I have found two articles which are helping me make sense of teaching and learning spelling. I thought I'd share them, for the sake of those who are anxious about their child's spelling performance. It helps to look at the problem from other people's angles, to work out our own solutions.
Trevor Cairney's post outlines the developmental stages in spelling, along with several spelling strategies. I find it helpful to see the patterns of what is typical at different stages of development, so that I can be realistic and not create unnecessary angst. As always, his blog is a hub of useful links.
Misty Adoniou's post focuses on just one, the morphemic (meaning based), approach to teaching and learning spelling. She highlights that teaching spelling is more than testing lists.
In the very least, this reading confirms my conviction that learning skills in English is best done by spending lots of pleasant time with words, in many different forms, in the company of some more experienced English speakers.
It often feels that when we open a book with a child, the words become little creatures which behave in certain ways and which each have a story to tell.
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