Literacy Blogs

Teacher Question: I'm looking at finding a spelling program for my school.  What are the elements that should be in a good program?  Should the lists of words be based on phonics/spelling patterns like silent e, later expanded into multisyllable words with the same pattern for upper grades + later study on affixes etc.? Should the spelling words be embedded in stories or articles that the students read as part of their word study? Should there be word and sentence dictation?  Should there be vocabulary related activities such as filling out sentences with missing spelling words that are included in a word bank? How many words per week? Shanahan responds: Can you spell ...

Teacher question: I teach kindergarten. We’ve been arguing over whether we should teach spelling or developmental spelling. Which is best? Shanahan response: You’re asking if learning to spell comes more surely from “transmission” (teaching by telling or demonstrating) or from “construction” (learning through discovery or operating on the world). Arguments in educational psychology have raged over this for decades. I think the dispute – at least with regards to spelling – is misleading. The two approaches are posed as contradictory, that teachers must choose one way or the other. I don’t see it that way. Explicit spelling versus invented spelling is a false dichotomy. I encourage ...