If we want children to become good writers, it is essential that they buy into
writing as an activity that has purpose. It is essential that they believe
they can write. Spelling is a means to help communicate those purposes. By
supporting students' writing with invented spelling, we allow them to learn
writing craft at the same time.
Currently I teach a first through third grade mixed age class. I find that
even those suffering from dysgraphia want to learn to spell conventionally. I
do insist on correct grade level spelling on final copies of writing. Setting
the tone of inventive spelling is the first step in spelling but I also expect
good spelling from a student at that student's level, which has resulted in
some moving writing by some my students.
Especially noteworthy was a kindergarten, Title I, second language learner who
wrote, one January morning, about 90 words expressing his feelings about his
favorite cousin who had died. [I was working on a Teacher Action Research
paper related to helping kindergarten students to write at that point in time,
so I counted his words!] He continued to write about this topic and his
feelings. He only spelled a few words conventionally at that point. Another
example was this year when we had a terminally ill parent. Just after the
child shared the news with the class, I invited the students to share, then
write about any loss this discussion brought up. What happened next was
totally moving with many words written and tears shed. Students did not worry
about correct spelling at that point in time. They knew the most important
thing was to get their feelings written down.
Needless to say, invented spelling is a necessary component of writing.
Neither can conventional spelling be ignored. There is a balance we have to
find for each student while supporting the child in the craft of writing and
the craft of spelling. Invented spelling is a scaffold in the writing
process. I have yet, in my many years of teaching writing, found a child who
let it become a crutch.
Freida Hammett
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