Spelling - Organisation Pt. 3

Tim is has selected the word, 'appeared' for word building.

This series looks at spelling issues as they relate to human information processing and working memory. How we learn to spell is dependent on how the brain processes information by encoding, storing and  retrieving stored information. The first post looked at the encoding of spelling information while the second post dealt with the retrieval of that information from long-term memory. This is the third posting in this series and discusses the notion of storage and organisation of that information. 

To begin this discussion it must be understood that spellers are active constructors and processors of information. In the past many teachers and others have assumed that learners merely identify and store spellings in there heads by systematically spelling or sounding out each word over and over again until the word is encoded or printed on a sort of mental chalk board. However, we now know that various elements of the encoded words are stored in different locations of the brain. For example, some graphic letter patterns may be stored in one area while the sounds and meanings may be stored in other areas. Dual Coding theory is particularly relevant in our overall understanding of this process. According to this theory the orthographic elements of words are stored in the visual memory while the sound elements are stored in the phonological store of working memory. What this essentially means is that good spellers have good organisation strategies and efficient linking mechanisms to enable them to reconstruct the target word.

Created from Visuwords

There are lots of ways to help children organise and develop these linking processes. We will discuss two methods that can be used together to link the semantic, orthographic and phonological aspects of words. Visuwords is an excellent application on the Internet to enable people to explore the meaning and relationships of a targeted word. How words are related to each other is shown with the use of colour coding and line style. For example, the red coloured link shows the antonyms for the word 'appear' while the coloured spots indicate the grammatical relationships. In conjunction with this activity a table or feature analysis chart could be made up to explore word building by using 'appear' as the root word and showing how other morphemes such as 're', 'dis', 'ed', 'ing' or 'ance' can be added to change the meaning.

Many children with spelling difficulties are often passive learners who exhibit a limited set of spelling skills. They typically lack confidence and it is important for teachers to help them set appropriate and specific goals that are not only challenging but achievable. This, lack of confidence and disengagement can be partially overcome by giving them a choice of words to learn. In this way they will develop more effective and longer-lasting word learning than they will for words chosen by the teacher. Spelling also improves when children are expected to generate word meanings by giving them the opportunity to experiment independently using the techniques mentioned above.   

This is the final part in the three part series on spelling from a working memory perspective. I would suggest that you visit Trevor Cairney's Blog, Literacy, families and learning, for an excellent overview of the teaching of spelling called "Spelling, caught and taught."

 

Working memory - Part 6 - Organising

Before I introduce the During phase of a learning activity it is important that I recap on the whole of the Before phase. The Before phase has three processes that contribute to the efficiency of working memory and learning. For example, in reading 'attending' relates to decoding the text at the surface level of the print or illustrations. The planning process focuses on the the cognitive or thinking level where the reader meshes the new with the known. The goal setting process is a self-regulating activity that determines the direction of learning.

Before the learning activity (Conceptualise) comprises these three processes:

• Attending:  focusing attention on the task and excluding extraneous information.
• Planning: ordering information (what is known) and prioritising time. This may take the form of writing notes, drawing diagrams, visualising.
• Goal setting: prioritising and setting goals for the activity.

The During phase of the learning activity (Organise) is the next phase.

It begins with the organising process at the factual level of thinking. Organising involves sifting out the main ideas from the contributing ideas or details. It is a sifting function that identifies and categorises information. In reading it works at the surface or factual level of text and reframes the information so that it can be processed and remembered.

Five suggestions for organising the reading:

1. Ask, "What are my goals?"
2. Ask, "What is the text saying?"
3. Ask, "What are the most important bits of information?"
4. Ask, "What are the other contributing ideas or important details?"
5. Write 2. & 3. on post-it notes to review later.

Above all, focus on meaning and these things will fall into place.

Fluency Part 4. Prefixes

Following on from part 3.

In the previous blog we looked at the root words to develop chunks of meaning within words. We discovered that the identification of the root word could be used to help make the reading of some longer words more automatic. 


There are also parts of words that are meaningful such as prefixes. Prefixes are added to the beginnings of words to change their meaning. Thus, developing an awareness of prefixes and root words can enhance your child's ability to decode word's and their meanings. In fact, if your child learns  re-, in-, dis-, un- he/she will have a key to the decoding of approximately two thirds of all English words that have prefixes.


One activity that you could be used with your child is to set up a cork pin board with collection of words that have been discovered in your  reading together sessions. 

N.B. Make this a fun activity - reading at home should be enjoyable. Make it into a game, you could call it word detective.

How do we know that our efforts are becoming fruitful?

The burning question that all parents/caregivers want to know is, "How do we know that our efforts are becoming fruitful?"

Is the answer that my child can now read bigger words and longer sentences?  Or is it that now my child can read fluently and with expression? These are certainly important indicators but there are many children that can read bigger words, longer sentences fluently and with expression. These are not the only considerations because there is now a great deal of evidence that many children can do this but without clearly comprehending what they have read. Therefore, those of us who are seeking to assist children in their reading need to focus on reading for understanding.

Clearly, children who understand what they are reading should be able to answer some basic questions that go beyond the mere recall of facts from a story or passage (more about this in a later blog). Another indicator is that the child is being quite strategic when he/she reads. Being strategic means that your child should be able choose from a repertoire of reading behaviours that go beyond the mere decoding of print. They should be sampling the text, predicting, confirming, or correcting as they monitor their meaning-making while reading. What is certain is that when your child self-corrects he/she is actively demonstrating that this vital process is in operation. The fact that a reader can self-correct is an indicator that he/she is sampling the text, predicting, and correcting - as opposed to confirming.

On the other hand, an example of the confirmation process becomes obvious when your child miscues a word but the meaning does not change. In terms of comprehension, the child has sampled the text and predicted but the word may be a synonym and not the actual word in the text. This is a strong indicator that your child is processing the text at a much deeper level and has confirmed that the meaning fits the context of the passage. This is why I have suggested that the reading should not be interrupted because good readers do this naturally and quite frequently. The guiding principle is that meaning always dominates perception and that we should purposefully read for meaning.

10 Principles for assisting reading 3c.Word awareness

The bulk of recent research indicates that there is a vast difference in the amount of vocabulary knowledge that children bring to school. Those that have a wide vocabulary tend to advance quickly in reading while those with limited vocabularies are at a distinct disadvantage. This situation is compounded by the fact that children who do well in reading learn more new vocabulary than the delayed readers with poor vocabularies. In other words, the children rich in vocabulary get even richer while the poor readers grow poorer in comparison because they have less willingness to read and a lack of opportunity to lean more words. This is often referred to as the "Matthew effect".

What is needed in guided reading sessions is the development of word awareness and the modelling of new word learning during reading. There are two aspects of word learning: depth and breadth of word learning. The depth refers to the encoding and the connections to what is already known about words in the mind of the reader. It is the linking of the new to the known. Does it look like other words? Does it sound like other words? "Do you know other words that sound the same?' "what do you think it means?" These observations questions can come before the reader begins to read. Obviously, if the reader is familiar with the words then the reading will be much easier to negotiate.

The reading guide could model the learning of new words during the initial reading to the child by stopping at what would seem to be an unfamiliar word (most parents and interested others are usually able to predict what words will be unfamiliar - if unsure - just ask the child). Say, "I wonder what this word means?" Read back in the text (or read forward) and also look at the picture and mention what clues are available to help work out the meaning.
Now say, "I think it means ..."
Then say, "Yes, that makes sense because..."
This develops the breadth of word learning because it shows that words are connected to other words and it also develops child's predictive ability.

One of the exciting things about the guided reading session is - "What new words did I discover today?"