Clark Barrow

Spelling Stages

Developmental Spelling Theory

FrontPage

Orthography – “1. The art or study of standard spelling. 2. The aspect of language study comcerned with letters and spelling. 3. A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.” (Picket, 2002).

English orthography evolved through tiers of alphabet and meaning to provide a systematic structure for phonics and spelling. “The alphabet tier was established during the time of Old English” (Invernizzi & Hayes, 2004, p. 218). However, around 1066 the Old English language was heavily influenced by the “vocabulary and spelling traditions of the … the Norman French" (p. 218). The Old English language system is relevant to teachers today because developing spellers “spell like little Saxons as they begin to read and write" (Henderson, 1981 as cited in Invernizzi & Hayes, p. 218). In any case, today English orthography is based on a progressive tier of Alphabetic, Pattern, and Meaning and helps give meaning to Spelling Stages.

Invernizzi, M. & Hayes, L. (2004). Developmental-spelling research: A systematic imperative. Reading and Research Quarterly, 39(2), 216-228.

Picket, J. P. (Executive Ed.). (2002). American heritage college dictionary (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.