Literature Review Synopsis
Research was done on best practice of the structure of a spelling lesson. A structure of direct instruction, multiple practices, and systematic feedback have proven to be an organizational pattern that benefits students and teachers alike (Fong, 2017; Herrington & Macken-Horarik, 2015; Kirk & McNeill, 2013; Picard & Meadows, 2014; Sayeski, 2011). These three components provide students with the necessary forms of learning to effectively teach spelling.
The English language is truly complex, yet upon close inspection, is full of patterns in spelling. A study by Hempenstall (2015) showed that, “more than 50% of words can be spelled based solely on sound-letter correspondences, and a further 34% of words have only one irregular sound. If one also demonstrates to children the similarities in word origin, such as in Greek and Latin word constructions, then only 4% of the roughly 200,000 English words are truly irregular” (p. 63). Drawing student attention to these patterns allows students to think more deeply about words and make connections that spelling patterns transfer farther than the memorization of just one word (Macken-Horarik, 2015). An understanding of these patterns comes in possessing multiple types of awareness, one of which includes phonemic awareness. Phonemic awarenes is the ability to manipulate a single sound in a word (Kirk, 2013).
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Current findings suggest the best practice in spelling instruction includes a direct instruction portion focusing on morphemic, orthographic, and morphologic awarenesses to find patterns within spelling words and making connections to other spellings. Following direct instruction should come multiple opportunities for practice, which may be within sentence format or isolated word spelling. These practices are followed with systematic and direct feedback on student understanding and accuracy of spelling. This feedback can be effectively used in a handful of ways including re-spelling of misspelled words either in isolation or in sentence format. Ultimately, teachers are present for student success so adopting these teaching strategies will boost student competency in spelling.