Teaching spelling so
that it sticks
Julie Mennel
Developmental Levels of Spellers
1. Emergent Stage: PK-beginning of 1st
a. What the kids are doing:
i. Scribbles letters
ii. No letter-sound relationships
b. What to do to develop spelling:
i. Do concept sorts
ii. Sort pictures by beginning and ending sounds
iii. Encourage invented spelling
iv. Do activities to develop phonological awareness
2. Letter-Name Alphabetic Stage
a. Early: Grades 1-2
i. What the kids are doing:
1. Use letters to spell words
2. Does not use silent e for long vowel words
ii. What to do to develop spelling:
1. Sort pictures and words by beginning sounds
2. Study word families with a common vowel
3. Study words with beginning consonant blends
and digraphs
b. Middle-Late
i. What the kids are doing
1. Correctly spells beginning and ending
consonant sounds and some blends and
digraphs
2. Uses letter names for vowel sounds
3. Spells phonetically omitting silent letters
ii. What to do to develop spelling:
1. Sort pictures and words by short vowel word
families
2. Sort pictures and words by short vowel sounds
3. Sort pictures and words comparing long and
short vowel sounds
4. Study consonant blends and digraphs at the end
of words
3. Within Word Stage: Grades 2-4
a. What the kids are doing:
i. Spells short vowel words correctly
ii. Spells most beginning consonant digraphs and
consonant blends
iii. Attempts spelling long vowel words using silent e
b. What to do to develop spelling:
i. Sort words by long- and short-vowel sounds and long
vowel patterns (ai/ay)
ii. Compare words with bossy r
iii. Explore other vowels (oi/oy, ow/ou, au/aw)
iv. Look at homographs and homophones
4. Syllables and Affixes: Grades 3-8
a. What the kids are doing:
i. Spells most vowel patterns in a single syllable words
ii. Makes errors at syllable juncture (ing/ed/or/ar/er)
and/or multisyllabic words
b. What to do to develop spelling:
i. Plural endings
ii. Compound words
iii. Consonant doubling and inflectional endings
iv. Open and closed syllables
v. Homophones and homographs
vi. Join spelling and vocabulary studies
vii. Prefixes and suffixes
5. Derivational Relations Stage: Grade 5+
a. What the kids are doing:
i. Makes errors in multisyllabic words
b. What to do to develop spelling:
i. Join spelling and vocabulary studies
ii. Study roots, prefixes, and suffixes
iii. Study Latin and Greek word roots and stems
Word Sorts- How to:
1. Read the words. (Make sure you can read all the words and know
what they are.)
2. Reread the words. Look or listen for a pattern
3. Sort the words by the patterns.
4. Explain why you sorted the words the way you did and explain
generalizations.
Weekly Activities:
1. Week 1- Primary
 Monday: Small group sort
 Tuesday: Small group sort (same “rules” different words)
 Wednesday: Partner sort
 Thursday: Partner/Individual sort
 Friday: Game
2.





Week 2- Primary
Monday: Partner Sort
Tuesday: Individual Sort
Wednesday: Word Hunt
Thursday: If I can spell…, then I can spell…
Friday: Assessment
3.





Week 1- Upper Elementary
Monday: Small group sort
Tuesday: Small group sort (same “rules” different words)
Wednesday: Partner sort
Thursday: Partner/Individual sort
Friday: Share vocabulary words
4.





Week 2- Upper Elementary
Monday: Partner sort
Tuesday: Individual Sort
Wednesday: I give pattern or generalization, they give words
Thursday: White board practice
Friday: Assessment
Bibliography:
Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S. and Johnston, F. (2008). Words
their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction.
Columbus: Pearson.
Beers, K. (2003). When kids can’t read: what teachers can do.
Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Ellery, V. (2005). Creating strategic readers: Techniques for developing
competency in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension. Bradenton: International Reading Association, Inc.