Spelling Word Patterns

Teaching students with disabilities, how to spell and then also being able to remember those words a month later is a challenging endeavour. Many times teachers simply use the grade level spelling lists, I know I did. I have found a more appropriate way to teach spelling that makes the words truly individualized. Individualization is what special education is about. I now use a book called, Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, 4th Edition (Book, CD & DVD) by Donald R. Bear, Marcia R. Invernizzi, Shane Templeton and Francine R. Johnston. This book allows you to give a simple pre-test with a variety of spelling words. From this test you can see where the student's errors are occurring. From this information you can now decide where to begin spelling instruction. The Words Their Way books teach spelling patterns beyond the simple CVC (cat, hat, bat) patterns to more complex patterns such as "ought" (bought, thought, sought). One last thought, Words Their Way is also an excellent resource for ELL (English Language Learners).