Spelling for Life
Spelling for life: Uncovering the simplicity and science of spelling
by Lyn Stone
A good introduction to how to teach English spelling, clearly conveying the enthusiasm and experience of the author
This book is part of Lyn Stone’s popular ‘for Life’ series that includes Reading for Life (reviewed here) and Language for Life.
What it’s about
After a short introduction about spelling assessment and orthographic mapping, most of the book is a series of example lessons that take the reader through spelling rules or useful concepts within spelling. For example, there are chapters on the difference between consonant sounds and vowel sounds, how to teach homophones, the jobs of Final Silent E and when to change <y> into <i>.
The good
This book is packed with useful information and examples, including word lists (which are hugely time-saving for teachers of spelling!). The example scripts/dialogues within each ‘lesson’ are quick way of demonstrating how to communicate concepts to students, as well as reinforcing concepts for the teacher-reader. I also liked the way that the author gets pupils engaged with thinking about spelling and generating examples for themselves, making the concepts that are taught far more likely to be remembered.
The best bit
My favourite part of this book is Lyn Stone’s treatment of spelling ‘exceptions’ as something to celebrate. As she puts it, “the idea is to get students to revel in the exceptions” (p. 8). She provides seven major explanations for exceptional words:
borrowed words
abbreviations
acronyms
names
jargon (scientific/technical vocabulary)
old
slang
When they encounter exceptions, students are encouraged to figure out the ‘word story’ that explains the spelling. This is an excellent way of easing students’ frustration with ‘broken rules’ by putting words in the context of how spelling developed, and how languages change.
The less good
This book seems slightly intermediate between a book about spelling and a spelling programme. That is, you can learn a lot about spelling and how to teach spelling by reading this book, and it gives example lessons and some worksheets. However, it will require a lot of thought and practice to be confident delivering the lessons – Lyn Stone has a website that includes free videos that may help with this.
For those teaching adolescents some of the teaching suggestions may be a bit ‘young’ – Lyn Stone describes the book as aimed at a “middle primary audience” (p. 185) – although the lessons can be adapted for older students.
The takeaway
I recommend this for teachers who want to get to grips with the key concepts that are needed to teach English spelling. However, I suggest supplementing it with a systematic description of spelling rules such as Uncovering the Logic of English (reviewed here) and a structured intervention programme (such as LIfTT).