Teaching English Spelling by Ruth Shemesh (CUP) Review written by Scott Shelton Teaching English Spelling As a teaching tool, this collection of detailed, easy to follow and ready to use lesson plans is an indispensable addition to any staffroom resource library. I believe this is due not only to the way it breaks down the spelling conundrum into manageable chunks and presentable patterns, but also because of its integrated skills approach and decidedly ingenious practice activities. An approach which allows for plenty of fun, while at the same time not only providing meaningful learning opportunities, but also valuable consolidation time for the learner to identify and digest the new patterns, transforming input to intake. The book is tidily divided into ten units, each which isolates a new sound (or phoneme), followed by presentations of various letter groups and spellings which the sound may be represented by. Among the patterns focussed on are the sound and spelling relationships of long and short vowel sounds, the hard and soft sounds of several consonants and consonant clusters, and the sound and spelling patterns of several single vowels and diphthongs. The final chapter deals with the orthographic ins and outs relating to silent letters and suffixes, and the spelling generalizations related to these. The genius of the book and the material presented lies in its consistently teacher and learner friendly approach. The step by step lesson outlines provide a consistent framework to aid with continuity, while at the same time incorporating numerous active teaching techniques which will engage the learner on many levels (and which address a plethora of learning styles as well). Each and every lesson plan includes a warmer activity, a presentation period in which the learner is drawn to an important spelling pattern either through aural and/or visual discrimination exercises, inducing active cognitive participation on the part of the learner, and include several practice activities, all happily photocopiable exercises and activities. | |
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