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Spelling

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Today we will be looking at...

• The Importance of Punctuation• Why spelling is so difficult• Word origins• Attitudes to spelling• Approaches to Spelling• Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check• Spelling Rules• Responding to learner writing• Dictionary skills

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Why is Spelling so difficult?• One letter can have several sounds – C can sound like:

‘ch – church, chip, chocolate‘k’ - Christmas, choir, ache‘sh’ – champagne, machine

• Some words are spelt as they are pronounced like: remember, limit –

but others are not – for instance:said, business, though

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Why is Spelling so difficult?

• Phonemes: (Units of sound). The alphabet has 26 letters

but 44 sounds.

• Each vowel has two sounds – a long and a short sound like:

Ice cream, Igloo

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Why is Spelling so difficult?

• Different letter combinations can make the same sound like:

cloud, clown• Individual letters can make

different sounds like:yes, fly, happy

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Word Origins

Where do you think the following words come from?

acoustic adiosalligator bizarreloco hamburgerangst calendaracid breezeBicycle in memoriam

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Strategies for Spellingwetheringlessly

How did you remember the word?

Visual learners see smaller words within the word – wet, her, ring, less

Auditory learners listen to the word and count syllables such as weth/er/ing/less/ly.

Kinesthetic learners can write the word or trace it.

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Strategies for Spelling

• Split double consonants ap/point, stag/ger• Draw attention to difficult part Wednesday, February• Exaggerate pronunciation Business, parliament

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Strategies for Spelling

• Exaggerate silent letters I love knitting knickers• Stress beginning, mid, end of

words choc – o – late• Teach groups or families pope, cope, rope, hope

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Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check

accommodation

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Some Spelling Rules

85% of words obey a rule!

One rule can cover hundreds of words!

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Some Spelling RulesCan you read these words?

hife, sitchem, ludge, yake, kneg, hation, vack, pheto.

You pronounce the words according to your previous knowledge of English

and sound patterns.

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Spelling Rules

Rules sometimes can be hard to follow but some rules easier than others & cover hundreds of words

EG: i before e except after cachieve, believe

BUT either, foreign

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Spelling Rules

Not many words end in ‘j’, ‘q’ or ‘v’

‘Q’ is almost always followed by ‘u’.

Iraq breaks both of the above rules!

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Spelling Rules

Group words together & pay attention to word structure

Lead, stead, head

Distribution, deception

Obvious, previous

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Spelling Rules

Righteousness

You only need to remember the four groups that make up the word to remember how it is

spelled

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Responding to Writing

What strategies is learner using?

What would you do to help learner?

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Dictionary Skills

What are some fears learners have about using a

dictionary?

FrustrationCan’t find a word

Not sure what kind of dictionary to use

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Dictionary Skills

• Keep session short – 10-15 min

• Have alphabet on a card or refer to Learning Journal.• Use dictionary with clear print.

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Dictionary Skills

• Start with initial letters & ask learner to locate first letter in the dictionary.• Then, move to next letter and so

on...• Make personal dictionary.• Use telephone books/Argos

catalogue.

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Tell me and I will forget.

Show me and I may remember.

Involve me and I will understand.