Individualized Spelling


		Individualized Spelling
	Rationale: Typically, spelling is a matter of memorizing how to spell words; in some cases, if one is lucky, it also includes using the words in a sentence and maybe even some exercise or quiz in which the definition is memorized. Research regarding pure memorization indicates that it is much more difficult to retrieve information that is not tucked away into some reasonable shema where it can be retrieved at a later date. Consider how many tests you have taken, in which you memorized the required information, only to forget it within a couple of days. In addition to these problems related to typical spelling instruction, the words are generally taught in isolation, without any ties to any other curriculum or to the "real world" in which the students live. In classes where this program have been used, the writing level of students (using the 6 traits method of assessment) has increased at least two years and as much as four years in its grade level complexity. Who and where can this program be used? An inidvidualized spelling program can be used in any classroom where spelling is a justifiable part of the curriculum. It works in the self-contained elementary classroom or in the specific content area classroom. The only requirement is that the teacher is willing to help students understand the relationship of the spelling words to the "real world" and other parts of the curriculum. PREPARE FOR THE YEAR'S SPELLING Step One: Create the Master Spelling List for the Year Use all of the sources for words available to your class. In the self-contained classroom, the words come from the spelling curriculum, all of the textbooks used in the class, the trade books that will be used to teach during the year and the state core curricula for subjects that have no text (i. e., art, drama, music, etc.) In the content area classroom, the words for the list come from the text, any trade books that might be used to enhance the instruction, and the state core curriculum. Tip for managing the list: As the list is created, make it in a spread sheet or table in a 3 column format. The first column contains the words, the second tells where they came from. The third column, should give the approximate week or month the word will be used in the curriculum. Keep it simple; for example, a word from Chapter 2 of the Math text might carry the designation of Math2; while a word from the state core curriculum in Math might be designated MathCore1.3. Doing this will assist the teacher later when lists need to be sorted to remove duplicates or resorted to create weekly tests. Save this list in its entirety as the Master List. Then using the save as command, resave the list as a Working List. Now you have two different lists. Step Two: Remove Duplicate Words from the Spelling List Using the Working List, sort the alphabetically by the word. Go through the newly sorted list, and remove the duplicates changing the information in the second column to reflect all of the places the word is used during the year. Go through the new list and remove any words that you think might not really belong, and add any words that seem to be missing. Step Three: Test the students on the entire list (this is the pre-assessment) Divide the list into groups of 10-25 words (a maximum of 20 groups). Write a short fiction or non-fiction paragraph for each group of words. Create an overhead or computer generated page (if you have the ability to project one large enough for students to read). The words in the paragraph/story the students should know should be written in black, the spelling words in blue, and any words that are beyond the expected knowledge of the students should be written in green. Click here to view a sample paragraph. Test the students on each of the paragraphs by means of dictation. You should try to test all of your paragraphs in the first two weeks of the school year--this may mean doing two per day. Have students correct each others papers by looking at the overhead/projection you have created. They should circle misspelled words based on the color of the word on your "master paragraph" using the following scheme: Circle misspelled words printed with black ink on the master in black, words printed in blue ink in blue, and correcting students should write the correct spelling of misspelled words printed in green on the "Master Paragraph" in green ink above the word. Click here to view a sample of a corrected paper. You will have to train the students to do this the first day or two. At this point, the only words in the paragraph that are critical are the blue spelling words, correcting the black and green words is a matter of practice for the students. Call out the spelling words and record the number of students that miss each word. Remove any words that all students spell correctly from the list. If the list is 300 words or less, go directly to step four. Otherwise, note how many more words need to be removed to create a list of no more than 300 words. Work from the list removing words that are misspelled the least from the list, at the same time asking students who misspelled these words to add them to their individual extra word spelling list in their individual spelling notebooks. Step Four: Finalize the Spelling List for the Year Resort the spelling list by the approximate date the words will appear in the curriculum. Divide this list into 30 groups of words--each group will have a maximum of 10 words, but could have less if the final list is less than 300 words. THE WEEKLY SPELLING PROGRAM Step One: Preparation Prior to Monday, create a paragraph using the week's words. Create a weekly "Paragraph Master" as in Step Three above in the PREPARE FOR THE YEAR'S SPELLING section. Step Two - Monday: Pretest the Students on the Week's Words Test the students on the paragraph by means of dictation. Have "spelling buddies" check each other's paragraphs using the weekly "Paragraph Master" and marking the words using the same scheme as in Step Three above. Step Three - Monday: Have Students Create their individual Spelling Lists (of 10 words) for the Week. The list is formed by: Add mispelled spelling words (blue words) from the "Master Paragraph." Add mispelled known words (black words) from the "Master Paragraph." If there are more black words than needed to reach ten words for the week, the extras are added to the student's individual extra word spelling list for future use. If the list is not yet ten words, add words from the individual extra spelling list to finish the ten word list. If there are no words left in the individual extra spelling list, the student may choose any words they want to learn to spell from anywhere they wish, including the "green words" from the paragraph, thus creating a ten word list. Step Four - Tuesday: Students Create Individual Test Paragraphs for Friday's Final Assessment. Place students in groups or pairs. Using the writing process, have students write their own personal test paragraphs for Friday, using their own list. Use peer editing, thus engaging in writing practice to facilitate work. Written work can be fiction, non-fiction, very short stories, poetry, etc. Have students create the test master paragraph by writing them using the color scheme as given above. Step Five - Wednesday and Thursday: Practice Provide ample opportunity to use the weeks words in various activities; i. e., journal writing, short writing assignments in content areas, letters, poetry, etc. (at least three or four opportunities). Step Six - Friday: Test the Students on their Individual Lists Test the students on each of the paragraphs by means of dictation using spelling buddies to administer the weekly, individual "master paragraph." Have spelling buddies correct the paragraphs using the above correction color scheme. Have students add misspelled spelling words (blue) and misspelled known words (black) to their individual extra spelling lists. (It is possible the words are already there. Also, have students remove any correctly spelled words from their individual extra spelling lists. Note: Most individual extra spelling lists become very short or even non-existant early in the year. SAMPLE PARAGRAPHS Spelling Words for Sample Master Paragraph: division divisor dividend quotient ratio Master Paragraph: The process of finding out how many groups of similar objects of one size are contained in a specific group of similar objects is called division. The total number of objects is the dividend. The number indicating the size of the groups into which the total group is divided is the divisor; and the answer, or number of groups contained in the total group is called the quotient. Sometimes the problem is written as a ratio with the total number of objects on the top and the size of the of the groups being created on the bottom. Sometimes, if the original group cannot be separated into even groups, the number left over is called the remainder. Note: Paragraphs should be shorter than this example if possible, but they must be as authentic and sensible as possible. Corrected Paragraph (colored, bold words would actually be circled, rather than colored): The process of findng out how many groups of similar objets of one size are contained in a specific group of similar objects is called divisin. The total number of objects is the dividend. The number indicating the size of the groups into which the total group is divided is the divisor; and the answer, or number of groups contained in the total group is called the quotient. Somtimes the problem is written as a ratio with the total number of objects on the top and the size of the of the groups being created on the bottom. Sometimes, if the original group cannot be separated into even groups, the number left over is called the remander. In this case, finding, objects, and division are added to the individual extra spelling list, and remainder may be added if the student desires. Spelling Lists (use the browser's back button to return to this page) Full Second Grade List 2nd grade Arts List 2nd grade Science List 2nd grade Math List 2nd grade Social Studies List 2nd grade Reading/Literature List 2nd grade Language Arts/Writing List Full Third Grade List 3rd grade Arts List 3rd grade Science List 3rd grade Math List 3rd grade Social Studies List 3rd grade Reading/Literature List 3rd grade Language Arts/Writing List Full Fourth Grade List 4th grade Arts List 4th grade Science List 4th grade Math List 4th grade Social Studies List 4th grade Reading/Literature List 4th grade Language Arts/Writing List Full Fifth Grade List 5th grade Arts List 5th grade Science List 5th grade Math List 5th grade Social Studies List 5th grade Reading/Literature List 5th grade Language Arts/Writing List Full Sixth Grade List 6th grade Arts List 6th grade Science List 6th grade Math List 6th grade Social Studies List 6th grade Reading/Literature List 6th grade Language Arts/Writing List Full Seventh Grade Core List 7th grade Arts List 7th grade Science List 7th grade Math List 7th grade Social Studies List 7th grade Reading/Literature List 7th grade Language Arts/Writing List Full Eight Grade Core List 8th grade Arts List 8th grade Science List 8th grade Math List 8th grade Social Studies List 8th grade Reading/Literature List 8th grade Language Arts/Writing List