SCET Journal 2020

Reconsidering

Our Practice

Conclusions Based on the findings from my data and obser- vations, I discovered that the explicit review of word wall words, along with the establishment of the interactive word wall within the classroom, effectively enabled students to correctly spell word wall words in writing. Students were more reflective and aware of their spelling abilities while writing, in developing a spelling consciousness, while simultaneously produc- ing writings that have correct spellings. Even more so, I observed students having conversations about the use of the word wall word to independently fix their mistakes in their writings. Students encouraged one another and reminded each other to use the wall as a resource to attend to spelling doubts, challenges, and revisions. Taking these findings into consideration, to improve my literacy instruction, I would continue to incorporate these strategies to enable students to correctly spell word wall words and do the same for future classes. As a result of my findings, I would recommend the following for future action research: establishing a content based interactive word wall to improve stu- dents’ understandings in science and social studies. References Alderman, G.L., & Green, S.K. (2011). Fostering lifelong spellers through meaningful experiences. Reading Teacher , 64( 8 ), 599- 605. doi: 10.1598/RT.64.8.5 Brabham, E.G., & Villaume, S.K. (2001). Building walls of words. Reading Teacher , 54 (7 ) , 700-702. Retrieved from: http:// web.b.ebscohost.com.login.library.coastal.edu:2048/ehost/ detail/detail?vid=26&sid=03c84ddd-dbb7-4ccc-be5e- ee7a7325dddf%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc 3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=4279386&db=ehh Cordewener, K.H., Verhoeven, L., & Bosman, A.T. (2016). Improving spelling performance and spelling consciousness. Journal of Experimental Education , 84 (1), 48-74. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2014.963213 Daffern, T. (2017). What happens when a teacher uses metalanguage to teach spelling? Reading Teacher , 70 (4), 423- 434. doi: 10.1002/trtr.1528

The interactive wall can offer an additional visual resource to utilize within the classroom and can even include visuals, diagrams, and charts. With the use and establishment of another interactive word wall, through the incorporation of the same procedures, this could improve students’ understanding of these words and increase their use of these words in writing activities and dialogue. In addition, the content word wall serves as a visualization of the vocabulary words which can provide students additional educational benefits in word and vocabulary recognition. Likewise, the pictures and models that coincide with the vocab- ulary words would be beneficial for the ESOL student population in congruence with the other students in the classroom. This recommendation is based off the findings from my data collected for mastery of word wall words, where the class average of the correct spelling of word wall words was 97.5%. Furthermore, my observations of students using the word wall word for the purpose of improving spelling, which led to an awareness of spelling abilities, along with observations of student discussions encouraging and engaging one another in the use of the word wall, are the support for the recommendation. web.b.ebscohost.com.login.library.coastal.edu:2048/ehost/ detail/detail?vid=29&sid=03c84ddd-dbb7-4ccc-be5e- ee7a7325dddf%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc 3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=767973&db=ehh Jackson, J., & Durham, A. (2016). Methods & strategies: Put your walls to work. Science and Children , 54 (3), 78-84. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.login.library.coastal. edu:2048/ehost/detail/detail?vid=35&sid=03c84ddd-dbb7- 4ccc-be5e-ee7a7325dddf%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNp dGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=119126778&db=ehh Jones, A., Wardlow, L., Pan, S., Zepeda, C., Heyman, G., Dunlosky, J., & Rickard, T. (2016). Beyond the rainbow: Retrieval practice leads to better spelling than does rainbow writing. Educational Psychology Review , 28 (2), 385-400. doi: 10.1007/s10648- 015-9330-6 Gentry, J.R. (1998). Boost spelling skills with wall charts. Instructor-Primary , 107 (6), 28. Retrieved from: http://

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