Word Walls

Children need to have high frequency words displayed in some readily accessible place so that they can find them when they need them while reading and writing. Just having a Word Wall is not enough; you have to 'do' the Word Wall. Doing the Word Wall means:

1. Being selective and limiting the words to those really common words that children need a lot in writing
2. Adding words gradually - five a week
3. Practising the words by chanting and writing them, because struggling readers are not usually good visual learners and can't just look at, and remember words.
4. Doing a variety of review activities to provide enough practice so that the words are read and spelled instantly and automatically.
5. Making sure that Word Wall Words are spelled correctly in any writing students do.

Some Word Wall activities:
(See Phonics They Use by Patricia Cunningham Addison-Wesley 2000 for further details on Word Wall activities)

Write Tap and Spell

• Students number a sheet of paper with numbers one to five
• The teacher calls out five words putting each in a sentence
• As the teacher calls out each word a student finds and points to the word on the Word Wall.
• Students clap and chant the spelling of each word
  
• Students write each word - this can be tied to the handwriting program

Read My Mind
The teacher thinks of a word on the Word Wall and gives five clues to that word.
Students number their paper from one to five.

Students should write the word they think it might be next to number one. Each succeeding clue should narrow down what it can be until by clue five there is only one possible word. If succeeding clues confirm the word a student has written next to one number, the student writes that word again by the next number. Clues may include any features of the word you want students to notice.
You get five points if you guess the word on the first clue, four points on the second clue until only one point if you guess it on the last clue. For example:

1. It's one of the words on the wall
2. It has four letters
3. It begins with 'th'
4. The vowel is an 'e'
5. It finishes the sentence 'I gave my books to ....'

Wordo
Is a variation of Bingo. Students will need a grid of 9 or 25 blocks and some small blocks to cover the words.

Students pick words from the Word Wall they want to include in the game. As each word is picked students write it in one of the blank spots on their WORDO sheet.
The teacher writes each word on a separate card.
As you call out the words have the students say the spelling of each word before they cover it up. The first student to have a complete row covered up wins. This child can be the next caller and the teacher can play their WORDO sheet.

Spelling Journals and Individual Spelling Lists

 
In this grade 2/3 class the children use Spelling Journals as a way of organising their learning about words. Each week children learn five words from an ever-increasing list of words collected from their writing or reading. Words are added to the list throughout the week. At the beginning of each week the next five words listed in ;the journal become the focus.

Download an EXCEL spreadsheet of this page (24k)   The journal page provides a space for: writing words in syllables; highlighting letter patterns or features; identifying base words; and recording daily tests.
	The children are involved in a number of activities that assist them to learn the words

One of the key strategies is Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check. This is a frequently used strategy, however in order to place more emphasis on the looking aspect, the words to be learned are written on separate cards and kept in a separate zip-locked bag. Using words in this way enables the child to look at the word (take a picture, visualise in their mind) and then turn the card over before writing it from memory.

As each word is practised, students are trained to look at the 'tricky bit' - the part they find difficult to remember when writing. This part is written in a different colour to bring students’ attention to it.

This strategy aims to increase the children's 'focused looking' at words. Each day, time is allocated to learning the words and using the words in a variety of activities.

Activities include:

• Grouping words according to sound, e.g. or, oor, ore, au, aw. Or visual patterns, e.g. ea — bread, great, seam;
• Alphabetical order — grab five words and put them in alphabetical order or take five ‘s’ words and put them in order;
• Sort according to syllables, letters, prefixes, suffixes;
• Grouping words with short vowel sounds.

Words that are consistently spelled incorrectly are marked with a T for transfer. These words are written at the bottom of the Spelling Journal list to be included for further practice in weeks to come.

See also Education Department of Western Australia (1994) First Steps Spelling Resource Book, Rigby Heinemann.

Individual Spelling Lists
Similar to a Spelling Journal, an Individual Spelling List (ISL) is an alternative format for individualising spelling. An example from Grade 1/2 can be seen below. The weekly activities are included within the booklet.

Through literature

Process

Start with literature (shared book) and identify a pattern for study. Collect words (word search, visual pattern) eg. 'ment' words, drop into an envelope at base of chart, as you find them. Write collected words onto an overhead and take 'ment' off. Working with the students discuss what is left. (Sometimes it is a suffix and related by meaning; sometimes part of the base word - verb to noun) Use words in sentences to see the pattern, compose rule from own understanding (Find pattern, see how it works and then discover the rule) Children learn pattern by pattern not rule by rule.

An example of a spelling mini-lesson.
A year five/six class were reading the well-known story Alice in Wonderland

During the reading a discussion of homophones began, prompted by Alice’s confusion about the homophones in the text.
As a result the children were asked to write their own sentences to highlight homophones.

Early on, spelling can be taught within a phrase,
for example:
A piece of cake
A can of coke
A glass of milk
Add these to a chart (students can add more)

Once meaning is associated look and say the word (visual)
Chant the spelling (auditory)
Write the word (kinaesthetic)
Trace over the word (kinaesthetic)
Practise reading the phrases on the chart.

Keep the chart so that next week you add
A piece of cake for Tom

The week after you add
A piece of cake for Tom from Alice

Proofreading

The process of proofreading written text is not easy. The process requires the reader to move away from the powerful influence of the meaning of what is being read to allow careful attention to the actual letters and words on the page. Teachers expect students to proofread their work but are proofreading skills, knowledge and understanding taught? Students need to be aware of the writing process and where proofreading is placed in the process - after the draft writing has been edited for meaning.

Teachers need to model proofreading and think aloud as they do so, demonstrating how:

Students need teachers to model proofreading strategies. For example

• Use a slip of paper or a ruler to cover all but the line you are checking
• Experiment with starting at the bottom of the page and working upwards
• Read slowly, word by word
• Underline any word that needs to be checked
• Write two or more versions of a word and try to decide which one looks correct
• Sometimes exchange writing with a partner for proofreading purposes
• Teach some of the typical symbols used by editors to signal changes needed in the text

Taken from Peter Westwood 1999 Spelling - approaches to teaching and assessment ACER

Proofreading Guide Questions to ask yourself when proofreading. Spelling Have you underlined words that you think may be spelt incorrectly? Have you had a go at the standard spelling? Have you used a dictionary, a book or wall charts where you recall seeing the word? Have you asked a friend or your teacher to check your spelling? Sentences Is each sentence a complete thought? Does each sentence begin with a capital letter? Does each question (if any) end with a question mark? Do all your other sentences end with a full stop, or perhaps, an exclamation mark? Punctuation and Grammar Is your paragraphing correct? Have you used a capital letter for the names of people and places? Have you used speech marks correctly to indicate where people are talking? Is the grammar correct? Are nouns, pronouns and verbs in agreement? Circle any words that look wrong so you can check them later. Handwriting Is your writing clear and easy to read? Are your letters well formed? Taken from Bouffler C, Bean, W. Spelling: a Writer's Resource Rigby 1990

Once students have completed their proofreading, they can copy some of the underlined words from their writing onto a Have-A-Go sheet like the one below. After students have tried alternative spellings a teacher or helper can provide assistance if necessary. The last column can be cut off and used as a personal spelling list or for individual cards for spelling games.

HAVE A GO CARD		This list belongs to:
How I spelled the word in my writing	Have-A-Go	Teacher or helper writes correct words in this column

Download a copy of this card (32k)