It's a Tuesday evening, and I'm a bit at a loss for what to post. I think it had better be about two things: spelling, and O.B., one of my students.

I gave the children their first spelling list in earnest this week. Yesterday I walked them through four methods for studying their words. We'll work together this week, and next week, they'll also work on their lists at home for the Friday spelling test.

1. Mapping-- this is a method that comes from Phonographix , to which I was introduced by Charlotte Lovett. The Phonographix reading method seems to make more sense to me than just about anything else i've tried to work with, and I have used it's concepts extensively with my class. Mapping a word is process of connecting the sounds with the written letters by vocalizing the sounds of the words while writing the word in standard English. So, as I write the word "haven," I say aloud, "HHHHH AY VV EH NNNNN", with the letters coinciding with the appropriate sounds. This process is great for children who have a strong auditory learning style.

2. Outlining -- This comes from a number of sources and emphasizes a familiarity with the form of the whole word. I write the word, then trace around the outside, leaving an oddly shaped box, with peaks for the ascending letters and dips for the descenders. Then, I copy the form, and without looking at my spelling list, fill in the letters so that the word fits the box. Then, I check my work against the list.

3. Stomp and Say -- Jump once, feet together, and say the word aloud. Then walk forward, spelling the word aloud, taking one step for each letter. At the end, jump feet together, and say the word. Picturing the word inwardly, walk backwards , naming the letters in reverse order. It is essential to picture the word written correctly, then to name the letters backwards, rather than inwardly picturing the word backwards.

4. Five in a row-- 1. Map the word. 2. cover the word and write it again. 3. Write the word with your eyes closed. 4. Trace the word on the floor with your right big toe (if right-handed) while looking at the word. 5. Write the word again with your hand, without looking.

I hope that with these four different methods, every child will be able to easily learn the words they are given. I have chosen the words for this first list based on three factors: first, words that were frequently misspelled on our most recent dictation; second, words from our class play; and third, words from the 100 most common words in written English from The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists .

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O.B. likes to tell me that she has a perfectly round head. I have never taught a child who so wanted to be hugged or cuddled all the time. She comes up to me and flings her arms around me, burying her face in my side. OB has trouble with reading and math. She loves painting and beeswax, and she has a lovely singing voice. It's hard for her to follow my fingering on the C-flute, as it was on the pentatonic flute.

During free reading times, OB often comes to me asking to play games on a little chalkboard. Trying to decode the written English in a story book tires her out easily, but she enjoys the games we play, many of which come from the Phonographix work. A favorite of hers is for me to tell her a word, and write the letters out of order at the top of the slate. I then make a little blank for each letter or combination of letters (such as "SH" or "OA") and ask her to write the word. As she writes each letter, I ask her to say the sound. So, for example:
M U P J


_ __ __ __

jump

OB has trouble blending the sounds she hears into words; if I say "SH EE P" she replies "eep? Eelp? Eel?" It seems like the disconnect comes in trying to recall the sounds she heard at the beginning as she tries to put them together with the ones she heard at the end, and then to create from those sounds a recognizable word.

OB was working with our Extra Lesson teacher on a weekly basis before the holidays, but that teacher has been out of town (by several thousand miles!), dealing with family needs, since the end of December, and I have seen OB take a step back in her work...