Stages of Spelling Development
Prospective teachers must understand that spelling is a developmental process (Gentry, 1982). Once a teacher is able to identify the particular stage of spelling that a student is at, they can begin to formulate targeted lessons that are optimal for improving spelling competency. There is generally considered to be five stages of spelling development (Winch, 2010):
During the precommunicative stage, children begin to use letters of the alphabet, as well as shapes of their own creation, to represent words. However, the letters are generally compiled randomly and the words are mostly unreadable. Progressing to the the pre-phonetic stage, children start to associate letters with sounds. Children will begin to string a series of letters together to represent words, and the concept of writing from left to right begins to take hold. The phonetic stage follows, in which letter-sound correspondence is cemented, despite the prevalence of incorrect spellings and general disregard for the conventions of English orthography. It is worth noting that weak spellers' development may stall for an extended period of time at the phonetic stage. These first three stages of spelling development usually encompass children from 2 - 7 years of age. As this website focuses on the middle and upper primary years, these stages are not relevant and will not be explored in further detail.
The fourth stage of spelling development is the transitional stage. During this stage, children begin to develop their visual and morphemic strategies for spelling, leaving behind their phonetic dependence. Vowels are now present in every syllable, yet it may be found that they are reversing the order of certain letters within words (e.g. "BAOT" instead of "boat", or "WAEK" instead of "weak"). Children will begin to recognise that different letters or combinations of letters can make the same sound. Teachers will also find an increasing number of words being spelt correctly in their work. However, it is through the characteristic misspellings that will allow teachers to identify a student as being in the transitional phase.
Correct spelling is the final stage of spelling development, in which the child can now correctly spell the majority of words at their general level. They have developed their understanding of word structure, such as prefixes, suffixes, silent letters and double letters. Furthermore, they will now have a general sense for when words do not appear to be spelled correctly and can edit their work. However, they are still continuing to master the unique word patterns of the English spelling system. This page should help beginning teachers to identify which stage of spelling development any particular student is at, in order to formulate an effective strategy to help that student progress to the next stage.
- Precommunicative Stage
- Pre-phonetic (or Semiphonetic) Stage
- Phonetic Stage
- Transitional stage
- Correct spelling stage
During the precommunicative stage, children begin to use letters of the alphabet, as well as shapes of their own creation, to represent words. However, the letters are generally compiled randomly and the words are mostly unreadable. Progressing to the the pre-phonetic stage, children start to associate letters with sounds. Children will begin to string a series of letters together to represent words, and the concept of writing from left to right begins to take hold. The phonetic stage follows, in which letter-sound correspondence is cemented, despite the prevalence of incorrect spellings and general disregard for the conventions of English orthography. It is worth noting that weak spellers' development may stall for an extended period of time at the phonetic stage. These first three stages of spelling development usually encompass children from 2 - 7 years of age. As this website focuses on the middle and upper primary years, these stages are not relevant and will not be explored in further detail.
The fourth stage of spelling development is the transitional stage. During this stage, children begin to develop their visual and morphemic strategies for spelling, leaving behind their phonetic dependence. Vowels are now present in every syllable, yet it may be found that they are reversing the order of certain letters within words (e.g. "BAOT" instead of "boat", or "WAEK" instead of "weak"). Children will begin to recognise that different letters or combinations of letters can make the same sound. Teachers will also find an increasing number of words being spelt correctly in their work. However, it is through the characteristic misspellings that will allow teachers to identify a student as being in the transitional phase.
Correct spelling is the final stage of spelling development, in which the child can now correctly spell the majority of words at their general level. They have developed their understanding of word structure, such as prefixes, suffixes, silent letters and double letters. Furthermore, they will now have a general sense for when words do not appear to be spelled correctly and can edit their work. However, they are still continuing to master the unique word patterns of the English spelling system. This page should help beginning teachers to identify which stage of spelling development any particular student is at, in order to formulate an effective strategy to help that student progress to the next stage.