* Use word walls or charts to help remind children of the correct spelling of high-frequency words. A new book by Elizabeth Larrabee, titled Taking the Words off the Word Wall (Dominie Press, 2004), has many ideas for supporting spelling development.

* Provide Level IV children with a small notebook to record the words they can spell.

Indeed, children do invent their own relationships and then move on to higher levels of spelling as they build new knowledge about conventions. The teaching strategies and reading and writing activities we use can support development and not cause damage to literacy confidence, as the spelling test era did for many young children.

It may surprise you when we say that not all students need spelling instruction. Spelling is a visual memory process and we need to recognize that some of our students can spell any word they read. Think about it; we all have a friend we regard as a good speller. Admittedly, only a few students have excellent visual memory, but there are some. We would like to share our ideas about teaching spelling to students who benefit from it the most--to students in 2nd grade through middle school.

A challenge in planning a grade 2-6 spelling curriculum is determining the types of spellers you have in your class. It is important to spend time at the beginning of the year getting to know your students academically and personally so you can better plan your instruction. Every class is different.

There is no one magic formula that works year to year. You can find information in children's written pieces, but you cannot afford to wait until you have volumes of drafts to examine. Asking students to write lots of words is the only way to determine the types of spellers they are. Choose lists from traditional spelling books that are constructed around patterns, such as /oo/, /ou/, /ea/, /u/, and around word categories, such as contractions, prefixes, suffixes, plurals, compounds, and homophones. We wish we could tell you there is one spelling test that will give you all the information you need, but we have yet to find one.

In the beginning, we tell students, "I am going to ask you to spell some words today. You won't know how to spell them all, but I know you will do your best." Assuring them that you aren't grading the tests helps their attitude as we find types of words that pose particular challenges. Older children can correct their own words and many will find the exercise interesting. To preserve the ego of students who miss many words, we don't have students exchange papers.

What do we do with the results? Only record the words that are misspelled, and most students can help with this recording. Your students probably have some type of personal word book with words they misspell and words they want to remember from theme studies and their writing. We then study the words that are not conventionally spelled to determine the type of speller the student is. After performing this exercise in lots of classrooms, here are the types of spellers based on the spelling levels you will find, as well as our recommendations for instruction. The types of spellers described below are all at Levels III, IV, or V in their development. (Spellers at Types V, II, and I are easy to find. Type III and IV spellers offer a challenge because you are searching for patterns that are not established. Usually, the older the student, the more likely he or she is a Type IV or V speller.)

The Type I Speller Writes...

Words that contain no vowels other than letter name vowels--there is little sound symbol correspondence, or there are simply letter strings. Conduct daily writing demonstrations to help the Type I student establish correct sound/symbol relationships. Help the student listen for beginning and final sounds of words during interactive writing. Engage the student in as much authentic writing as possible. Use picture dictionaries and word walls to draw attention to specific words.

The Type II Speller Writes...

Many age-appropriate words that are misspelled, and analysis reveals no apparent pattern. Help the Type II speller listen for sounds in the middle of words. Make lists of rhyming words and have word play with word families. Help the student notice the difference between sound and spelling patterns in words. Every couple of months, study misspelled words to see if any problem patterns are emerging and to observe improvements in spelling development.

The Type III Speller Writes...

Some age-appropriate words that are conventionally spelled, but many spelling patterns are not established. Conduct mini-lessons with the Type III speller with word patterns that are in word families. Encourage peer conferencing about spelling on written work as well as during writing workshops. Add to personal word lists during editing to help decrease problem words.

The Type IV Speller Writes...

Age-appropriate words that are almost all spelled correctly, with only an occasional misspelled word. Often, only a few spelling patterns challenge the speller. Sometimes, all that is necessary is to make Type IV students aware of the spelling patterns that create challenges for them. You can conduct mini-lessons with students who face the same challenges.

The Type V Speller Writes...

Age-appropriate words that are all spelled conventionally. Type V students need to continue to read and write, because they will continue to conventionally spell those words they use. Sometimes sloppiness occurs, but self and peer editing during publishing will eliminate this problem. Word study about the origins of words is often interesting for these good spellers.

As you know, several classroom practices continually help all spellers. Whenever a student engages in reading, spelling will improve. The same is true of engaging as a writer, especially during the writing process when students' attention shifts from content to mechanics.

Helping our students become good spellers is just one of many curriculum goals. Students improve considerably when the focus is shifted away from a prescribed list to one of thinking about spelling development as a function of our reading and writing workshops.

As we mentioned before, educators have learned a lot about how children develop as spellers--now it is time to implement the curriculum changes inspired by that knowledge.

2007 International Focus Issue Call for Papers Inclusive Educational Practices Around the World

The 2007 International Focus Issue of Childhood Education will focus on inclusive educational programs and practices designed to meet individual needs of children from birth to early adolescence in an inclusive setting. This issue will show various perspectives from around the globe about appropriate educational practices for children with diverse abilities.

Authors from both outside and within the United States are urged to submit articles targeting curriculum and classroom practices, the role of families, teacher preparation, the political and socio-cultural influences, and local and national policies that determine the features and status of international, inclusive programs. The issue will also include personal reports of educators/parents/professionals who are involved in inclusive programs. Additionally, it will discuss the challenges to inclusive practices around the globe.

Preference will be given to articles that are authored or co-authored by U.S. or non-U.S, professionals with experience related to inclusive programs and practices around the globe. The deadline for submission of articles is June 30, 2006. Send three copies of the manuscript to Florida Gulf Coast University, College of Education, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565, Attn: Tunde Szecsi and Debra Giambo. An electronic version of the manuscript must also be sent (Microsoft Word or rich text format) to [e-mail] and [e-mail]. Preferred length is 2-5 journal pages (1,500-3,500 words).

For more information from the Guest Editors, please contact Tunde Szecsi (239-590-7788 or [e-mail]) or Debra Giambo (239-590-7814 or [e-mail]), Florida Gulf Coast University.

Maryann Manning is a Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Clark Underbakke is a 2nd-Grade Teacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, Alabama.