Unlocking the Mysteries of English Spelling: A Structured Word Inquiry Approach
What's included
1 live meeting
45 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
US Grade 7 - 10
Intermediate Level
If you are like most speakers of English, you’ve been taught to spell a word by “sounding it out.” But you probably also know that this strategy only works a small handful of times. Between silent letters, letters that can make more than one sound, and words that sound exactly the same but are spelled differently…..the number of obstacles in the way of “sounding out” words makes this strategy inefficient at best and frustrating at worst. If rote memorization of lists of spelling words, copying sentences, and applying spelling “rules” that have dozens of exceptions just isn't working for your learner, it may be time for a different approach. Most spelling programs leave students with serious misunderstandings about how spelling really works. This course will reveal that English spelling is actually highly ordered and logical, once you have unlocked some of its secrets. Students will learn to break words apart into bases, prefixes, and suffixes, and use those parts to make informed decisions about how to spell and understand what words mean. Students will learn to think like “word scientists,” making a hypothesis about spelling patterns, testing their theories, and discovering rules of spelling that actually work. This class will boost not only their spelling skills, but expand their vocabulary as well. It’s an exploration of etymology and morphology that will transform the way they think about words and the way English spelling functions. Every class will be a bit different. Sometimes we'll be working with a particular spelling pattern, a particular sound, or even just taking a close look at the spelling of a few particular words. Though we may sometimes be working with words that seem "easy" and that your learner may already know how to spell correctly, I can promise that each lesson will teach something new about English spelling that they did not know before. Many learners have learned to spell correctly by simply memorizing how the words are spelled, but this class will teach why words are spelled the way they are. ALL NEW LESSONS FOR FALL 2024! Week of Sept. 2: Learning from the spelling of <love> Week of Sept. 9: The suffixes <ion> <ian> and <ity> Week of Sept. 16: Ways to spell long E Week of Sept. 23: Another look at suffixes Week of Sept. 30: Apostrophes, Clips, Abbreviations, Acronyms and Portmanteaus - Part 1 Week of Oct. 7: Apostrophes, Clips, Abbreviations, Acronyms and Portmanteaus - Part 2 Week of Oct. 14: Heteronyms and homographs Week of Oct. 21: (Monday section only will meet) Word Building with bases Week of Oct. 28: A visit to the graveyard of forgotten words Week of Nov. 4: The letters w and x Week of Nov. 11: The letter n Week of Nov. 18: A close look at plurals Week of Nov. 25: Word Building with bases Week of Dec. 2: 5 questions to help you understand a word Week of Dec. 9: A close look at past tense Week of Dec. 16: The etymology of some Christmas-y words Week of Dec. 23: WINTER BREAK Week of Dec. 30: WINTER BREAK **2025!!** Week of Jan. 6: 5 questions to understand a word Week of Jan. 13: Etymological markers Week of Jan. 20: A close look at homophones Week of Jan. 27: The <y> and <i> relationship Week of Feb 3: Using apostrophes Week of Feb 10: The months of the year Week of Feb 17: NO CLASS Week of Feb 24: What is a grapheme? Week of March 3: (Monday section will not meet) Word building Week of March 10: The alphabet Week of March 17: the <igh> grapheme Week of March 24: Strategies for spelling the "schwa" Week of March 31: Another look at etymological markers Week of April 7: Positional rules for spelling with graphemes Week of April 14: NO CLASS Week of April 21: The <wh> grapheme Week of April 28: Days of the week Week of May 5: A close look at compound words Week of May 12: Reasons for Silent e Part 1 Week of May 19: Reasons for Silent e Part 2 Week of May 26: NO CLASS Week of June 2: A close look at the letter <h> Week of June 9: Choosing between <er> and <or> Week of June 16: Graphemes to spell the long /u/ sound Week of June 23: <le> <el> and <al> endings Week of June 30: Eponyms and toponyms Week of July 7: Connecting vowels Week of July 14: Assimilated prefixes This class will run through the week of July 14, 2025. One section may continue through July and August depending on demand. Throughout the class, learners are welcomed and encouraged to submit words they find difficult to spell or otherwise mysterious, and I'm happy to build these words into our investigations. Students will come away from the class with a clear understanding that every word is spelled the way it is for a reason, and that it's possible to research, learn and understand the reasons for every spelling! If you are interested in reading more about the Structured Word Inquiry approach to teaching spelling, these are good places to start: https://psyarxiv.com/aktzw/ https://learningaboutspelling.com/about-2/
Learning Goals
Throughout the course of this class, students will learn to:
-break words apart into prefixes, bases, and suffixes
-understand how to identify the graphemes, morphemes, and phonemes that create a word
-understand that words that are connected in meaning will also be connected in spelling
-understand how adding a suffix can change the spelling of a base word, for example by dropping a silent -e or doubling a final consonant
-use provided flow charts and matrices to make decisions about spelling when adding a suffix to a base word
-approach spelling problems by "thinking like a scientist," making a hypothesis about a word, testing their hypothesis, and seeing the results
-be able to do research into the etymology of a word to learn more about its meaning, origin, and spelling patterns
-know how to do research into a word's morphology and etymology
Other Details
Learning Needs
SWI is an excellent strategy for learners with dyslexia. It removes the need to guess, memorize rules or rely on visual memory. Rather than learning "tips and tricks," students are taught that spelling is a system of logic and order.
Parental Guidance
Parents, be aware that this class could turn your child into a logophile (not sure what this word means? Check a dictionary, think about the parts that make up this word and see if you can think of words that are related in meaning and spelling. Now you're on your way to becoming a logophile yourself!) and will make them notice and ask questions about words and the spellings of words all day. You have been warned!
Pre-Requisites
It is helpful but not necessary if students know the difference between a vowel and a consonant and some basic letter-sound correspondences. It is also helpful if students are familiar with the terms prefix, base and suffix.
Teacher expertise and credentials
North Carolina Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Education from University of Missouri at Columbia
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Calvin College
I have had extensive professional development in the ideas presented in this class, including working directly with Peter Bowers and WordWorksKingston to learn the principles of Structured Word Inquiry, and I have seven years of experience teaching this content in a classroom setting. I have also been involved in the creation of resources for colleagues to use in their teaching as they implemented SWI in their own classrooms.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$16
weekly1x per week
45 min
Completed by 32 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-17
4-12 learners per class
Financial Assistance
Tutoring
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