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| personal.georgiasouthern.edu |
When our spelling is perfect, it's invisible.
But when it's flawed, it prompts strong negative associations.
-Marilyn vos Savant
This article discusses the strong connection between spelling and ability to identify words in reading. Students engaging in invented spelling during writing helps them become better at decoding in reading. Children's invented spelling can potentially help a teacher understand what the students know and do not know and how the students are understanding (or not) the phonetic structure of words. At risk students could lack phonemic awareness so invented spelling would in no way be beneficial for these students. The beginning making words lesson seems like a beneficial activity to be included in the classroom. The students are given one vowel and several consonants and the students are required to use the vowel in every word. If the students are given a p,n,t,k,l, & r with their vowel, i, they could create several words: pin, tin, kit, lip, tip, lit, pit, nip, pink, link, rink, rip, and I'm sure there are more that I'm leaving out. This would be a great activity for a whole group instruction. I think it would be fun to do this activity on a reading carpet and if you had a smart board, or overhead, or just a white board, the students could take turns coming up to their board and writing out a word they think they can make from these letters. This will engage the students and get them active while learning something valuable. As the article states, this is an excellent time to inform the students how different letters sound together. i.e. how i sounds different in tin than it does in link. It is said that children that lack phonemic awareness can develop it through participation and practice. This activity aligns with reading and spelling, and writing, what more could a teacher want than practicing all three in one lesson?
Do you think that invented spelling may encourage a child to be more creative while writing since they could focus less on the correct spelling and more on writing what they want, or do you think that it actually hinders a child's writing?
I definitely believe that invented spelling should be encouraged! It is not beneficial for a child to be able to spell a word correctly if they do not understand the word or know how to use it in context. Invented spelling only becomes a hindrance if the child is never corrected and continues to use invented spelling in later grades. However, this will not occur with proper instruction.
ReplyDeleteI agree that invented spelling should be encouraged. Invented spelling can be a crucial step in learning how to read and write. If a child is trying to spell, although it is incorrect, this is a sign that they recognize letters make words and have a meaning. I child should be encouraged to write all the time whether it is correct or a few letters off. However, once a child can read and write on their own they should be corrected or they will continue to make mistakes.
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