Ms. Kreul’s Class Blog

An award winning web site that can be used for learning and practicing spelling words is called Spelling City. Try it out and let us know how it works for you!
SpellingCity.com

Students in Grades 3-5 in WFB are using a new spelling program this year called “Spelling for Writers.” The goals for this program are: students will study words and notice patterns, understand word origins, transfer word patterns from the weekly lists to everyday writing, and learn proofreading techniques that should be applied to all writing.

Students are pretested on a specific set of words that fit the week’s spelling generalization. Each student’s weekly list words are different, chosen from three leveled lists, depending on the results of the unit pretest.

A spelling set of activities that students work on each week is called Generalization – Prove It! The class works together to form the generalization (rule, pattern, etc.) for the week’s spelling words. This helps students learn and use the generalization to spell a wide range of similar words.

Next students search around the room to find 12 additional words that fit the week’s generalization. Partners need to see and say the words, then correctly spell the words in their spelling workbooks.

Students usually complete a writing activity that utilizes the week’s words. The authors of the spelling program also give students proofreading tips to help students become more accurate writers.

When students bring home the At-Home List of spelling words for the week on Monday, be sure to read the back of the List which gives information about the week’s words and generalization, as well as additional activities that students can use at home to improve their spelling skills.

4K is working on a new spelling activity called Word Ladders. In this activity students read word definitions, then change, add, and/or delete letters to make new words. Students will bring Word Ladder sheets home on the days they work on this activity.

4K has worked on an interesting spelling activity called a “Vocabulary Word Map” in which they practice dictionary and thesaurus skills. Students choose a word from their weekly spelling list that will work when they need to: spell the word, use the word in a 4th grade sentence, draw a picture or a connection for the word, locate a matching definition for the word in the dictionary, and write a synonym (word that means the same) and/or an antonym (word that means the opposite) – possibly using the dictionary or thesaurus.

By Emma and John

If you want a 100% percent on all your spelling tests, these are the top 10 ways to get it!

• Practice every day
• Study the difficult words
• Think the words through
• Do a practice test at home
• Study the grammar of the words
• Sound out the syllables
• Make sure you know what the word means
• Break the words into parts
• Look at the spelling list
• Challenge yourself with difficult words