Adolescents: How Can We Help Them Spell?

Spelling is only beneficial when it is connected to reading and writing. Upper elementary and middle grade students have a tremendous need to be heard, and teachers should focus on spelling for the power it holds in communication--people spell to communicate more effectively in writing. To teach spelling separate and apart from writing and reading makes no sense and in reality is an effort in futility. It has no meaning to young writers and readers. Spelling instruction in the upper elementary and middle grades should focus on how to use words to make writing more powerful for an audience. Adolescents must come to understand the purpose for which they write and whom they are writing to. The following activities will be useful as teachers focus adolescent writers on the use and power of words to enhance writing: Unusual Words We Know; Frequently Misspelled Words; Weekly/Daily Edits; Spelling Notebooks; Word Search; Crosswords; Word Finals; Derivational Webs; and Visual Imagery. Children go through developmental stages as they spell, and the more they read and write for authentic purposes, the quicker they move through these stages with a better understanding of letters and sounds and words. (NKA)