Let’s talk about spelling! As parents, we’re always helping our children with spelling! Whether it’s sounding out words during homework or correcting tricky spellings when they’re writing a birthday card, spelling is such an important part of your child’s learning journey. So let’s take a look at how spelling is taught!

At Sacred Heart, we use a teaching approach called explicit teaching and the gradual release of responsibility model. This framework is often referred to as "I do, we do, you do". This means:

• I do: The teacher explicitly models the new skill or concept. We explain exactly what we're learning, why it's important, and how it works, often thinking aloud to show our process.
• We do: Students then practice the skill with teacher guidance and support, often in pairs or small groups. This is a crucial step where we check for understanding and provide immediate feedback.
• You do: Finally, students are given opportunities to independently apply their new knowledge in their own writing and activities.

This structured approach ensures that students have a strong foundation before being asked to work on their own, building confidence and competence.

Spelling in K-2: Building the Foundation

In the early years (Kindergarten to Year 2), our focus is on foundational literacy skills. This includes phonological awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words) and phonics (the relationship between letters and sounds).

The K-2 spelling outcomes are heavily focused on decoding and encoding words. This means:

• Decoding: Learning to sound out and read words.
• Encoding: Learning to spell words by representing sounds with letters.

Students learn about the sounds (phonemes) and the letters or letter combinations (graphemes) that represent them. We teach this in a systematic and cumulative way, starting with the simplest sounds and patterns and gradually introducing more complex ones. The goal is to build a strong mental map of how sounds and letters connect, which is essential for both reading and writing.

Here’s a simple example of phonemes (the individual sounds in a word) and graphemes (the letters or groups of letters that represent those sounds): In the word "spoon" the Phonemes are: /s/ /p/ /oo/ /n/ (four distinct sounds). The Grapheme "s" represents the /s/ sound, "p" represents the /p/ sound, "double o" represents the /oo/ sound and "n" represents the /n/ sound.  Each phoneme (sound) is represented by a grapheme (letter or letter group) in the word. There are 5 letters in the word spoon.

Spelling in 3-6: Moving Beyond the Basics

In Years 3-6, students build on their K-2 foundation and move to more complex spelling strategies. While phonics remains important, the focus shifts to a deeper understanding of the English language. The NESA syllabus organises spelling outcomes into three key content groups:

Phonological: This group focuses on the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and the letters or letter patterns (graphemes) that represent them. Students deepen their understanding of how to spell single-syllable and multisyllabic words by applying their knowledge of sound-letter correspondences. This includes learning about vowel digraphs (e.g., ai, ea) and consonant digraphs (e.g., sh, ch) as well as tricky or irregular spellings.

Orthographic: This content group is all about the visual patterns of spelling. It involves learning about silent letters, double consonants, and other visual conventions of English spelling. Students also learn about the role of punctuation, such as apostrophes for possession, in spelling. This is where students develop a "spelling eye" by noticing and remembering common and irregular letter patterns.

Morphological: This is the study of word parts. Students learn how to spell by understanding the structure of words and how they are built from smaller units of meaning (morphemes). This includes:

• Prefixes: Word parts added to the beginning of a word (e.g., un- in unhappy).
• Suffixes: Word parts added to the end of a word (e.g., -ing in running).
• Root words: The base part of a word that carries the main meaning (e.g., rupt in disrupt).

Understanding morphology helps students spell unfamiliar words by breaking them down into familiar parts and also expands their vocabulary by showing how word parts can change meaning. This knowledge is crucial for spelling more complex words.

The achievement expectations also increase. While K-2 students are expected to spell common and some irregular words, students in Years 3-6 are expected to use a wider range of strategies to spell both familiar and unfamiliar words accurately and fluently in their writing.

By progressing from foundational phonics to a more comprehensive understanding of word structure and origin, the NESA syllabus ensures that our students are not just memorising words but are truly becoming skilled and confident spellers.

Supporting Spelling at Home

Parents can play a big role in helping their children become confident spellers with a few fun, an supportive activities at home. Start simply by encouraging regular reading, having fun with word games, or even discussing new words they come across. Games like Scrabble, Boggle, or even simple crossword puzzles are fantastic family fun… and involve spelling!

There are plenty of apps and websites designed to make spelling practice engaging for children. Look for interactive spelling games or activities that reinforce phonics, word families, or tricky words for K-2 students and for 3-6 students, you can search for spelling apps or websites that include challenging word lists, vocabulary building, and more complex phonics and grammar patterns. Always enjoy the learning journey with your child!                    

Kind regards,