Spelling
At Rose Green Junior School we use The Spelling Shed to support the teaching of spelling, as well as providing children with a fun way to practise their spellings at home, through games and activities which will be set by their class teachers.
We value the importance of spelling because it improves communication, comprehension and overall literacy, making writing clearer and more credible.
Good spelling supports reading ability by connecting the visual code of words to their sounds and meanings, and it helps writers avoid cognitive strain so they can focus on composition. Ultimately, strong spelling skills are foundational for academic and professional success.
Children will have regular spelling lessons but the teaching of spelling strategies and patterns will also form part of all lessons where children are writing.
The teaching of spelling at Rose Green Juniors centers around the four forms of spelling knowledge which research has shown children need to spell effectively: phonological, visual, morphemic, and etymological.
1.) Phonological Knowledge:
What it is:
The understanding of sound-letter correspondences, which includes phonics, phonemic awareness, and the ability to hear, segment, and blend sounds in words.
How it helps:
It is crucial for spelling phonetically regular words by connecting the sounds you hear to the letters that represent them.
2.) Visual Knowledge:
What it is:
The recognition of a word's spelling as it looks, often referred to as "orthographic" knowledge.
How it helps:
It involves building a mental "bank" of word images so that some words can be spelled automatically. This relies on memorizing the look of words and patterns, but it is most effective when combined with other forms of knowledge.
3.) Morphemic Knowledge:
What it is:
The understanding of morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning in a word. This includes knowledge of root words, prefixes, and suffixes, and how they can be added or removed to change a word's meaning or form.
How it helps:
It allows students to tackle new or complex words by breaking them into meaningful parts. For example, knowing that "un-" is a prefix and "-able" is a suffix helps in spelling words like "uncomfortable".
4.) Etymological Knowledge:
What it is:
The study of a word's origin, history, and derivation.
How it helps:
Understanding a word's history can explain unusual spellings. For instance, knowing that "pharmacy" comes from Greek helps explain the "ph" spelling, while knowing "ballet" comes from French explains the "et" ending. In addition, knowing that the root ‘port’ as in portable or airport comes from the Latin verb portare meaning "to carry" which can help us in the understanding of lots of words which contain that root as well as the spelling.
The National Curriculum has statutory spelling lists for all year groups and these also form part of our spelling teaching at Rose Green Junior School. These lists include words with the spelling patterns and rules taught in those year groups and common exception words (words which don't follow these patterns or rules). These lists are a good place to start if you wanted to practise more spellings with your child at home.
Spelling Lists