Saturday, November 22, 2014

Saturday Sayings: Word Book? What's that?



This was the longest week of the year in my book.  That's how parent teacher conferences always make me feel, regardless of how well they go.  In spite of the long days and nights, one of my favorite parts of meeting with a parent is showing them the writing progression of their little person.  I start with the very first piece they wrote during the first week of school before I had even begun to teach mini-lessons.  Then I share the piece they chose to publish at the close of our first unit, followed by the published piece of the following one.  There are varied points I enjoy making about the growth I see, both on a story level and surface level.  Readability is a common surface level topic of our conversation.  The way the child's spelling has evolved is typically blatantly obvious.  In fact, a few parents marvel at my ability to even decipher the early pieces.  It's a special talent especially bestowed upon first grade teachers.

Invented spelling gives each writer accessibility to the gift of authorship.  Without it, their growth is considerably stunted.  This is why I don't believe in handing out word books or personal dictionaries until spring.  My writers don't even know such things exist.  They have the Word Wall as a resource and personal copy of it for their writing folders, and that's plenty enough.  They need to build the right risk-taking muscles and phonemic skills that will propel them towards more accurate spellings and allow them the freedom to write whatever comes to mind. 

I believe too many spelling resources provide a crutch for our youngest writers and can considerably limit their word choice and content.  They affect the growth, that this week, parents and I couldn't help but notice and celebrate in only three months time.  I, for one, am thankful for invented spellings, even the ones that make me work a little extra hard at deciphering.


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18 comments:

  1. I read a comment on FB the other day from an upper grade teacher that said she doesn't believe we should use invented spelling because it solidifies bad spelling habits and I really wanted to respond "you've never taught writing to young children have you". I've seen kids because we encourage invented spelling sound out the word "extraordinary" instead of using what they know how to spell-- "good". I've seen it create better writers! And yes, reading it is an acquired skill! I often joke that I can read another language--Kindergarten!
    Not Just Child's Play

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    1. Miss Trayers, Kindergarten teachers definitely have a special gift as well. You're so right. Kids who use invented spelling will definitely choose the more descriptive words to write and thus will become better crafters of writing.

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  2. I know that I am way on the other end of the spectrum, but I see so many high school applications of this principle. Just yesterday I asked each student to paraphrase one small section of Hamlet. I know from experience that in order to do this, some of them have to take the risk of being totally wrong, and that if I don't encourage them and support them while they take that risk, some will simply say "I can't do this." I could go on and on, but I'll stop now. You're brilliant, as always.

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    1. Laur, I think it's brilliant and even thoughtful how you can find something meaningful to your seniors in my elementary world.

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  3. Inventive spelling gives us such a great picture of what each child understands about letter/sound associations. I just love comparing their first pieces to what they can do at the end of first grade. As always...wonderful post!
    Jenny

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    1. Jenny, yes it's a window into what they understand about reading. Great point!

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  4. I could not agree more. I'm a huge proponent of inventive spelling. (But if a word is on the word wall I expect it to be correctly spelled.) Not only does it help create better writers it goes hand in hand with learning how to read.

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    1. Barb, yep the word wall is an important tool in my room as well, although I haven't found a way to really hold them to those words except that any misspelled ones go onto their spelling lists.

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  5. Maybe if we called it "developmental spelling" those on the outside wouldn't be as critical or worried about it. I, too, am a huge proponent of "inventive" spelling. I believe that children who are just learning to write should be able to focus on getting their thoughts/ideas down on paper. I want to instill a love of writing. Most of my students are very comfortable stretching and writing words they don't know, but I seem to have one or two every year that are so worried about spelling every word correctly that it dramatically hinders what and how much they write.
    Tammy, you and I are on the same page with this one:)

    Connie Anderson
    www.welcometofirstgraderoom5.blogspot.com

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    1. Connie, I've seen that worried writer. I had some at the beginning of the year. Now it's easy to tell from their writing that they got over that. I like being on your page Connie!

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  6. I had not thought of word books, etc. as a distraction from the writing process, but I can see that. My kids do have a word wall and book in second grade, but I encourage them to use their 'smarty spelling' most of the time and consult the book for those words they should be spelling correctly in the revision step.

    Glad you survived conference week!

    Crystal
    Teaching Little Miracles

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    1. Crystal, that sounds like what I do in the spring. When I do bring out the word books, they become a tool to use for revision. It makes total sense that your 2nd graders would have them already. :)

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  7. I am so glad that your parents got to see the growth in their child's writing and appreciated the changes. Not all parents understand the importance of invented spelling. Congrats on having conferences completed!
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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    1. Lori, I love that I get to share writing with these parents. It's such a concrete way to show how much growth they've made in such little time.

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  8. Tammy,
    I feel the same way about the week of conferences...it's like this added thing until the very last parent is meet! Invented spelling is sooooooo important! Your blog post says it all!!! Melissa

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    1. Melissa, I love that your k-kids are expert writers by the time they get to first. You do such important work!

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  9. I'm so glad that I read your blog on this because I have been debating about if I should be pushing my kiddos to be spelling all their words correctly in their writer's notebook. We have talked about sounding the words out and using the word wall etc. So you have helped me be at ease that I can continue to let them do the inventive spelling. Thanks! Kristi
    Teaching Little Miracles

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    1. Kristi, I'm glad this helped. There is definitely a place for those spelling resources, but I love that they can be writers from day one in spite of their spelling. :)

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