Importance of Spelling
As beginning teachers it is important that we understand what spelling entails and why it is so integral that children feel like they are successful in their spelling. “Spelling is important, and children need to learn how to spell so that their writing can be read by other people” (Hill, 2012, p.300). But spelling is complex, many children have a very hard time when it comes to understanding spelling rules and norms. There are a number of developmental stages to be achieved when learning how to spell, and the sequence of these stages vary from student to student, some have very early success through these developmental stages, while others take a long time to work through them.
Winch et al. (2013) describes these stages as;
- The Pre-Communicative Stage, where letters and symbols are randomly strung together.
- The Pre-Phonetic Stage, in which the alphabet sounds are recognisable and there is some sounding out taking place.
- The Phonetic Stage, where the child can sound out single syllable words.
- The Transitional Stage, where they child correctly spells meaningful morphemes; and
- The Correct Spelling Stage, in which the child can spell most words that they come across.
Student will work through these stages in their own time. It is important that as beginning teachers we support and nurture this development.
Winch et al. (2013) describes these stages as;
- The Pre-Communicative Stage, where letters and symbols are randomly strung together.
- The Pre-Phonetic Stage, in which the alphabet sounds are recognisable and there is some sounding out taking place.
- The Phonetic Stage, where the child can sound out single syllable words.
- The Transitional Stage, where they child correctly spells meaningful morphemes; and
- The Correct Spelling Stage, in which the child can spell most words that they come across.
Student will work through these stages in their own time. It is important that as beginning teachers we support and nurture this development.