Jennifer Murphy
Edu 397 Section 01
Methods: Teaching Language Arts Pre K-8
Developmental Spelling Analysis
December 5, 2012
“If GH can stand for P as in Hiccough
If OUGH stands for O as in Dough
If PHTH stands for T as in Phthisis
If EIGH stands for A as in Neighbor
If TTE stands for T as in Gazette
If EAU stands for O as in Plateau
The right way to spell POTATO should be: GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU!”
-Attributed to Oscar Wilde
Spelling is learned through levels of invented spelling that begin with scribbling in any
direction and end in correct spelling and understanding of morphological structures. This
aforementioned quote is a perfect example of how speaking, writing, and reading the English
language can be arduous to learn. When learning to spell, we are taught a set of rules to follow
that require memorization for application. Some of these rules have exceptions which can add to
the confusion and frustration. Success in spelling reinforces phonics and is a tool used to create
fluent writers.
In the following pages a student’s spelling, handwriting, and punctuation have been
analyzed through a writing sample. The student is a nine year old male currently enrolled in the
third grade at Hellgate Elementary School in Missoula, Montana. This student has never had any
difficulty spelling or reading. He enjoys reading and writing adventure stories that include
humor. This writing sample is a 118 word fiction story that contains a total of 16 spelling errors,
or 13.5% incorrect. These misspelling of words are broken up into two categories: phonetic and
transitional.
Spelling Error Analysis
The student made seven errors in the phonetic spelling category. In these errors, the
student represented all the correct phonemes in the given word and represents the critical sounds
that should be found in each word. This is the idea of phonetic awareness, or a general awareness
of the sound structure of the given language (Angerilli, S., 1999). It is clear throughout that the
spelling mistakes that have been analyzed in the paragraph below, the student has a strong grasp
on phonetics and understands the sound structures of the words that were spelled incorrectly.
The student demonstrates phonetic awareness when spelled “tube” as toob and spelled
“actually” as achooly. The student exhibits the correct use of “oo” in other words in the story
such as “food” and “mushroom”. He also spelled “road” incorrectly buy using rood. Based on
the student’s previous use of “oo,” both incorrect and correct, this error does not have any kind
of justification. When the student spelled “hello” as helow, he was representing all of the
phonetic sound features of the word. The student spelled the word flew two different ways: fule
and flue. In the first instance, he did not think about how the word is spelled before writing it. In
the second, he chose the letters on the based on how they sound. The last spelling error that was
placed in the phonetic stage is the name of the character. The student only spells “Braxten”
incorrectly only in the first occurrence. He spells the proper noun Brackxten; he did not follow
the “ck” spelling rule. This rule states that “ck” is used that the end of one syllable, short vowel
words or words that end in “et” and “le” to make the hard “k” sound.
In this writing sample, the student had nine spelling errors which were placed in the
transitional spelling category. Four of these nine are spelled incorrectly twice within the writing
sample. In the transitional stage, children begin to rely on visual and morphological
representations and disregard their dependence on phonetic spelling (Hitchcock, 1989). Most of
the student’s mistakes reflect this simplification of the transitional stage. These errors reflect a
transposition of letters, vowels, and leaving out silent letters from the spelling.
The student spelled “there” as ther; he did not add the silent “e” to the end of the word
which would make the single “r” a long sound. In this sample, the student used “went” twice and
spelled them weant in both instances. The morpheme “ea” represents only long “a” sounds, long
“o” sounds, and long “u” sounds. The student did not have any particular reason to spell this
word incorrectly using “ea”. When the student used “said” and “people” in his story, he simply
transposed letters in the words, spelling them siad and pepole. The student spelled classic
without including the second “s”. In the student’s spelling of the word rail, he did not include the
“i” and added a silent “e” to the end of the word. The last mistake the student made in the
transitional category was the spelling of the word mini. The student spelled the word mine,
replacing the last “i” for an “e”.
Based on the above analysis of the spelling mistakes made by the student in this writing
sample, the student should be placed in the correct spelling category. This student is familiar
with how to use the basic spelling rules and understands the basic morphological structure of the
English language. The mistakes made in this sample can be corrected with a small amount of
instruction and practice.
Handwriting and Punctuation Analysis
In this writing example it is clear that this student has adequate handwriting skills. The
student’s writing could have been enhanced if the paper used for the sample were lined. Because
of the paper that was used each line of writing is slanted in a downward manner. There are
several handwriting mistakes that have been written over instead of erased and completely rewritten. Other than these small mistakes, the student’s handwriting and the complete writing
sample is legible.
The student’s use of punctuation is limited to capitalization, periods, and exclamation
points. The student understands that the first word of each sentence must be capitalized. The
capitalization of these words seemed to have been an afterthought. As previously mentioned, the
student wrote directly over mistakes instead of erasing them. The majority of these are the
capitalization of the first word in each sentence. It is important to see that the student caught his
mistake and corrected them in the writing sample.
The student also used exclamation points in two parts of the story during dialog.
Although these exclamation points are appropriate based on the preceding words, the student did
not use other types of required punctuation during the dialog. He should have used commas and
quotation marks to differentiate the dialog from the narrative. It is obvious that the student
understands that periods are used to end a sentence, and does this with each sentence in the
writing sample. There are numerous fragmented sentences in the sample but, based on research,
these should not be seen as lack of grammatical knowledge but, rather, as conscious choices of
the student. This research explains that it is more important that during this time period, or the
third grade, that using punctuation is a tool for understanding sentence composition and how to
appropriately use end marks (Cordeiro, 1986).
Suggestions for Further Instruction
This student is right where he should be concerning his spelling, handwriting, and
punctuation. The student is familiar with the basic spelling rules and sentence composition and it
is apparent in his writing. My suggestion would be that the student continues to practice writing
and keep a list of ten to fifteen words that are exclusive to him and learn how to spell them
properly. This list should evolve as each word has been mastered. After a few weeks of writing
practice more punctuation should be introduced into his writing. The list of words found below is
a suggested list based on the writing sample given.

people

went

knew

able

said

know

aisle

again

there

flew
Accurate spelling is a tool used to create fluent writing habits. These habits are generated
by knowing and understanding spelling rules, making and learning spelling lists that are specific
to individual students, and practicing writing through exercises and free writing. Morphology
and phonetics are an important piece of the puzzle; even the smallest parts of words must be
taught and understood to reach the final goal of accurate spelling.
Chart of Words
Phonetic Spelling
Transitional Spelling
Brackxten
toob
helow
fule
flue
rood
achooly
ther
weant
siad
pepole
pepole
rale
clasic
weant
mine
7/118 = 5.9%
9/118 = 7.6%
Correct Spelling
one
day
lived
a
man
named
he
camping
and
lost
all
his
food
to
a
bear
and
he
found
a
man
named
max
and
he
was
small
then
found
a
mushroom
then
he
ate
it
Max
Braxten
ran
home
but
saw
him
they
called
him
mushroom
man
then
he
fell
into
a
and
he
heard
a
computer
say
mushroom
man
my
name
is
Braxten
he
said
just
go
save
some
so
he
off
he
heard
a
girl
say
help
so
he
over
she
was
tied
to
a
track
then
he
said
but
saved
her
then
back
to
Max
who
is
named
name
102/118 =
86.4%
Reference Page
Angerilli, S. (1999). Teaching phonological awareness through supported invented
spelling. Simon Fraser University (Canada).ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 211-211.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304561038?accountid=14593
Cordeiro, P. A. L. (1986). Punctuation in a third grade class: An analysis of errors in period
placement (elementary education, meyer). Harvard University). ProQuest Dissertations
and Theses, 171-171. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/303406659?accountid=14593
Hitchcock, M. E. (1989). Elementary students' invented spellings at the correct stage of spelling
development. The University of Oklahoma. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses,112-112.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/303734924?accountid=14593
The Write Corner, Quotes on Spelling (2010). Retrieved from
http://thewritecorner.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/quotes-on-spelling/
Information from Research
 The first piece of researched material in this paper is the quotation that is attributed to
Oscar Wilde. It took some time to find something that I thought would work with my
introduction and found this quotation.
 The second piece of research used in this paper is the background information about
phonetic awareness. I wanted to have factual information in this portion of the paper.
 The third piece of research used is the background information about the transitional
stage. Again, I thought it was appropriate to bring in factual information about this stage
of the levels of invented spelling.
 The last piece of research that I used in this paper is the information about punctuation. I
was very interested in the reason there were so many fragmented sentences in the writing,
and this gives insight on why these are found in the writing sample and why it may be
found in others in this age period.