Mulgrave Primary School
Jessica Mann & Nicola Weerakoon
Mulgrave Primary School is a small school in the Eastern
Metropolitan region. We currently have around 200
students in 8 classes, and have 2 specialist teachers. In
2008 we had a change of leadership, with a new Principal
taking over, after having had the same Principal for 23
years.
MPS is undergoing a great deal of change in a number of
areas, and the one that interested us the most was the
evaluation of our literacy program.
Over the past few years, we have noticed a decline in our
student results in the areas of writing and spelling,
especially in the grade 5 area. The data obtained from AIM
and NAPLAN results shows that students in grade 3 are at
the state mean, but by the time they reach grade 5, are
significantly below this level.
Our writing showed similar results, but as our school is
already undertaking the Courtenay Gardens Writing
program, we felt that spelling would be an ideal focus for
our action research project.
We decided to start our action research by asking staff
what they currently did to teach spelling to students.
Some of the things being done were –
- Introducing individual letters
each week
- Discussing different sounds
- Brainstorming words
-Model spelling
- Using Oxford word lists
-4 words per week
-Select one word a week to
create memory trick
- Brainstorm a sound per week
that is linked in with the topic
- Home work
- Looking at syllables
- Brain tricks
- Look Say Cover Write Check
- Place words in sentences
- Spelling tests
- Phonics programs on
computer during literary
rotations
- Diary writing
- Focus sounds each week
explicitly taught each week for
whole class
- Phonic groups
- Personal dictionary
- Spelling “have- a- go “sheet
- Proof reading with students
- Spelling games
We asked staff to estimate how much time they spend
explicitly teaching spelling to their class.
By reviewing all responses from staff, on average
across the school we are currently spending
two or more hours
a week teaching
spelling to our students.
We asked our teachers what they felt were the most
effective ways to teach spelling. These were the
responses –
- Look Say Cover Write
Check
- Focusing on problem
words
- Phonetic groupings
- Topic words
- Grammatical rules
- Teaching grammar
- Cued articulation
- Spelling computer games
- Word families
- Peer assistance
- Written conversations
- Memory tricks
Our next question was very important, and that was, why
are some of our students not experiencing success in
spelling? We asked staff what they saw as the problems
with our current spelling practices, and this is what they
said-No consistency with sight
word lists
- No consistency with
assessment
-Don’t know what’s been
covered the year before
- Need different approaches
based on need
- No scope and sequence
chart
- A need to schedule for year of
testing, assessment
- We need moderation for the
whole school
- Some activities are boring
- Some activities are hard to
teach children that have
language difficulties.
We asked some students from the upper school why
they felt it was important to learn to be a good speller.
This clip shows some of their responses –
Now we had a clear idea of what was happening within
classrooms, and of what staff felt in regards to spelling,
we needed to decided how best to launch a program
that would suit the whole school.
The biggest problem that our school
was facing was …….
Lack of
consistency!!!!!
We had no real program, and no similar resources
through the school. Everyone taught spelling their own
way, with different resources and different approaches.
Some people taught spelling for several hours a week,
others just did it as part of homework.
We needed a consistent set of materials, and a
consistent understanding of what was expected from
both teachers, and students.
We decided to set up all staff with the same set of
resources and information…
Each staff member was presented with a folder of
spelling resources. We decided as a staff to use the
Oxford Word Lists and associated resources as a focus
point through the school.
The resources were available online at
http://www.oup.com.au/primary/learning/thesuccessf
ulteacher
This folder had all the Oxford materials, professional
reading on spelling and other information on the
assessment and teaching of spelling.
We also presented staff with an activity box. This box
had lists, resources and ideas for students to use
when engaging in spelling related activities.
The next step was to actually get staff involved, and the
research project underway. The focus questions for all
staff to keep in mind were ;
What, out of the new resources I’ve been provided
with, works best for me?
What activities are most beneficial and useful in
my class?
Have I noticed any improvement in student
outcomes by using new resources and activities?
Staff were given 4 weeks in which to trial all the new
resources and activities that they had been provided
with.
They were asked to have at least 2 specific and explicit
spelling lesson times per week, and to incorporate the
spelling materials where possible into other areas of
the curriculum.
Each staff member was given a record sheet to fill in at
the end of each week as a means of cataloguing data
for us, and to provide evidence of the lessons that had
been undertaken.
Lessons were undertaken by each grade in the school.
These included a range of activities and approaches
such as whole class, individual and group activities,
games, ICT resources etc.
To really lift the profile of the spelling program within
the school, we held a whole school spelling bee as part
of literacy and numeracy week.
Every student in the school was involved in revising at
home the words that formed the basis of our spelling
resources.
This was a great activity, and also raised some money
for the school as well!
After the 4 week trial period, we collected all the data
generated by staff on the project. This included their
planners, student results and evaluations and reflections of
the spelling lessons.
These were our main findings –
1. Overall the teachers felt this spelling experience was
positive and engaged the students. They felt that they
could incorporate these spelling activities within
literacy groups and writing lessons.
2. Most students spelling improved throughout the trial
period. Some quite significantly.
3. They also felt that the children were more careful about
how they were spelling words and what types of words
they were using.
The main challenges that our staff identified were –
1. Trying to fit more teaching time into an already
overcrowded curriculum.
2. Finding spelling related activities that catered for all
learning styles.
3. Some teachers found it hard to group children
according to their spelling ability as this is quite varied.
These are all areas in which we will need to put more time
and effort into addressing.
We were also able now to make informed decisions
about the type of spelling program that we would like
to have in our school.
Staff decided that we would use –
Magic words in grade Prep
Oxford most used words resources in grade 1-3
Mulgrave words in grades 4-6. (this is a resources that
we created especially for our senior students)
We hope that –
•Staff continue to implement spelling specific activities on
a regular basis, and continue to use and add to the
resources provided to them.
•Staff will adopt the new spelling program with vigour and
enthusiasm as on term 1, 2010.
•Our student results continue to improve, and hopefully
validate this with analysis of to NAPLAN data.
•Students continue to enjoy and be engaged by the new
spelling program.
Thank you for your interest, if you have any questions,
please feel free to contact either Nicola or Jess at
Mulgrave Primary School on (03) 9795 2477, or email
through edumail.