I wrote a blog post about my thoughts on spelling many years ago. It was 2013 and I was teaching a grade 5/6 class. I never published the blog because I felt like it was too short and wasn't quite finished. And so it sat in my drafts for 5 years. I think it is time to push publish. I didn't add anything. I left it the way it was, so it is still short and maybe not quite finished...but as I tell my students, sometimes done is better than perfect. So, here it is. What do you think about spelling programs?
From 2013:
Spelling. I am getting tired of teaching spelling…I have tried it the old fashioned Steck Vaughn way with lists of words and worksheets, I have also tried the newer Words Their Way program where words are sorted by patterns and students make lists and organize words by patterns…I am bored by both. And If I am bored I can only imagine that my students are bored too…like really bored. So the other day I said that if you don’t want to do spelling sentences for homework this week, then you don’t have to, they look at me wide-eyed and hopeful. Instead, I said, you can cook. Cook something for your family and show my some evidence of it by Friday…you can journal about it and have your parent sign it or you can take pictures of yourself cooking...make a movie…whatever you want. And if you don’t want to cook, then thats ok too, you can still do spelling sentences. The next day I was surprised by how many students brought their cameras and tablets into school to show my their photo and video evidence, as well as a few written paragraphs about what they cooked. My heart warmed. They were spending time with their families, having a good time in the kitchen, learning how to cook and using their oral language skills to have real conversations. I can't help but think this is more authentic and more meaningful learning than the spelling we were doing before. I love it. And I am going to have figure out another way to teach spelling/vocabulary. Perhaps. Or maybe not. Maybe it doesn't need to be a separate program. Do you teach spelling? If so, how do you do it? I would love to hear from other elementary teachers about this!
Spelling. I am getting tired of teaching spelling…I have tried it the old fashioned Steck Vaughn way with lists of words and worksheets, I have also tried the newer Words Their Way program where words are sorted by patterns and students make lists and organize words by patterns…I am bored by both. And If I am bored I can only imagine that my students are bored too…like really bored. So the other day I said that if you don’t want to do spelling sentences for homework this week, then you don’t have to, they look at me wide-eyed and hopeful. Instead, I said, you can cook. Cook something for your family and show my some evidence of it by Friday…you can journal about it and have your parent sign it or you can take pictures of yourself cooking...make a movie…whatever you want. And if you don’t want to cook, then thats ok too, you can still do spelling sentences. The next day I was surprised by how many students brought their cameras and tablets into school to show my their photo and video evidence, as well as a few written paragraphs about what they cooked. My heart warmed. They were spending time with their families, having a good time in the kitchen, learning how to cook and using their oral language skills to have real conversations. I can't help but think this is more authentic and more meaningful learning than the spelling we were doing before. I love it. And I am going to have figure out another way to teach spelling/vocabulary. Perhaps. Or maybe not. Maybe it doesn't need to be a separate program. Do you teach spelling? If so, how do you do it? I would love to hear from other elementary teachers about this!
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