Are weekly Spelling Tests Effective in a science of Reading classroom?
As the Science of reading becomes more popular in educational settings, many teachers are wondering if weekly spelling tests effective or should they throw them out completely.
We know that good spelling should not be based on rote memorization for better spelling development.
Conventional weekly spelling tests emphasized spelling lists with 10 -20 spelling words. But what is the best approach to teaching students spelling skills?
Do weekly spelling tests still have a place in literacy classrooms or should we simply throw out the weekly spelling test? Let’s take a closer look at what is important to include with spelling instruction in an education setting that focuses on science of reading principles.
Helping Connect Reading and Spelling
Orthographic Mapping & Spelling
I do believe that learning word patterns and using fun spelling activities still teach important phonics skills.
One key component of helpful spelling instruction is orthographic mapping. Orthographic mapping is the process by which readers make connections between speech sounds and written letters.
Spelling requires analyzing words, noticing spelling patterns, and understanding how words are constructed from individual sounds.
Use Orthographic Mapping Templates in Weekly Spelling Tests
Using Orthographic mapping helps students learn how to spell and read words accurately and retain them over time. It also gives them a greater understanding of English language spelling rules which can help students become better spellers and also increases students reading ability.
You can teach students using Orthographic Mapping templates when giving spelling tests to assess how well students understand the letter sound relationships. It also helps to decrease spelling errors
Use Elkonin boxes with Dots or Stairs For Weekly Spelling Tests
One of the best activities I know of to teach this sound symbol correspondence is to use either spelling stairs or dot and write sheets. The boxes contain one sound rather than one letter per box and this helps students to learn concepts like digraphs and vowel teams. The students must say the sounds of the letters as they write them.
Spelling Should Be An Indicator of A Student’s Understanding of Sound Letter Correspondence
As a Certified Academic Language Therapist, I feel it is important to incorporate as much writing and spelling into literacy instruction. Students’ spelling skills are an indicator of sound-letter correspondences when students are taught spelling correctly!
Use Simultaneous Processing with Struggling Spellers and Readers
With struggling spellers and readers it is helpful to use simultaneous processing. With simultaneous processing, a student goes through a process of saying a sound, hearing a sound, and writing the graphemes (letters) associated with that sound all at the same time. It is one of the most powerful tools in a teacher’s literacy instruction toolbox!
Sound Boxes and dots help Students to Orthographically Map Words
Teaching Spelling Generalizations and Rules
Another important aspect of teaching spelling is teaching generalizations and rules about how English words work. These generalizations can be used to help students remember the correct spelling patterns for commonly used words as well as new words they encounter. Additionally, understanding these rules can help students become more confident spellers and readers and you can check if students remember these rules on the weekly spelling tests.
Going Beyond Spelling Memorization
It’s important that we move beyond memorization in weekly spelling tests in an educational setting that follows science of reading principles. Simply memorizing words may help students pass tests, but it doesn’t provide them with skills that they can use throughout life. We need to make sure we are incorporating fun spelling activities into our lessons that focus on helping students understand how English works.
Spelling with Better Phonological Awareness & Phonemic Awareness Helps Reading Instruction
We can help students spell common words and more complex words if they understand the spelling system. Teaching Children better phonological awareness helps both spelling and reading.
Learning to spell high-frequency sight words will help students reading comprehension by increasing reading fluency.
Using Morphology to Aid in Understanding Spelling
Finally, morphology—or the study of word parts—can help students become better at recognizing patterns in English spelling as well as meaning-making. Spelling and paying attention to morphology help increase a student’s vocabulary.
Study Words Roots with Prefixes and Suffixes
Word Study of roots, prefixes, suffixes, base words, etc., students gain an understanding not only of what a word looks like but also of word meaning. This helps them not just remember a single spelling but also build broader knowledge which can help them learn new vocabulary and correct spellings. Morphology helps build vocabulary and assists students with unknown words.
If you put the root “spect” into Neil Ramsden’s Word Searcher you will 271 related Words! What a fantastic way to build a word wall or spelling list.
Spelling Should Teach Meaning as Well as Sound Symbol Relationships
The root word spect can be used to build the following words:
-Aspect: a particular part or feature of something
-Expect: to think that something will happen or be the case
-Inspect: to look closely at something in order to check that it is correct, safe, or clean
-Respect: to feel admiration or approval for someone or something
-Suspect: causing one to have doubts about the honesty or truth of someone or something
-Inspector: a person who carefully watches something or someone
-Spectator: a person who is present at an event and watches it happen
-Reinspect: to inspect again to confirm the results of the first inspection
-Respecter: someone who shows respect for others
-Suspected: believed to be true, but not yet proven
Introspect: to examine one’s thoughts, feelings, and motives
Nonsuspect: not likely to be guilty of an offense
Prospector: a person who searches for mineral deposits
Prospectus: a document giving details about something such as a business
Spectacles: an optical instrument consisting of lenses in a frame, used to correct defects of vision or protect the eyes.
Spectrally: relating to the spectrum which is a range of color, energy, or frequencies
Weekly Spelling tests Should be used to Assess Concept Understanding Not Memorization Ability
A New Type of Assessment
Weekly Spelling tests have been used for decades but their role has changed with the introduction of Science of Reading principles in our classrooms. Rather than being viewed as assessing pure memorization tasks, these tests should now incorporate meaningful activities such as orthographic mapping, generalization rules and word study to assess a deeper understanding of the English language.
Spelling Instruction Should Create a Deeper Understanding of the English Language
By approaching, weekly spelling tests from this perspective educators can facilitate a deeper understanding of phonics instruction. Then educators can use these assessments to guide their instruction rather than just assess how well a student memorizes words.
Check out my science of reading based spelling bundles for first, second, and third grade
Download an Orthographic Mapping Template Remember Say the Sounds as you write the letters.
