Parent Literacy Night Part 11
This week saw the second in the series of planned Literacy Presentations for parents with children in K-6.
On Wednesday evening a large number of parents joined the Year 3–6 teachers to find out more about spelling strategies they can use to support their child’s learning at home.
The evening aimed to give parents a better understanding of how such strategies are currently being taught and to further strengthen the link between learning that happens at home and learning that happens at school.
The presentations followed on from the previous workshop presented by K-2 teachers, and dealt with spelling strategies that are frequently encountered by students in Years 3–6.
Learning how to spell words is one of the most useful lifelong skills and it builds the basic foundation that all children will need throughout their education and life in general. (Juodseryte, 2016)
Spelling skills are closely linked to the other basic skills of reading and writing.
These important skills not only help children receive good results at school they also have an impact on future careers and life in general. We know that good spelling is essential for clear communication, accurate comprehension and achieving high standards.
Despite a common perception that English spelling is irregular and unpredictable (Simonsen & Gunter, 2001), it is estimated that about 50% of English words are spelled in a way that is predictable and another 34% are predictable except for one sound within the word (Hanna, Hodges, & Hanna, 1971; Joshi, Treiman, Carreker, & Moats, 2008–09).
Teaching children strategies helps them identify these relationships and makes the irregular predictable.
The evening began with a short introduction. Parents received booklets that contained copies of each of the strategies covered as well as some general information and background reading about spelling philosophies.
Presentations involved hands on learning experiences giving parents a taste of typical activities used in classrooms.
The workshop included such activities as a Words Their Way ‘blind sort’, a secret agent complete with dark glasses and the James Bond soundtrack, a video clip to simplify a tricky strategy and a shower curtain map of the world that linked spelling with geography!
To wrap the session up parents were asked to share one of the strategies they most clearly remembered.
We thank those who were able to come, and we look forward to welcoming more parents to the upcoming Numeracy Workshops early in Term 2.
Ms Sue Cunningham, Coordinator of Teaching & Learning K-6
A Catholic School in the Salesian Tradition
