In recent years English newspapers have started featuring a number of puzzles other than the ubiquitous crossword. Many of the puzzles are of Japanese origin such as Sudoku, Kakuro or Hidato. However, one recent one is very English and is called variously Cross-code, Alphapuzzle or some other name. In this article, it will be known as Codeword.…

Making spelling instruction effective, fun, practical, and meaningful is a challenge faced by many teachers. Spelling is traditionally taught with prepackaged word lists using a test-practice-test method, which results in little transfer to independent word use. Because spelling is an important component and gauge of literacy skills, students need…

This resource is a compilation of three documents that support the teaching of spelling in today's schools: a discussion of "Why Spelling Instruction Matters", a checklist for evaluating a spelling program, and tables of Common Core State Standards that are linked to spelling instruction. "Why Spelling Instruction Matters"…

Teachers' concerns regarding spelling instruction and the spelling abilities of their students were sought in a national survey. Using a random sample of teachers of grades one through five across all 50 states, respondents reported teaching practices, degree of agreement with theoretical statements, and responded to open-ended statements.…

The author's experience with helping his granddaughters learn their spelling words led to a review of the literature on spelling theory and instruction. The purpose of this review was to answer the following questions: How should spelling words be chosen? Should spelling words be taught and tested in the list format? Is there a problem with using…

An alternating treatments design was used to assess the effects of a constant time delay (CTD) procedure and a cover-copy-compare (CCC) procedure on three students' acquisition, subsequent maintenance, and adaptation (i.e., application) of acquired spelling words to reading passages. Students were randomly presented two trials of word lists from…

Diverse issues in the spelling curriculum must be resolved. One issue in spelling involves whether students learn to spell words better from a list or within the framework of a practical learning activity. Linguists advocate that words follow a pattern in spelling, yet research studies have been used to select lists of spelling words that may have…

A high school teacher describes techniques she used to help her students master a list of 500 commonly misspelled words. She found that this emphasis on spelling also improved students' reading comprehension, writing, and study skills. The word list is appended. (SJL)

The Directed Spelling Thinking Activity (DSTA) is a method of teaching spelling to students with learning disabilities by encouraging active thinking and analysis of word patterns. With DSTA, students compare and contrast words that fit different but related spelling patterns. Words illustrating 37 spelling patterns are listed. (Author/DB)

Five strategies to help students select and learn relevant spelling words include: proofreading and trying to spell misspelled words correctly; choosing words from their proofreading lists that might be useful for future writing; examining useful ways to learn how to spell words; learning related words that they can already spell; and getting…

Intended to help elementary school teachers improve their current instructional practices, this booklet provides many effective spelling methods not included in published spelling programs. The first part of the book examines the recommended instructional spelling practices of selected authorities. The second part presents alternative spelling…

Summarizes ERIC materials dealing with the role of phonics, spelling rules, and word lists in the spelling program. (FL)

Author replaces spellers with word lists in order to bring relevance to the students' spelling abilities. As well, he presents a day by day procedure for implementing his plan. (RK)

To teach spelling, there is no need for a spelling book; instead use a word list and a dictionary and have students do a lot of writing. (DD)