SCET Journal 2020

Reconsidering

Our Practice

and can positively improve writing abilities as students use this consciousness of spelling to form logical and meaningful sentences that include voice, wording, organization, and purpose. As termed by Cordewener, Verhoeven, & Bosman (2016), “Knowledge of one’s spelling dif culties and the ability to detect and correct one’s spelling errors is known as spelling conscious- ness” (p. 48). Hence, this spelling consciousness that is formed through explicit review of word wall words and an interactive word wall, allows mastery of the word wall words. The interaction between the word wall and the students, along with the interaction between the student and the word, enables the creation of this spelling consciousness that similarly propels students to cultivate purposeful, strong writing that is needed in today’s world to communicate. Examples of such connectivity that can occur with- in a classroom to increase the interaction of students with these words, in order to improve spelling and writing, includes counting letters, reading each word and clapping, comparing length of words, singing the words, and jumping as each word is stated (Corde- wener, et al., 2016). Even more so, playing “I Spy” to search for specific words on the wall and standing/ sitting while reading the words are other activities. Student interaction and involvement with word wall words on a daily basis is beneficial as it allows for these improvements to occur. The following is a sam- ple of how a teacher can incorporate the procedure of the utilization of the use of the word wall word: Teacher: There is something in our classroom that can help us when we want to write some words. Hmm, where could I look? The students take turns telling me a word that is on the wall and spelling it for me as I write it on the board. I explain to students that as they write their sentences, they will let our group know if the word they need is on the word wall. If it is, we will all stop and find the word on the word wall together. (VanNess, Murnen, & Bertelsen, 2013, p. 581). Similar to this scenario, when the incorporation of the word wall as a reference tool is utilized, and the experiences and teachable moments that arise from the use of the wall are encouraged during the process of writing, spelling and writing, two vital components of language, are strengthened. This supplies students with the skills and knowledge required to become es- sential members of society, as they are building these

components, along with understanding language. Through the implementation of an interactive word wall and explicit review of these word wall words, students can strengthen their awareness of the English language, secure their knowledge of word wall words, and become more familiar with spelling conventions. Likewise, this can lead to improvements in their writing abilities as they focus on the clarity, precision, and formation of the writing process. Fun, engaging expe- riences with these words and the use of the wall as a tool, not only provides students with a positive experi- ence in an area that can be challenging and worrisome, but also establishes these key skills that students need to thrive in today’s world of communication. Even more so, as noted by Alderman & Green (2011): Teaching spelling words in isolation takes away their relevance for students and reduces their mo- tivation for wanting to learn. If children can see the value of communicating with their spelling words in everyday life, they will want to learn for mastery— and not just to get a perfect score on a test on one day. (p. 601). In sum, these strategies that foster engaging, pos- itive experiences with the words increase motivation, while also, strengthening each student’s spelling con- sciousness, improving spelling abilities, and, simul- taneously, reinforcing ideal components to develop fluent, coherent, and purposeful writers and writings. Data Collection In the implementation of the data collection pro- cess, qualitative data was incorporated as the primary research method for this study. The technique that was used to meet the research statement of: improv- ing students’ ability to spell word wall words correctly, comprised of observations of the students as they are writing to determine if, and how, they are using the word wall word as a reference tool during their writing time. This technique involved the passive observ- er degree of participation in that I was only present to observe the students’ use of the word wall word during writing time and did not assist them in using and/or spelling the words correctly. The second data technique encompassed the collection of student writing samples to see if the word wall words were being spelled correctly while writing within a context. For this data collection technique, students’ mas- tery of correctly spelling word wall words within their

2018/2019

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