| Descript |
141 p |
| Note |
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-12, Section: A, page: 4408 |
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Supervisor: Dorothy Watson |
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Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Missouri - Columbia, 2003 |
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How children learn to spell and how teachers can effectively teach children to spell are important and sometimes controversial issues in education today. Spelling has been viewed as simply an exercise in word memorization for many years. Recent understandings and research have led to the idea that spelling may be developmental in nature, thus causing teachers to rethink their approach to teaching spelling |
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This study examined spelling proficiency as it develops through a writing curriculum and addressed two questions: (1) What are the influences of certain instructional experiences on the spelling proficiency of selected first-grade students in a spelling through the writing curriculum? and (2) What are the attitudes of the children and teachers toward spelling at the close of the study? |
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The study was conducted during an 18-week period beginning the second semester of the 1998--1999 school year. Parents of seven of the 18 students in a first grade classroom gave permission for their child to participate in the study. The students were at varying levels of development in spelling proficiency. Instructional experiences provided students in this study included patterned words, journal writings, Symphonies and Galleries journals, picture and book written responses, and free writes |
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The validity of non-experimental findings for this qualitative study was pursued through triangulation of data that included (1) systematic observation, interviewing, and recording of student's spelling through writing, including the use of field notes; (2) formal and informal spelling assessments; district-defined accountability words; spelling, language, and word study subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test; and Wood and Laminack's Index of Control; and (3) student surveys on attitudes toward spelling and writing as well as teacher narratives about her attitudes |
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The final assessment on accountability words indicated that six of the seven students were able to write 80--100% of the words correctly, with five of the seven students scoring above 90%. On the Stanford Achievement Test, none of the seven students ranked in the low range. Four students scored in the high range in spelling, five students scored in the high range in language, and six students scored in the high range in word study. On the developmental test, four students were spelling at the transitional level, one student bordered between transitional and conventional levels, and two students were spelling at the phonetic level. The Index of Control data indicate that all seven participants increased use of conventionally-spelled words and decreased the use of constructed spelling within writing experiences. At the close of the study, the seven students had positive attitudes and considered themselves to be good spellers with confidence enough to recommend strategies for other students |
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School code: 0133 |
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DDC |
| Host Item |
Dissertation Abstracts International 64-12A
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| Subject |
Education, Reading
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Education, Language and Literature
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Education, Elementary
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0535
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0279
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0524
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| Alt Author |
University of Missouri - Columbia
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