Teaching and Learning the English Spelling System: Reconceptualizing Method and Purpose

Abstract

This article discusses the need for formal, systematic instruction in spelling or word structure. Such instruction should cover a far wider domain than is usual, however. Because the spelling of words represents both sound and meaning, instruction should address both the structure of words and vocabulary development. This instruction can and should occur in a literature-based, writing-process-oriented, oral-language-enriched classroom. I establish the need for and nature of systematic instruction in the structure and meaning of words by examining three areas: (1) the development of knowledge about spelling or word structure throughout the elementary grades and the importance of this knowledge in reading as well as in writing; (2) based on this developmental picture, I describe the organization and nature of a program of formal instruction in word structure; (3) given the realities of the elementary school classroom, the need for such a program is addressed.