I have been reading various scholarly research articles on teaching spelling, and the most recent neurological research related to the subject.
It is not at all clear which methodology is best to use - although one thing is very clear - it is necessary to formally teach English Spelling, with regular testing.
How this spelling should be taught is less clear.
There are a few methods that have been objectively researched. Which is superior?
The old fashioned list method - where students simply learn lists of words. All students learn the assigned words.
The pre-test method - where the student is tested on spelling and definitions, and then studies from their own self-generated list, only investing time on the words that need intervention.
Students will progress at vastly different rates with this method, so it is harder to implement in a whole-class teaching environment.
The comparisons involve a total of 3236 records. In so far as differences appear at all, the study-test method yields larger gains in Grade II and in low Grade III, while the test-study method produces the larger gains from high Grade III to Grade VIII, inclusive. In general the brightest classes make larger gains under the test-study plan. The dull pupils tend to do at least as well under the study-test plan as with the other one. Retention tends to show results analogous to those for learning.
Spelling in context, without lists.
Spelling using both the pre-test method, and short dictations to reinforce context and word usage.
Finally, a regime that includes the above two, and an element of free composition using the words learned.
It is not at all clear which methodology is best to use - although one thing is very clear - it is necessary to formally teach English Spelling, with regular testing.
How this spelling should be taught is less clear.
There are a few methods that have been objectively researched. Which is superior?
The old fashioned list method - where students simply learn lists of words. All students learn the assigned words.
The pre-test method - where the student is tested on spelling and definitions, and then studies from their own self-generated list, only investing time on the words that need intervention.
Students will progress at vastly different rates with this method, so it is harder to implement in a whole-class teaching environment.
The comparisons involve a total of 3236 records. In so far as differences appear at all, the study-test method yields larger gains in Grade II and in low Grade III, while the test-study method produces the larger gains from high Grade III to Grade VIII, inclusive. In general the brightest classes make larger gains under the test-study plan. The dull pupils tend to do at least as well under the study-test plan as with the other one. Retention tends to show results analogous to those for learning.
Spelling in context, without lists.
Spelling using both the pre-test method, and short dictations to reinforce context and word usage.
Finally, a regime that includes the above two, and an element of free composition using the words learned.
