Spelling spoken sounds helps kids read and write fluently

It’s Sumer time. No, I did not misspell summer. I really meant Sumer because Sumer (in ancient Mesopotamia) is where civilization began converting spoken sounds into written symbols about 8000 years ago. Soon, other civilizations would do the same by converting speech sounds into alphabetic symbols.

This is why we say that writing is spelling and that automatic, accurate spelling from spoken sounds is the key to fluent reading and writing. Societies invented writing systems to spell invisible sounds with symbols, which they and their posterity could read by translating them back into sounds. To read fluently, kids must automatically and accurately convert visible words into invisible sounds. To write fluently, kids must automatically and accurately turn invisible thoughts into visible words. In other words, to read, kids must see and hear symbols as speech sounds; to write, kids must see and hear speech sounds as symbols.

Students who need help spelling speech sounds will also have difficulty writing fluently. Gentry describes writing as the ability to download thoughts as fast as they appear in the mind. If kids cannot spell, they will struggle to put their thoughts into words because they don't know how to write or spell the words that come to mind. Eventually, their working memory becomes exhausted as they try to find a way to spell what they want to say, allowing creative thoughts to slip away. Good writers spell automatically (though at times incorrectly). They know how to pen thoughts to paper as soon as they appear. Their only struggle is expressing ideas clearly, concisely, and artistically. Poor spellers, however, struggle to put words on paper. They can't write because they can't spell right. This lack of spelling competence limits confidence, fluency, and creative expression.

The solution is within reach: educators can provide scaffolded analytical spelling instruction that empowers every student to use phonology, morphology, and etymology to comprehend our orthography (or spelling and writing system). This approach can equip students with the skills to spell, read, and write. So, this summer, let’s celebrate Sumer by encouraging students to practice spelling sounds and writing them down.

Brian Vieira (The Academic Gym)