Invntiv Speling II: The Happy Medium

Inventive spelling is a topic that runs through my head again and again as I continue my journey in the world of education. I am constantly pondering, "How much 'inventive-ness' is too much?" In previous blogs I have already admitted my love for inventive spelling and how I wish I could convince the world that it's okay to miss spell words as long as meaning and comprehension is not lost. Yet, as an educator I am torn between allowing my kids to be creative and run freely with their writing, and the daunting fear of letting them continue yet another year with incorrect information on the proper spelling of words.

Finally-- some answers! Regie Routman's Writing Essentials touches on this topic in a refreshing way. In the last section of chapter 7, Routman state, "While inventive spelling is great for freeing kids to use words they might not typically write, sometimes we accept inventive spelling for words kids are capable of writing conventionally" (Routman 163). He states that it is reasonable to expect students to be able to spell a bank of words. For kindergarteners, the bank includes "I", "my" and "can." Since students at this stage are using words such as "I", "my" and "can" quite often in their writing, Routman believes that they might as well practice them correctly. Inventive spelling is still okay for words that students would not normally be expected to know (or be able to sound out phonetically), but if they are common words in their writing the expectations for conventional writing should be raised.

This is a refreshing outlook because it is the happy medium I have been searching for. Inventive spelling is okay, BUT it is also okay to ask a student to check his spelling on "was" written as "wz". And just as I was thinking, "Great, but how do I do this effectively?", the next few pages are full of practical applications for any classroom.

Routman suggests constructing Word Walls (Routman 165) with commonly used words that you should expect your students to spell correctly. Other Word Walls can specialized to include content from the unit in study, seasonal words, family words, students names, etc. Additionally, using Word Walls to highlight smaller words within long words will help students foster their ability to spell complex words by breaking them down.

I think Routman is very thoughtful in his approach to inventive spelling, finding a balance that makes me feel confident in given students freedom without sending them off to the 1st grade with "wrong" spelling skills.