Bethany Linkous
RE 5100: Final Exam
1A. Given the spelling samples, John is in the phonetic (letter-name) spelling stage. John shows the short vowel in most of his spellings, but it is often represented by a phonologically appropriate substitution. For example, the word dress is spelled jras. The short a is a logical substitution for the short e sound. This is because they are pronounced similarly in the vocal tract. The blend dr in the word dress is often spelled jr by students in the phonetic stagebecause of the way it’s produced. Another example of John using a vowel substitution is shown in his spelling of the word picking. He spelled this word pekn. The short i is often represented with an e by young children because it’s the nearest long vowel in place of articulation. John is also not marking the long vowels in his spellings. This is another characteristic of students in the phonetic stage. An example of this is seen in the spelling of side, which John spelled sid. John spells words the way they sound. He did not mark the silent e in this word. In John’s spellings of the words feet and peeked, the long vowel marker e is also missing.
Sue is in the pre-phonetic stage based on her spelling samples. She generally represents the beginning consonants and some ending consonants. The vowel is omitted in her spellings. For example, the word back is spelled bk. The word peeked is represented by the letter p. Sue is also not representing blends. This can be seen in her spelling of the word dress, which she spells js. Another example is step being written as cp. Sue is still unsure of the sound of each letter. For example, the word side is spelled with only the letter c. This helps verify that Sue is in the pre-phonetic stage of spelling.
Hannah is in the vowel transition stage. She is generally representing short vowels correctly. For example, back is spelled correctly and the short e is correct in her spelling of the word dress. The blends, st in step and dr in dress, are spelled correctly. Hannah is starting to mark long vowels, even though the vowel markers are often inappropriately placed. This is a common characteristic of students in the vowel transition stage. For example, the word feet is spelled fete. Hannah knows there is a silent e in this word but is unsure where to place it. Another example of this is in the spelling of peeked. Hannah spelled this word peakt. She recognizes that ea is a way to represent the long e sound.
1B.The level of word study that John needs is short vowel instruction. John is not always using a vowel in his spellings (example: step was spelled sdp). When a vowel is placed it is often a phonetically appropriate substitution (example: picking was spelled pekn). John is ready for short vowel instruction because he is correctly representing beginning and ending consonants. I would also teach blends along with short vowels. John struggles with blends as seen in the examples dress (jras) and step (sdp). My word study focus would be for John to develop accurate and automatic knowledge of the short vowel patterns, especially CVC. Mastery of these patterns will assist John in the future with more advanced vowel patterns. I will teach the short vowel patterns through column word sorting, reinforcement games like Concentration, spell checks, and Make a Word activities.
The level of word study that Sue needs is beginning and ending consonant instruction. She does show some understanding of the alphabet and concept of word (example: back is spelled bk). I would work first on increasing Sue’s alphabet knowledge because she does not recognize all of the alphabet letters (example: f in feet was marked with a b). I would move on to teaching beginning consonant letter-sound instruction through picture sorts. I would have her sort by beginning consonant sound and then sort by alphabet letter. I would also introduce writing letters to dictation. It’s important at this stage to look for Sue applying the beginning consonant knowledge in contextual reading.
The level of word study that Hannah needs is vowel pattern instruction. She is representing most short vowels correctly as seen in the examples back and picking (spelled piken). She is also starting to mark long vowels, although they are often inappropriately placed (examples: feet spelled fete, side spelled sied). I would teach the high frequency vowel patterns first (examples: silent e, r-control, ee, ea, ai) because they are more common in the English language. I would teach Hannah vowel patterns through column word sorting, reinforcement games, and spell checks.
1C. Hannah probably has a larger sight vocabulary and is a better reader than John because she is at a more advanced developmental spelling stage. She is in the vowel transition stage and is studying harder spelling patterns. Hannah has a deeper knowledge of the alphabet system and understands the structure of words better. Hannah can probably automatically recognize more words because she has a higher level of word knowledge. The spelling task is a strong predictor of a child’s reading ability. Spelling is actually a more difficult task that word recognition because you not only have to be able to pronounce the word, but be able to write the letters in a correct sequence.
2. Phonics Instruction
A. Phonics instruction should be taught in the small group setting because the students are not all on the same instructional level. Phonics is a developmental process. A student is not ready to study long vowel patterns unless short vowel patterns are mastered. Each student will move through the phonics sequence at a different pace. Conducting word sorts and playing reinforcement games in small groups will allow the teacher to assess when it is appropriate to move forward to more advance spelling patterns.
B.There are several reasons why children have a harder time mastering vowels over consonants. Generally, consonants only have one sound. Vowels have more than one sound which makes them more difficult to learn. Another reason is based on the way they are pronounced in speech. Vowel sounds are continuant, and consonant sounds are closed in the way they are produced. This means that the vowel is closely made with the consonant. When a word is produced, the vowel oftentimes is overlapped with the consonant.
C.It is very important for students to master the short vowel pattern. Short vowels tend to represent the alphabetic principle the best. Students need to understand that letters match to sounds. The short vowel patterns also occur frequently in written text and are regular in terms of pronounceability. Long vowel patterns cannot be taught unless the short vowel patterns are mastered. Mastery of the short vowel pattern will assist the student with other vowel patterns because it shows up in many multisyllabic words. The short vowel patterns lay an important foundation that other patterns are built upon.
D. Teacher judgment is critical when teaching phonics. Phonics needs to be taught in a developmental sequence. It is important for phonics to be taught and paced well. The teacher cannot move through the sequence too fast because the spelling patterns build on one another. The teacher needs to engage in ongoing assessment on a daily basis. It is important for the teacher to know when to move on and when to go back and reinforce. Word study activities yield diagnostic information. The teacher should check for improved speed and accuracy of word sorts. The teacher should also observe for the transfer of phonics instruction to the child’s spelling, “new” words that fit the pattern, and to contextual reading. This will help the teacher know what needs to be reviewed, reinforced, and what concepts are being mastered.
E. There is a “content” to teaching phonics and it is developmentally ordered. Phonics instruction begins with beginning consonant letter-sound instruction. After this is mastered, the student should be taught short vowel word families and short vowel patterns. Consonant blends and digraphs are taught along with short vowels. Short vowels are taught before long vowels because they are more frequent and regular in the English language. Short vowels best represent the alphabetic principle. High-frequency vowel patterns are taught next. This includes the spelling patterns ee, ea, ia, silent e, and r-controlled vowels. Low-frequency vowel patterns are taught last because they are less common. This includes the patterns au, ou, oi, and ui.
3. Word study is an important part of teaching reading. Learning about the developmental stages of spelling has greatly influenced my thinking on how spelling should be taught in the primary grades. Through this graduate program I have realized the importance of placing each student at their developmental level in spelling. I have learned that spelling is not about memorizing a list of words. It is about comparing and contrasting spelling patterns and looking for these regularities in words. It is important for teachers to understand the sequence of word study instruction. I see spelling now as a pyramid where spelling patterns build on one another. Short vowel patterns need to be taught before long vowel patterns. High frequency vowel patterns need to be taught before low-frequency patterns. Each child is going to pass through the stages at different rates. I have learned that you cannot move on to harder spelling patterns until mastery has occurred. Through the articles that we read and class discussion, I have a good understanding of the word study sequence and the best way to teach it. Word sorts and reinforcement games help keep students engaged and make learning about words fun. I love that this word study approach is inquiry based where students are learning about the spelling patterns through their involvement in manipulating words.
Invented spelling is a topic that has been controversial among reading educators. It is a concept that I was unsure about myself. This class helped stress the importance of encouraging beginning readers to use invented spelling in their writing. For me, understanding the developmental perspective of spelling instruction brings new meaning to invented spelling. It only makes sense that you can’t expect young children to spell words that are not on their instructional level. A child in the phonetic spelling phase should not be expected to spell a long vowel pattern word correctly. Invented spelling is a way for children to write freely and to spell words “the way they think they are spelled”. It’s important not to emphasize spelling over the meaning of what the child has written. You want to send the message to children that what they write is important. I don’t want my students to develop a fear of writing. Invented spelling encourages students to write longer and more interesting stories.
Invented spelling is not a substitute for spelling instruction. Appropriate spelling instruction needs to occur. Letting students experiment with invented spelling will help foster spelling and reading development. It will allow students to experiment with the spelling patterns they are learning in word study as well as more complex spelling patterns. Invented spelling is helpful to the teacher because it provides diagnostic information that will assist in planning developmental word study instruction.