How can I approach spelling instruction in a classroom where the curriculum is packed already with demanding expectations?
Think about your first spelling instruction. Probably those lessons focused initially on the sound of words and later on remembering how words look. Phonics provides great assistance for remembering the spelling of words that fit particular phonetic patterns. Beyond second or third grade, spelling books typically add visual learning strategies to spelling instruction, focusing on helping students recall the way words look in print. My own research documents the fact that many challenged spellers exhibit difficulties with visual memory, making visually based strategies minimally effective― strategies such as writing words five or ten times each, writing words in blanks, matching words to definitions, tracing words using word shapes, and memorizing words from a list. Often, word study that focuses on understanding how words are constructed, including the study of roots, prefixes, and suffixes as well as word families and etymologies, does not enter the curriculum until fifth or sixth gra
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