Writing

Students have begun to write in their school journals more.  At this point in the year, students are learning to write using inventive spelling.  Students are encouraged to just write the sounds that they hear in the words. Research shows that this is a developmental stage in writing which helps students learn to read and write independently.  At this stage in their writing, it is okay that they do not spell words correctly.  It is important to allow them to experiment with the sounds in words to learn to read and write.  We only want to hold them accountable for what they have learned so they feel empowered and not overwhelmed when writing.  The English language has so many rules and exceptions to rules in spelling that they will learn as it becomes more developmentally appropriate.  You can help by encouraging them to write notes, letters, lists, and stories at home. They might even be motivated to keep their own at home journal.  At this point, the letters that students should be able to recognize and tell you the sound for are s, m, r, t, b, n, h, a, v, and c.  Please let me know if you have any questions about inventive spelling.