This intervention study tested whether invented spelling plays a causal role in learning to read. Three groups of kindergarten children (mean age = 5 years 7 months) participated in a 4-week intervention. Children in the invented-spelling group spelled words as best they could and received developmentally appropriate feedback. Children in the 2…

Two groups of undergraduate students, matched for reading skill but differing in spelling ability, participated in three experiments with the aim of exploring the causes of differences in spelling skill in this population. In the first experiment participants were presented with a range of tasks to investigate the possibility that the poor…

Children's early spelling attempts (invented spellings) and underlying component skills were evaluated in a sample (N = 115) of 5-year-old children. Letter-sound knowledge and phoneme awareness were shown to be important predictors of invented spelling performance in this age group. The results also showed associations between invented spelling…

Declares that invented spelling ability reflects young children's developing awareness of the internal structure of words. Examines effects of an instructional approach that emphasized integration of language analysis teaching into the whole-language kindergarten curriculum. Finds that children who received instruction were representing all the…

Over the last 30 years, much has been learned about how children develop as spellers. During that time, the literary confidence of many kindergarten, 1st-, and 2nd-grade children has been damaged by insisting they use conventional spelling when, in their thinking, it is impossible to understand how words can be spelled conventionally. This article…

A study examined the invented spelling of kindergarten and first grade students as an indicator of problem-solving strategies. The study explored the operations, by gender, of good spellers and poor spellers and how those operations change over time. A sample of 12 kindergarten girls and 12 kindergarten boys who were learning to read and write in…

Investigated factors that predicted variability in responses to analytic and synthetic phonemic awareness training with kindergartners living in poverty. Found that spelling skills were the most consistent predictor of variability in phonemic awareness in response to instruction. Amount of exposure children had to the intervention contributed to…

Compares and critiques two models of invented spelling stages, arguing that knowledge of stages of invented spelling can lead to better assessment of children and more informed literacy instruction by offering a window into the learner's mind. Notes that good communication with parents about invented spelling can eliminate much of the controversy.…

Ninety Chinese children were tested once at age 4 and again 22 months later on phonological-processing and other reading skills. Chinese phonological-processing skills alone modestly predicted Chinese character recognition, and English letter-name knowledge uniquely predicted reading of both Chinese and English 2 years later. Furthermore,…