Your child will be bringing home a spelling list today that they will be working on for 2 weeks. Their test will be on October 13th.
After this test, most spelling will be addressed during the writing process, in the context of their writing and through vocabulary. Most children can memorize words well and quickly, but many have a difficult time transferring that information into their daily writing.
All students during writing block and reading block are required to use a paper dictionary for their spelling. The only time they are allowed to use Dictionary.com is during projects when content is most important and time is an issue.
Using a paper dictionary does a few things. First, it really makes the student THINK about the word, the patterns, the sounds and the way the word looks. Computers give the student the word, or variations of the word to choose from. This takes away the analyzing process, analyzing sounds, parts, chunks and patterns in words, and does not make them figure out what they are missing if they can't find the word in the dictionary.
This does not mean that your student will never be tested on the spelling of various sets of words. We are incorporating spelling into our vocabulary as well. There will be times a more traditional spelling test will be given and times when vocabulary will be paired with spelling.
You will receive notification on my blog each time a new group of spelling and/or vocabulary words is assigned to your student. They are really very responsible though, and I am confident in their abilities!
