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Theoretical Assumptions : An Essential Literacy Skill

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Theoretical Assumptions Spelling is an essential literacy skill. It is linked to reading. And it can be argued that learning to spell can enhance reading ability. As is the case with reading ability, spelling ability can be classified into stages or levels. And in most cases students will progress through these levels in a predictable and interrelated fashion. As students begin to read more fluently, their writing becomes more fluent. Holly is an example where this is not the case. She is a proficient and fluent reader. She is not a fluent writer. Still, she is developing as a writer and, more specifically, a speller. Spelling is still developmental, if not synchronous with reading. Children are actively involved in their learning. They construct their knowledge. Current research shows that this goes for spelling as well (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2012). Students go through stages of spelling development. It is an individual and can vary based on experiences. The Words Their Way program outlines a developmental spelling approach theory. It assumes that students progress through three stages of spelling in the English language system, and that these stages build off each other. Students make sense of spelling first through letter-sound relationships, then patterns, and finally meaning. It concentrates on an individualized approach. Students are assessed individually, and then taught at their individual developmental stage using the

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