Spelling
- Reading, Reading, and more Reading.... The best way to learn how to
spell. Generally students whose spelling is significantly below grade
level do not read at grade level. Therefore they do not see the grade 4
vocabulary spelled correctly often enough for their brains to absorb the
proper spelling. In order for students to improve their spelling, they need to
improve their sight vocabulary by reading much material at the appropriate
reading level. Students today spend much less time reading because of the
amount of time spent on computers, playing computerized games and watching
television. This results in many students having poor spelling. It does not
help that many also use MS Messenger which encourages creative spelling and
that advertisers often warp the proper spelling of words to catch your eye in
print ads.
- Weekly Spelling Assignments & Tests
- Text: The Canadian Spelling Program II
- there will be about 36 weekly spelling lists
- the Spelling Pre-Test is done on Monday and is
written into the Spelling Duo-Tang
- class time is given to do assignments
and they are taken up in class on Thursday
- weekly spelling tests are also given on Thursday
- spelling lists & assignments in the Spelling
Duo-Tang will be used to evaluate handwriting
- SSQ - Spelling Skills Quizzes
- There are 30 weeks of additional vocabulary & skill building activities
- SSQ sheets are in a duo-tang
- One sheet per week is assigned for home completion
- SSQ is due on Mondays
- When is proper spelling expected?
- proper spelling is expected in all work that is
copied off the board and for the Agenda
- published works should be edited for spelling
- spelling is not checked or marked in Home Journal
writing or in writing assignments where the objective is to see
what the student knows
- parents are encouraged to have students fix their spelling by editing
work that is brought home
- poorly formed letters & incorrect use of
capital letters will count as spelling mistakes on tests
- diagnostic spelling tests will be administered 3
times in the year to establish grade level equivalencies
- Spelling in the English language is quite absurd
at times. Nevertheless, we all learn how to
spell. The exceptions to that statement are those who do not read enough and a
few unfortunate whose brains are hardwired to not retain proper spelling.
(These are the people who really need spell checkers). To see examples of cute poems written about this topic,
read on.
Spelling in the English Language is HARD!
Here is a collection of articles and "cute" poems that show just how absurd
spelling in the English language is.
An
English Test Our Queer Language
Owed to the Spell Checker
Words, Words
It looks weird but you CAN read this Chaos in
J17
Our Strange Lingo
Phoney Phonetics Why
English Is So Hard ToLearn
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Well begin with box, the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of mouse is never meese.
You may find a lone mouse, or a whole nest of mice,
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always men,
Why shouldnt the plural of pan be pen?
The cow in the plural may be called cows or kine,
But a bow if repeated is never called bine;
And the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
If I speak of a foot and you show me two feet,
And I give you a boot would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teth,
Why shouldnt the plural of booth be beeth?
If the singulars this and the plural these,
Should the plural of kiss ever be written keese?
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis and shim!
So the English, I think you will all agree,
Is the funniest language you ever did see.
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Our Queer Language
When the English tongue we speak,
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
Will you tell me why its not true
We say sew but likewise few;
And the maker of a verse Cannot cap his horse
with worse?
Beard sounds not the same as heard;
Cow is cow, but low is low;
Shoe is never rhymed with foe.
Think of hose and dose
and lose;
Think of comb and tomb
and bomb;
Doll and roll
and home and some.
And since pay is rhymed with say,
Why not paid with said,
I pray?
We have blood and food
and good;
Mould is not pronounced like could
Wherefore done but gone
and lone?
Is there any reason known?
And in short, it seems to me,
Sounds and letters disagree
Author Unknown
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This following poem is dedicated to all those who think that computers will
take over the world & help us fix everything - including poor spelling ;-)
Owed to the Spell Checker
I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no
Its vary polished in its weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of which won should be proud.
And wee mussed dew the best wee an,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.
And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked such grate flare,
There are know faults with in my cite,
Of none eye am a wear.
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule
The checker poured oer every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
Thats why aye brake in two averse
By righting wants too please.
Sow now ewe sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas!
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Many words that sound alike
Mean different things
Like these:
Tail and tale,
And pail and pale
And sees and seize
And seas.
And deer and dear,
And here and hear,
And two and to,
And too.
And pear and pair,
And fare and fair,
And dew and due,
And do.
Many words
That sound alike
Mean different things
I know;
Like sun and son,
And one and won,
And sew and sow,
And so.
Ilo Orleans |
It looks weird but you CAN read this:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanirg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabridge
Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The
rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is
bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!
Source unknown but many
references to this piece evident in posts on the Web during August & September
2004 (possibly from Cambridge University)
From The Simplified Spelling Society |
| Chaos in J17 I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of Heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead -
For goodness sake don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt). |
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there's dose and rose and lose -
Just look them up - and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart -
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd mastered it when I was five!Poes showing the absurdities of English
spelling. Quoted by Vivian Cook in Accomodating Brocolli in a Cemetary.
Melvin Bragg included an extract in The Adventure of English. |
Our Strange Lingo
When the English tongue we speak.
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
Will you tell me why it's true
We say sew but likewise few?
And the maker of the verse,
Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?
Beard is not the same as heard
Cord is different from word.
Cow is cow but low is low
Shoe is never rhymed with foe.
Think of hose, dose, and lose
|
And think of goose and yet with choose
Think of comb, tomb and bomb,
Doll and roll or home and some.
Since pay is rhymed with say
Why not paid with said I pray?
Think of blood, food and good.
Mould is not pronounced like could.
Wherefore done, but gone and lone -
Is there any reason known?
To sum up all, it seems to me
Sound and letters don't agree.This was written by Lord Cromer, published in the Spectator of August
9th, 1902
and extracts were quoted in
an Spelling Society
pamphlet in 1930 |
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Phoney Phonetics Attributed to Vivian Buchan, NEA Journal 1966/67, USA
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One reason why I cannot spell,
Although I learned the rules quite well
Is that some words like 'coup' and 'through'
Sound just like 'threw' and 'flue' and 'who';
When 'oo' is never spelled the same,
The 'juice' becomes a guessing game;
And then I ponder over 'though',
Is it spelled 'so', or 'throw', or 'bow',
I mean the 'bow' that sounds like 'plow',
And not the 'bow' that sounds like 'row' -
The 'row' that is pronounced like 'roe'.
I wonder, too, why 'rough' and 'tough',
That sound the same as 'gruff' and 'muff',
Are spelled like 'bough' and 'though', for they
Are both pronounced a different way.
And why can't I spell 'trough' and 'cough'
The same as I do 'scoff' and 'golf'?
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Why isn't 'drought' spelled just like 'route',
or 'doubt' or 'pout' or 'sauerkraut'?
When words all sound so much the same
To change the spelling seems a shame.
There is no sense - see sound like cents -
in making such a difference
Between the sight and sound of words;
Each spelling rule that undergirds
The way a word should look will fail
And often prove to no avail
Because exceptions will negate
The truth of what the rule may state;
So though I try, I still despair
And moan and mutter "It's not fair
That I'm held up to ridicule
And made to look like such a fool". |
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WHY ENGLISH IS SO HARD TO LEARN
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
The soldier decided to desert in the desert.
This was a good time to present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
The bandage was wound around the wound.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
They sent a sewer down to stitch the tear in the sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in my clothes I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
I read it once and will read it agen
I learned much from this learned treatise.
I was content to note the content of the message.
The Blessed Virgin blessed her. Blessed her richly.
It's a bit wicked to over-trim a short wicked candle.
If he will absent himself we mark him absent.
I incline toward bypassing the incline.
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