Spelling Detectives: Learn to Crack the Spelling Code! Private 1-On-1 Tutoring

The morphemic spelling approach is particularly effective for students in upper primary and secondary school for whom the traditional teaching methods have not resulted in the expected learning success.

This course aims to build a strong spelling foundation and to deal with spelling concepts that students often find difficult to master. This course uses two underlying strategies for learning to spell: the application of spelling rules and conventions, and the morphemic approach.

The course is based on the principle that when students become familiar with spelling rules and conventions and when they have been taught the morphemic approach to spelling, their spelling confidence is boosted and the act of writing becomes less intimidating.

The morphemic approach to learning to spell is an instructional method that emphasizes the role of word morphology (i.e., the study of word structure and formation) in spelling. It focuses on teaching students how to identify and use morphemes, which are the smallest units of meaning in language, such as prefixes, suffixes, and bases.

In this approach, students are taught to break down words into their morphemic components and to analyse their meanings, which can help them to spell words more accurately and efficiently. For example, if a student knows that the suffix "-ful" means "full of," they can use that knowledge to correctly spell words like "hopeful" or "wonderful."

The morphemic approach also emphasises the importance of context and meaning in spelling. By understanding the meaning of a word, students can make more informed guesses about how to spell it correctly, even if they are unsure about the exact spelling.

Overall, the morphemic approach can be an effective way to help students improve their spelling skills and develop a deeper understanding of the structure and meaning of words. The course will be tailored to the capabilities of the students in the class, and will teach both common and less-used spelling rules and conventions in an engaging and interactive manner.

Presentation of Learning Materials: Every learner has different learning strengths. Some students respond better to a visual approach, some to an audible approach, and some to an approach in which they actively read and write. The course therefore presents learning opportunities for all of these types. To ensure learners receive and retain information, learning materials are presented visually and verbally, are practiced by writing them down either as dictation or in their own words, and are read out loud.

Sight words (words that do not follow normal spelling patterns): Each lesson will introduce new sight words to increase the learner's vocabulary. Sight words will be revisited over a few lessons using verbal, written and visual techniques, and will be integrated into sentences and phrases.

Morphemes: Every lesson will aim to add to the student’s understanding of the morphemic spelling approach. New morphemes will be introduced, their meaning will be discussed, and previously used morphemes will be revisited by introducing them into sentence practice and mini stories. Using and applying the learner’s spelling knowledge in multiple ways helps them to embed their newly gained knowledge.

Course Content: The course will cover the topics below, however there will be room for additional areas of practice where appropriate, and continuous assessments will aim to ensure that knowledge is retained.

- Sight word learning and practice.
- Prefixes, suffixes and base morphemes.
- How to add suffixes to base words, including when to drop the silent e at the end of a base word.
- When to change the y to an i when adding a suffix to a base word.
- When to double the final consonant in the base word before adding the suffix, and the difference between a vowel suffix and a consonant suffix.
- When to use the spelling patterns ‘ge’ (sage) or ‘dge’ (fudge).
- When to use the spelling patterns ‘ch’ (church) or ‘tch’ (switch).
- When to use the spelling patterns ‘oi’ (soil) or ‘oy’ (toy)
- When to apply the ‘au’ (autumn), ‘aw’ (claw), ‘augh’ (caught) or ‘ough’ (thought) spelling patterns.
- When to use the spelling patterns ‘ou’ (sound) or ‘ow’ (town).
- When to change the y at the end of a base word when adding a suffix.