Question: How do reading and spelling differ?
Answer/Quote: “While reading and spelling share common elements, they also differ. Reading does not always demand the exact control over word form that spelling requires. Readers can use contextual cues in combination with letter -sound information to identify words. They may completely skip some unknown words without an appreciable loss of comprehension. Spelling requires more precision, and the speller’s errors are embedded in the glaring permanency of print.” P. 608. Jerry Zutell, Ohio State University.
Comment: In other words, you can read successfully without being a good speller, but you can’t spell correctly without being a good speller and proofreader.
In my book, Teaching English, How To… (Xlibris, 2004), I have included a chapter on spelling. I make very clear that mistakes in spelling can hurt and can have some serious consequences. I also make clear that when words are misspelled, students might not have learned how to break multi-syllable words down. Another reason for misspelling is the indefinite vowel which is not clearly pronounced; it could be a, e, i, o, or u, as in “secretary” which is pronounced by many people as “sec-ra-tary.” The solution to this problem is to teach students how to visualize the spelling. Finally, I list words that are likely to be misspelled and suggest a method for almost guaranteeing spelling success. I plan to reprint this chapter on spelling in my next several blogs. RayS.
Title: “Reading-Spelling Links.” Kathleen Stumpf Jongsma. Reading Teacher (April 1990),608-610.
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