Young writers need freedom to invent spellings, fostering confidence and phonological awareness. As they progress, understanding English orthography's complex structure becomes crucial. The goal isn't perfect spelling, but developing thoughtful encoders who analyze words. By balancing creativity with gradual introduction of conventions, we guide children towards becoming confident, reflective spellers and skilled writers.
Category: Inventive spelling
Invented Spelling is the Gateway to Skilled Writing: Build Your Expertise Blog Series
Teachers of writing know that invented spelling is a crucial component of literacy development for young learners. Today, build your expertise around the research that supports invented spelling and provides recommendations for moving from invented to conventional spelling, an important goal for all writers.
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Using Personal Editing Checklists At-Home
Many caregivers believe that grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling is what matters most when reading their child's writing. Children’s writing should be readable, not perfect. What matters most RIGHT NOW is that kids are engaging in the act of putting words on the page or on a screen. Therefore, we can teach young writers how to use a personal editing checklist to help them make their writing more readable anytime they finish crafting a piece of writing.
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Spelling in a Writing Workshop
The truth… I’d rather not talk about spelling. There are more important things in a writing workshop, than to talk about spelling. Spelling well is a good thing. When we edit what we write, it is profusely important, but it has nothing to do with growing a writer. When we focus on spelling or grammar correctness, the growing writer becomes stifled.
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Words Don’t Make a Writer: Supporting Emergent Writers Who Are Not Yet Writing Words
Are we putting additional stress and pressure on kids to write words? With purpose and joy, kids can go from compliance to engagement and become the kinds of writers who add words as powerful information to their books.
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Building Word Superheroes: With Permission and Invented Spelling
Teaching students to take the risks necessary to be inventive spellers means I have to respect the stage of development of the student. I can't expect the students to know (or use) something I haven't taught. It also means communicating to parents about what it means to use inventive spelling and its role in developing writers and readers.
