Mar. 11, 2009 - Spelling Bees and SWR
My daughter will be participating in her first spelling bee this coming Saturday. We're busy preparing her for it, practicing the words, and reviewing like crazy. As we've been working, the questions other people have raised about spelling bees on our SWR Yahoo Group have come to mind. I thought I'd share about how SWR can help a student prepare for a spelling bee.
Letter Names Not Sounds
The first issue we've been having to deal with is that in a spelling bee, the student is required to spell words aloud using letter names, not the phonogram sounds which are second nature to SWR users. It is because of this element of bees, that I do NOT recommend having younger students or beginning readers participate in this kind of event. Brain research has indicated that the storage of letter names occurs in a different part of the brain than the sounds used in speech. When a student is learning to spell and read, the sounds of the words must be available for instant retrieval, not letter names. This is a strength of SWR as the phonogram sounds are emphasized in both reading and spelling. While letter names are certainly taught, they are learned in the process of analyzing words through reliable rules and the interaction between letters to make words. Shannon is doing well with the naming of letters to spell aloud, but occasionally she slips back into sounding a word out loud instead. Although this could be a problem during the bee, my overall goal for her is that she will spell well throughout life. It would appear that the foundation for that has been well laid!
Spelling Dictation
SWR has prepared us well for practicing the words on the bee list. I teach each word with the standard SWR spelling dictation, and Shannon writes them in a spiral notebook we are creating for this event. She is dividing words into syllables and using the SWR markings to analyze the words. Again, the work we've done with SWR is lending itself naturally to this further study.
Understanding Roots
A key to being able to spell is to recognize the root in a word under study and then to apply any spelling rules needed to create the derivative. For example, one of Shannon's words is mysteries. Before working on that word, we analyzed the root word mystery. Then we discussed the Y's Exchanging Rule which explains how the target ended up with the -ies ending. Whenever the word on her bee list is a derivative, we do this root work first. This not only improves her ability to accurately spell the target word, but it reinforces the work we've been doing in SWR with the rules.
Syllable Breaks
Anyone wanting to learn to spell accurately should first learn how to break words into syllables. This relates very strongly with the idea of perceiving roots in the target words. When Shannon can recognize the root of a word, she can easily apply the rules to transform that root into the derivative under study. Is there a prefix at the beginning of the root? Simply add the already-known prefixes. Is there a suffix at the end of the root? Apply the appropriate rule, and there you go! The simple act of breaking words into syllables can give cues as to the correct spelling. Is there a vowel at the end of a syllable? It is likely spelled with a single vowel instead of a multiletter phonogram. In addition, breaking a word into syllables first helps her mentally keep track of where she is in a word to be able to verbally spell it aloud. It breaks long words into small and manageable chunks which she can spell more carefully. Knowing and thinking in terms of syllable breaks is a huge advantage!
Review, Review, Review
There can be a lot of pressure on kids in a spelling bee. Everyone is looking at them. People hold their breath as each word is spelled slowly and carefully. One single letter out of place can disqualify the student in a moment. How does a student prepare for this? REVIEW!!! We are doing this in different ways. She practices saying the words aloud in syllable chunks. She practices spelling aloud. She practices writing the words. As she becomes more and more proficient at spelling them, my dictation and the pace quickens. This helps to replicate the pressure she'll feel at the bee. The words have to be so well ingrained that they will come out correctly when all eyes are on her. This is similar to our goal with SWR. We want the 2,000 Wise words to be so well learned that they are correctly and automatically spelled when the student's mind is occupied on the writing process instead of having to focus on spelling. We review while driving. We review while cooking dinner. We review while getting ready for bed. Review is the name of the game at this point.
Complexity of the List
We practiced today while working out at Curves. As we progressed around our circuit, the ladies overheard Shannon spelling her words. One of the ladies commented on how complex the words were that she was learning. That surprised me, but it shouldn't have. With SWR we are able to take apart any word in our language and reduce it to its most simple parts, syllables and phonograms. The phonograms and rules will apply to all words whether they are in a first grade reader or in a college Physics text. Our "think to spell" technique helps us remember those tricky parts of the words. For example, when the word enmity is pronounced in the flow of speech, the /n/ is often lost. Using "think to spell" we hear this distinctly while pronouncing the word in syllables. What about that I in the word view? We "think" this as a two-syllable word: vi + ew. No problem! With SWR spelling the words in our language makes so much sense!
How do I think she'll do this Saturday? I have no idea as this is her first spelling bee. I have communicated that I am thrilled with her practice and her attitude regardless of how well she performs on Saturday. She'll be a winner in my eyes even if someone else comes in first.
Comments
Mar. 14, 2009 - excellent!
Posted by Rhonda Bedee
Absolutely excellent analysis, Liz. I have been the caller & organizer for 2 Houston regional bees for our homeschool umbrella + local charter schools and the memory is fresh from 3 weeks ago. Everything you have commented on, especially the attitude, is aimed well.
Last year I read "American Bee" in preparation for my first time as caller. After the Bee, your family might enjoy reading some sections of this book aloud together, especially since there are favored stories of one standout homeschooler named Marshall at the national level! I say "standout" because he was revered for several years by other national competitors even though he never won; his family life was chronicled shortly and they appeared so balanced and friendly and normal!
If your daughter is participating in a Bee that feeds into the Scripps Nat'l Bee, let her know that the pronouncer must follow strict rules and the pronunciations are not always easy. The more questions she is allowed to ask about a word, the more time she has to consider and think about the word if she has any hesitancy.
ENJOY! I prayed for her this morning!
