Research showing that spelling should not be a part of elementary school curriculum?

The “research” the district is going by likely includes that of Sandra Wilde, who insists that learning to spell should ultimately be as natural, pleasant and effortless as learning to speak:

http://spellingstrategies.com/

http://www.heinemann.com/authors/985.aspx

Other pertinent links include:

The Importance of Automaticity and Fluency For Efficient Reading Comprehension

by Pamela E. Hook and Sandra D. Jones

http://www.spellingcity.com/fluency.html

Musings on the teaching of spelling

http://henriettami.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/musing...

Just so you know, there is still quite a bit of controversy over the "holistic approach" to spelling that eliminates the traditional spelling tests. Some teachers do continue to give spelling tests, in quiet opposition to their district's "official" curriculum. Moreover, there remain continued complaints from high school English teachers on the atrocious spelling that results from the holistic approach, with some complaining that too many of their high school students "hate" writing because they are fully aware of--and ashamed of--their poor spelling.

Then again, other research has found that spelling tests are not very effective in teaching children to spell. Those children who easily learn by rote do fine on the tests, but those who don't memorize easily end up feeling discouraged and frustrated. Far better is for children to learn spelling in the course of, and in context with, their other studies and interests.

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I'll do some looking today when I get more than just a few minutes (bear with me) and post what I find.

I don't know that I can find anything specific to spelling, but I'll look for some research about how information is best learned in context, and that does apply to spelling. The idea is that spelling is best learned not by teaching spelling but by providing opportunities for reading and writing. Story time, creative and scientific writing, project planning, researching, and other similar activities provide great opportunities for kids to learn how to spell, and the lesson learned is typically higher quality. It's fine for a teacher to notice that the students are having exceptional difficulty with particular spelling patterns and spending some time focusing on those when they come up, but even then kids will learn better by working on projects where they use those words rather than just drill-skilling them into memory.

I think the emphasis has been shifted so that you gain more points for ideas and constructing arguments rather than spelling, but if it is really atrocious then yes, you will lose points. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that as literacy levels have increased, so has the opinion that education is being 'dumbed down', when in fact more people than ever can read and write with at least some level of competency than ever before. Language evolves and adapts to suit the needs of its users -some call this 'dumbing down', others recognise it as a natural and inevitable change (otherwise we'd all be speaking Middle English like Chaucer did! -now that's ever more incomprehensible than Shakespeare!)

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