Spelling Errors in Writing
At times you may wonder why your child will brings home papers with incorrect spellings that haven't been corrected or marked by the teacher's pen. Do you remember when you child learned to speak? S/he probably made many "mistakes" (or approximations) in speech, and they didn't bother you much. You may have corrected a few, laughed at several, but mostly you included the child in the events of everyday life, encouraged the child to speak and enjoyed the conversations. You probably knew, as parents do, that children learn to talk the same way they learn to sit up, crawl and walk ~ they learn to talk by talking!
Learning to write works the same way. For example.....in September several years ago, one child wrote:
IyztvamHDisalm
Now this doesn't look like your writing any more than a child's early words sound like your talking. But it's a tremendous piece of work! First of all, and most important, this child knows that written language is supposed to mean something, and he knows exactly what it means when asked to read it. Just about every letter stands for one word in the story.
IyztvamHDisalm
"I was (watching) TV at my house. Then I saw a little mouse. "
Some developmental stages in writing come before this one, and others come after. From this sample we see that the child knows the following:
I like The prt. The blw and The. yullow turnn to. gren fum. (I like the part (when) the blue and the yellow turned to green from __________)
Since writing the earlier sample, this child has learned that:
Is there a time for teaching particular points of spelling, grammar and punctuation? YES!! When a child publishes a story, all spelling, grammar and punctuation is corrected, as other children will be reading the story. Spelling skills will be taught and implementation encouraged. The students can use their personal Word Booklet and Writing Folder as tools when writing.
Please remember to celebrate all successes, no matter how small they may seem. Every success is a building block to the next. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Learning to write works the same way. For example.....in September several years ago, one child wrote:
IyztvamHDisalm
Now this doesn't look like your writing any more than a child's early words sound like your talking. But it's a tremendous piece of work! First of all, and most important, this child knows that written language is supposed to mean something, and he knows exactly what it means when asked to read it. Just about every letter stands for one word in the story.
IyztvamHDisalm
"I was (watching) TV at my house. Then I saw a little mouse. "
Some developmental stages in writing come before this one, and others come after. From this sample we see that the child knows the following:
- print proceeds in a straight line from left to right across a page
- print is made up of letters
- letters come in upper and lower case
- letters stand for sounds in the words he wants to write.
I like The prt. The blw and The. yullow turnn to. gren fum. (I like the part (when) the blue and the yellow turned to green from __________)
Since writing the earlier sample, this child has learned that:
- written language is made up of words separated by spaces
- each word between spaces stands for one word in speech.
- written words are made up of a number of different letters
- there are a number of letter/sound combinations in each word. (both beginning and ending sounds are included in this story)
- when you "know" a word (the), you spell it the same way every time
- if you don't "know" a word you can use what you do know about the letters and sounds to say what you mean until you learn the "correct" way.
- you self correct your own writing when it doesn't look right to you, just as children self correct their own speech.
- punctuation is a part of written language.
Is there a time for teaching particular points of spelling, grammar and punctuation? YES!! When a child publishes a story, all spelling, grammar and punctuation is corrected, as other children will be reading the story. Spelling skills will be taught and implementation encouraged. The students can use their personal Word Booklet and Writing Folder as tools when writing.
Please remember to celebrate all successes, no matter how small they may seem. Every success is a building block to the next. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.