WORD STUDY: LOOK, SAY, TRACE, COVER, WRITE, CHECK
Oh, the great debate on learning to spell! Here is what we know: memorization alone by writing the word repeatedly is not the answer. We have come along way from the days of spelling tests and spelling bees to the advantage of all our learners. One thing we do know is that words are tricky and, while it is important for students to learn to spell, we must do better. As educators, we need to change our thinking and teach our students strategies to learn to spell words.
Miriam Trehearne is a bestselling author and has written several teacher’s resource books for Grades K-5. In her Grades 1-2 Teacher’s Resource Book, Miriam shares the importance of supporting students in what they know about a particular word, identifying what is tricky about the word and a strategy to help support the students in remembering the word.
Miriam, suggests that guiding students when asked, “Teacher, how do you spell….” with questions such as, “Show me what you know about the word,” or asking “How does it start,” encourages students to practice effective spelling strategies and allows teachers to coach their students to use the spelling prompts they have learned as they attempt to write the word.
Here is a great visual that Miriam provides in the teaching resource on page 226 that you can provide for your students to support them in their spelling:
