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Below is a list of examples of types of spellers you may encounter in the classroom and suggestions of how to deal with them.
•The Perfectionist
This student will not write unless the teacher gives him/her the correct spelling of a word. He is highly intelligent. He
knows there is a right way to spell a word and insists on using it. Many have seen too many red lines on first drafts from
teachers. Often the parents are highly critical of errors (Graves, 2003).
Make allies of the parents. Ask them to accept less than perfect spelling.
Make student write for five minutes uninterrupted. He is to circle words he wants to ask about later. Teacher does not
spell words for him during this time only monitors the flow of writing. Later she writes correct spelling over the circled
words or helps him find the correct spelling (Graves, 2003).
•The“I know what it says” speller
He can read it, but anyone else has great difficulty interpreting the writing. He sees no need to work on it because he can
read it. He doesn't understand the purpose of writing. He doesn't see it as communication. Often writing is viewed as just
a task for an audience of one--the teacher (Graves, 2003).
Sometimes giving the child an audience helps. Have him share with a peer. The student needs to realize that if other students
can't read his words, they will not understand his message (Graves, 2003).
•The Safe word speller
This child is similar to the perfectionist. She does not want to have a misspelled word in her writing. Rather than ask the
teacher, this student will simply abandon an entire topic because of the inability to spell a key word. She will find a topic
with safe words she can spell correctly (Graves, 2003).
This child is more difficult to see because she does not make a lot of noise. You will have to discover her through observation.
The teacher needs to stress the concentration on information in the early drafts and responsibility for spelling in the final
draft. The student needs to be convinced to put down the words and to deal with the spelling later so the flow of information
is not interrupted (Graves, 2003).
•The Self-diagnosed poor speller
This student has received messages that have conveyed to him that he can't spell. This may be from red-circled misspellings
with no help. He says, "I can't spell." This leads to further misspellings (Graves, 2003).
These students need to be given many spelling strategies to use such as how to sense if a word is misspelled, to use a poor
speller's dictionary, to use meaning, to keep a list of high-frequency words, and to consult before final draft (Graves, 2003).
•The Avoidance writer
This child is usually highly intelligent and very verbal, but avoids writing. When forced to write, he only turns out a few
lines that are filled with numerous misspellings and are barely legible. He may elaborate with drawings and will be able to
tell you about what he didn't write (Graves, 2003).
This student needs to write every day. This should start with at least fifteen minute. Conference with him and as he tells
you about his topic. Write down five or six key words--include nouns and verbs. Give these to him to use when he writes. They
will serve as a word bank to get him started.
Use a word count. Have him set goals and keep a record of how many words he writes each day. Let him share his written
work with classmates so he experiences the power of print (Graves, 2003).
•The Poor Visual learner
This student can hear the sounds, but has poor visual memory and does not put in the silent letters or catch the other nuances
of spelling that are not related to sound (Graves, 2003).
While conferencing with the student, the teacher should write down five or six of the words (no more), a mixture of nouns
and verbs, that the student has said that she might use in her writing. The words will serve as access to information as well
as aids to visual memory through their correct spelling.
Write correct spellings over high-frequency words in the student's first draft. Do this for only five or six words. If
every misspelled word is corrected, the student will yield control of the spelling to the teacher.
Build up a word bank relating to topics of interest in their writing folder.
Have the student draw a line under the words she thinks are almost spelled correctly and circle the words that are way
off. Eventually, the almost correct words can be looked up in the dictionary.
Each week have the student write seven to eight of the high-frequency words on cards. Twice a week have a partner show
her the words for three seconds, then write the word. At the end of the week, the student takes a test over her spelling words.
The student keeps her own record of her progress (Graves, 2003).
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