Is there any benefit to spelling vocabulary words?

[Dmmetler]

I was talking to other moms at dance, and the subject of spelling lists came up. I was surprised at the words on their daughters' lists (at different schools, but in the same district) because they're just plain hard in many cases (like "surprise" for a 1st grader) and had no rhyme nor reason. It turns out that they're actually pulled from the content subjects for the week, so the 2nd grader who was studying monuments had spelling words like Monument, Patriotic, Statue, Mountain, Building.

 

I've always used spelling as a way to get my early reader to pay attention to phonics, and she can usually spell what she writes correctly-but I admit, she'd have a HARD time with some of the words that apparently her dance friends are being tested on.

[chepyl]

No benefit unless spelling rules are taught and used to build the lists. I spent 12 years in random lists, I should be able to spell lots of hard words, but I can't. I memorized for a test and then forgot as I memorized the next week.

 

I learned ONE spelling rule - I before e except after c and in sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh- and I learned that on an episode of Tailspin.

 

My six year old spells better than I do, but I have taught him phonics and spelling.g rules.

[In the Rain]

Those do seem like tough words for a second grader, especially 'building'. We've always focused more on spelling as it reinforces phonics. I expect my fourth grader to correctly spell words from her content areas when she uses them in writing. She can copy the words from a book or ask me to spell them for her. I guess I have similar expectations for my second grader, but I correct her less often.

[maizeydaizey]

We have 12 spelling words from curricula with rules - then I add anywhere from 2-6 other words from our weekly studies. However, we discuss them and are using them a lot that week.

 

It has added to DD's vocabulary and her writing is improving a lot. It doesn't seem to stump her at all and in fact she gets excited to see that weeks challenge words.

[Iucounu]

There are some benefits. Vocabulary can't be used in written form correctly withou learning spellings, and a (bright) speller can often begin to pick up encoding rules on the fly anyway. Plus there are exceptions to spelling rules. I see the benefits as practical and centered around vocabulary. I think it's important for students to learn spelling rules, though, and would never take a whole word approach across the board.

[ElizabethB]

No benefit unless spelling rules are taught and used to build the lists. I spent 12 years in random lists, I should be able to spell lots of hard words, but I can't. I memorized for a test and then forgot as I memorized the next week.

 

I learned ONE spelling rule - I before e except after c and in sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh- and I learned that on an episode of Tailspin.

 

My six year old spells better than I do, but I have taught him phonics and spelling.g rules.

 

:iagree:

 

Except, after teaching phonics and spelling for 18 years, my spelling is much better than 18 years ago...but my 9 year old will surpass me soon since she has received phonics and phonetic spelling rules from the get go. In fact, just the other day she surpassed Dad, I'm next! (Dad got random spelling lists and hasn't taught phonics with spelling for 18 years.)

[slackermom]

We have 12 spelling words from curricula with rules - then I add anywhere from 2-6 other words from our weekly studies. However, we discuss them and are using them a lot that week.

 

It has added to DD's vocabulary and her writing is improving a lot. It doesn't seem to stump her at all and in fact she gets excited to see that weeks challenge words.

 

 

My daughter's 2nd grade PS teacher basically does this. They learn a new phonetic spelling rule each week, with 12 words based on that rule. They also learn 6 vocabulary words each week, pulled from something the class is reading together. They are quizzed on the combined word list at the end of each week. I think it's a good mix.

[Iucounu]

After thinking about it a bit more, I think a good way of putting the main benefit is this:

 

Capability for written expression of known words no longer needs to march in lock-step with learning spelling rules.

 

There are other benefits: learning unique/exceptional words that don't fit a rule anyway, keeping the challenge high for able spelling learners, giving an advance look at certain spelling rules, etc. I don't see any substantial risks to teaching a few challenge/vocab words here and there, only rewards. Of course, if there were ever a possibility of a student becoming confused, it'd be a good idea to briefly cover why a particular word is spelled the way it is.

 

As an example, DS6 recently encountered the word "trebuchet" and learned the spelling. We'd recently seen the movie "Hugo", and I commented on the spelling of the eponymous character's last name, "Cabret". We then discussed other -et words of French origin for a brief bit. I doubt he'll be confused by this, and he was stimulated by the discussion. He also knows and can fully use the word "trebuchet" in concert with other words grouped around his areas of interest.

 

DS6 is the type to learn definitions and spellings of unfamiliar words he encounters in his reading, too. I think this is a natural impulse for curious children. Unless one is prepared to limit a student's ability to learn new words on her own, a certain number of off-list spellings are bound to be learned anyway.

[ElizabethB]

As an example, DS6 recently encountered the word "trebuchet" and learned the spelling. We'd recently seen the movie "Hugo", and I commented on the spelling of the eponymous character's last name, "Cabret". We then discussed other -et words of French origin for a brief bit. I doubt he'll be confused by this, and he was stimulated by the discussion. He also knows and can fully use the word "trebuchet" in concert with other words grouped around his areas of interest.

 

 

Yes, these follow French rules. I also teach the French, Greek, and Latin rules and tell my children the origin of a word and the rules it follows.

 

Here is a good chart with rules for each language of origin:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/Resources/OriginSlides.pdf