W or d / m a p / p i ng
How to Study Spelling Words
When poor spellers begin with the written word, they often try to
memorize a spelling as if it were an arbitrary letter string. Arbitrary
strings are terribly hard to remember; think how long it takes to learn a
phone number, and then imagine trying to learn 88,500 phone numbers-the estimated number of words in printed school English. The word
mapping strategy helps students focus on the pronunciation of a word
before seeing its spelling. This helps them understand that a spelling is
a meaningful map of the pronunciation. When spellings are understood
as pronunciation maps, they are much easier to remember.
The word mapping procedure has nine steps. For five steps, the student
examines the phonological structure of the word by attending to
phonemes (mouth movements), all without seeing the word. For the
remaining four steps, the student constructs and studies the spelling as
a word map.
First, examine the mouth moves of the spoken word.
1. Say the word.
Say the syllables if there are more than one.
2. Stretch the word.
Work syllable by syllable with multi syllabic words.
If a phoneme can't be stretched, exaggerate it.
3. Segment (split up) the phonemes.
Work by syllables if necessary.
First phoneme?
Next phoneme? etc.
Last phoneme?
Skillful spellers may simply report the segments.
Example
night
/nnnIIIt/
/n/
/I/
/t/
4. Count the phonemes.
3
5. Draw blanks.
The blanks stand for the phonemes.
Put slashes between syllables.
__ ___ __
Next, construct a word map to learn the spelling.
6. Record the spelling phoneme by phoneme.
On the first blank, write [letters]
On next blank, write [letters]
On last blank, write [letters]
If there are silent letters, caret them in.
n ___ __
n igh __
n igh t
7. Write the word in your best cursive or print handwriting.
night
night
8. Study the spelling.
Ask what a pattern says OR what does igh say?
Ask about how a phoneme is spelled OR how do we spell /I/ in night?
Ask what we need to remember about the word. What's tricky about
night?
Only ask about tricky parts.
9. Give the meaning.
What does ___ mean? When it's dark out.
A shortcut version of word mapping:
1. Say
2. Stretch
3. Split up
4. Count
5. Draw blanks
6. Record
7. Write
8. Study
9. Give meaning
Spelling in Tutorial Lessons
Some students are too advanced for the letterbox lesson because they
have mastered most regular vowel correspondences in one-syllable
words. The words these students are having trouble reading are
irregular, polysyllabic, or both. When students have moved beyond the
letterbox lesson, we can work on more subtle spelling patterns with
word mapping lessons.
The first step in constructing a word mapping lesson is to examine
reading miscues; these involve spelling weaknesses serious enough to
impede reading. Consider misspelled words in written messages, but
give priority to misread irregular or polysyllabic words. Identify one
missing pattern to address in a spelling lesson, e.g., c (e, i, or y) = /s/, or
the common syllable tion.
Make a list of 3-12 example words and nonexample words, including
irregular and polysyllabic words and review words from previous
lessons. Put the words in syllable order, e.g., once, crumb, trunk, balance,
circus, and ambulance. Provide the dictionary syllabication and
phoneme counts, e.g., bal-ance, 3-3; cir-cus, 2-3; am-bu-lance, 2-2-4.
Explain and model how to spell an example word, using the nine steps.
With multisyllabic words, use the dictionary syllables, e.g. for diligence,
dil-i-gence.
If the student is catching on, look for shortcuts in the nine-step
procedure. After the student orally syllabicates a word and counts the
syllables, work by syllable. Have the student stretch each syllable,
count its phonemes, draw blanks, and make a slash to prepare the way
for the next syllable. After the blanks are drawn, provide the standard
spelling for the student to record blank by blank. Do not expect the
student to invent the standard spelling, which often involves
irregularities and ambiguities. Next, have the student recopy the word
“in your best cursive handwriting,” and then study the tricky parts.
Make sure the student understands what the word means.
After all the words are processed, give a written spelling test. Include
examples of the spelling pattern not covered in the lesson. For example,
students who have studied yield should be able to spell yield or shield.
Students who have studied fiction should be able to spell faction or
fraction. Conclude the lesson by having the student read the list of
spelling words. Words represented with good spellings in memory can
be read fluently.
Activities for Spelling “Groups”
Cooperative learning groups study the words together. Teams should
be as balanced as possible in spelling ability; each team should have a
mix of good spellers and struggling spellers. Plan a reward for teams
that average above 90% on the weekly test. The reward could be
something as simple as 10 minutes free time or the right to choose a
learning game. Avoid cutthroat competition by setting up a situation in
which every team can win the reward. Team success must depend on
each member's score, so that one low score can drag down the team
average. To succeed with individual accountability, team members
must help one another learn spellings. On Tuesday, students within
teams pair up to study the words. Each partner takes turns being the
leader, following through the steps for word study. After the student
pairs have practiced each of the words, the group takes a practice test,
with one member giving the words to the team. The study pairs then
break up to study each word either partner has missed on the practice
test. For each missed word, the partners go through the steps again..