SPELLING
Just ask anybody…adults, both educated and uneducated will frequently
bemoan the fact that they…”have never been a good speller.” Obviously, there must
be some grain of truth and some germ of reason in such a widespread feeling among
native English speakers. The reason is two fold (or rather, one basic reason with
numerous tendrils branching from that hydra.) For good and bad, the best aspects and
the worst aspects of the language result from the fact that English derives its
vocabulary and its “non-rules” from a variety of incompatible or barely compatible
sources.
CHALLENGES:
First and foremost, English, with its approximately 35% Anglo-Saxon
based common language and its concomitant Germanic based sentence structure and
grammar, functions under one set of original language premises. Unfortunately, the
overlay of perhaps 45% to 55% Latin-based words via the Norman/Old French
imports from 1066+ complicated matters considerably. The result is that English has
no coherent pattern for either the spelling or the pronunciation or the descriptive
grammar of the language. The very source of the language’s variety and richness of
expression is also the source of the difficulties in formal study of the language.
Learning to spell words they way they sound can be a very dicey
proposition. The very phonics lessons which children learn may act as an impediment
to their learning to spell, especially if they come from a dialectically rich area, where
regional pronunciations are both inventive and wildly divergent. (In areas with a great
variety of pronunciations, even the best phonetic spellers make a mess of things:
wimmen, hungry, mabe, pin (as in “ink pin”), oncle, hafta, otta, and on and on…)
PRELIMINARY REMEDIAL STEPS:
All students of a rational age deserve to understand that paradoxical
problem. More frequently than not, sharing that concept with the students relieves
them of a major burden of feeling stupid. Work hard at getting rid of that feeling
before attempting to approach solutions to their spelling problems. These spelling
victims will no longer view themselves as being incredibly stupid and hopeless…a
major impediment to their efficient learning of spelling. Disabuse them of the idea
that spelling is “easy” or that they ought to go out and eat worms because they can’t
spell!
Once they have digested that idea, proceed to the first corollary. Even
though they will never be marvelous spellers, they must learn a basic vocabulary of
words which they can spell automatically without second guessing. Students must
understand that they cannot afford the time to check every word they write in a
speller or a dictionary. Therefore, they must employ means to make this really hard
job achievable…and they can.
Research with stroke victims has shed a great deal of light on “learning
style” as a specific of the mind’s processes, and this “learning style” may have a lot to
do with spelling problems. Some students are visual, some are primarily aural, some
(about 10%) are kinesthetic (muscle memory) learners. While some extreme learning
disabled students can be helped through primarily one technique or another, usually a
combination of approaches works best. When you teach spelling, try to accommodate
all of these learning appeals.
TECHNIQUE IN MASTERY OF BASIC SPELLING VOCABULARY:
Since many of our written communicati0ns utilize small basic
vocabularies rife with spelling vagaries, mastery of lists of “Spelling Demons” can,
relatively speaking, produce quick results which will encourage the students who
struggle and at the same time, “clean up” a surprising number of errors in written
language. Thus a study of these lists can be a very satisfactory “first thrust” in the
duel with illiteracy.
 Pretest over the word list or portions of it before
beginning the remediation session.
 Present the students with mastery lists broken down into
do-able groups of 5 to 10 words each. (Leave lots of white
space around each printed word so that the student can
make lots of notes.)
 Go over each word; pronounce it carefully, using American
stage speech enunciation. Make sure the students listen to
the pronunciation. Repeat it several times. Have students
simultaneously look at the word as they pronounce it with
you.
 Examine the word for anomalous spelling (double
consonants), silent vowels and consonants, etc.) Have
students mark the trouble spots in the words.
 Have students write the word correctly at least 5 times,
concentrating and spelling the word, letter by letter as they
do.
Although this process seems unwieldy and time consuming, it really
doesn’t take very long, and it will produce results rapidly. After two or three days of
time for the students to do a daily review (perhaps as a bell activity), give the students
a spelling quiz. (Be sure to pronounce each word clearly and use it in a sentence to
make sure the students hear the word in context.) Immediately correct the quiz , again
pronouncing the word correctly before spelling it.
 Require students to actually analyze their mistakes: Which
words did they miss? Why did they miss? What kinds of
errors did they make?
 Require students to keep a list of personal demons. Have
students write the correct version of each of these words
10 times (on the same day as they analyze the problems.)
 Allow students to challenge their personal demons with
you for grade credit at sometime prior to the presentation
of the next group of words.
In addition to analysis of the hurdles the spelling demons, repetition is
the name of the game. The students must hear the word pronounced correctly a
number of times. They must see the word correctly spelled often. They must write
the word correctly over and over.
MNEMONIC DEVICES
Rhymes and diagrams are good mnemonic devices for remembering
spelling words. (There is “a rat” in separate; stationery and paper both have an “er”;
dessert is “sweet stuff”; lice (believe)/ lice (receive); the list is endless, and/or make
up your own….even better, have students make some up.)
SPELLING RULES
Although, tongue-in-cheek, many students of the English language
acknowledge that it is “unruly,” irregular, and unpredictable, there are some “spelling
rules” which have application a great percentage of the time. In addition to mastery of
the basic “spelling demons,” students should become conversant with the basic rules
governing the spelling of the majority of English words. Even while acknowledging
exceptions to the rules, the teacher should present these rules. (For example, knowing
that one never doubles the initial consonant when adding a prefix will assist many
students in preventing many spelling errors. The same is true for rules concerning
doubling letters, dropping the final “e”, and forming plurals.)
 Wherever possible, try to phrase the rule to make it as
inclusive as possible. (For example: “Hear has an ear in it
for the sense of sound perception; any other time it is
spelled “here.” )
 Do not burden students with rules which cover so few
words that learning them becomes an exercise in
diminishing returns.
 At the high school level, you generally are attempting to
help the “poor spellers”. The “good spellers” have usually
already been established by middle school and, for the most
part, they can take care of themselves by 9th grade
HANDBOOK OF SPELLING RULES
You can find exercises to help students with each of these, or, God forbid, you can
make your own!
1. i-e/e-i rule: In order to maintain the “s” sound of an internal “c”, it must be
followed by an “e”…Don’t ask why, just learn it.
I BEFORE E, EXCEPT AFTER C, WHEN THE SOUND IS LIKE “E”.
Examples: Believe, Receive, Achieve, Siege, etc. (Seize is an exception.)
Visual learners may do best with “Believe is “li” as in LIce; RECEIVE
is “ce” as liCE.
2. e-i/i-e rule: E BEFORE I WHEN SOUNDED AS “A” AS IN NEIGHOR OR
WEIGH.
Examples: Sleigh, Neigh
3. Plurals: Words which end in “a consonant plus y”, change the “y” to “I” and
add “es”. Words which end in a vowel plus a y merely add “s”.
“CONSONANT Y” CHANGES TO “I” (AND ADDS “ES”)
“VOWEL Y” STANDS BY (AND ADDS “S”).
Examples: Company/companies
Baby/babies
History/histories
Dolly/dollies
Folly/follies
Country/countries
Query/queries
Key/keys
Monkey/monkeys
Journey/journeys
Honey/honeys
4. Plurals: Words ending in “o” preceded by vowel add “s”
Italian words (such as musical terms) frequently add only an s.
Examples: Radio/radios
Rodeo/rodeos
Piano/pianos
Libretto/librettos
lto/altos
soprano/sopranos
5. Plurals: Words ending in “o” preceded by a consonant usually
add “es”. Examples:
volcano/volcanoes
hero/heroes
mosquito/mosquitoes
6. Plurals: By far the majority of words add an “s” to form the plural. The
only words which add an “es” are those which are almost impossible to say
because of the ending consonant: s, z, ch, sh, or x ending words, for example.
glass/glasses
bus/busses
grass/grasses
fox/foxes;
church/churches
clutch/clutches
7. Plurals: Some words have plurals which form as they did in their
original language and, hence, do not follow a specific. Examples:
child/children
woman/women
trout/trout
fish/fish
sheep/sheep
deer/deer
ox/oxen
goose/geese
*These words have two plurals. When you mean many examples of one
variety, or where variety is of no consequence, the plural forms as given. If
differences in varieties is intended or emphasized, the plurals form by adding an
“s”.
8. Adding Prefixes: A prefix is a sound or a group of sounds added
to the beginning of the word to alter the meaning of the root
word. When adding a prefix, DO NOT change it in any way. Do
Not Double any letter. Examples
spell/misspell
necessary/unnecessary
appear/disappear
appoint/disappoint
9. Adding Suffixes: To words ending in e, drop the final e for
suffixes beginning with a vowel.*Examples:
treasure/treasured
seize/seizure
blaze/blazing
*There are a few exceptions: Words ending in “ce” or “ge” usually keep the final
“e” in order to maintain the integrity of the “c’ or “g” sound. Examples:
outrage/outrageous
service/serviceable
bridge/bridgeable
10. Adding suffixes: Keep the final “e” for suffixes beginning with a
consonant.*Examples:
passage/passageway
safe/safety
*There are two exceptions:
argue/argument
judge/judgment
11.Adding suffixes to words of one syllable: When adding a suffix to words ending
in a single consonant (vc), double the consonant. Examples:
run/runner
sit/sitting
wet/wettest
jog/jogging
When adding a suffix to a one-syllable word ending in two vowels before the
consonant (vcc), Do Not Double the final consonant. Examples:
keep/keeper
veil/veiled
feed/feeding
12.Adding “ly” or “ness”: Do Not Change the root. Add the suffix.* Examples:
love/lovely
great/greatly
kind/kindness
Exceptions:
true/truly
due/duly
Adding “ly” or “ness” to words ending in “y”: Change the “y” to
“i” before adding the suffix. Examples:
tardy/tardily
happy/happily
lovely/loveliness
easy/easiness
busy/business
SPELLING LIST (76)
1. a lot
2. already
21. passed (go
41. woman
by)
22. past (bygone) 42. writing
61. hers
62. ours
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
always
among
around
before
beginning
23. perhaps
43. your
24. really
44. you're
25. studying
45. anybody
26. supposed
46. everybody
27. surely
47. nobody
28. than
8. becoming
48. somebody
(compare)
9. half
29. then (when)
49. anyone
10. have
30. their (own)
50. everyone
11. hear (ear)
31. there (here)
51. no one
12. here ( there) 32. too (more)
52. someone
13. its (own)
33. two (pair)
53. anywhere
14. it's (it is)
34. to (all others) 54. everywhere
15. laid (placed) 35. together
55. nowhere
16. led
36. used
56. somewhere
17. losing
37. whose (own) 57. written
18. meant
38. who's (who is) 58. forever
19. nevertheless 39. today
59. whenever
20. paid
40. tomorrow
60. wherever
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
theirs
yours
herself
himself
itself
68. myself
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
ourselves
themselves
yourself
yourselves
know
known
no
now