cdyer31_journal1

Monday, February 9, 2009
Every Friday, when I go to Mrs. Moniz’s first-grade classroom, she gives her students a basic spelling test, just like the ones I remember from my elementary school days. The test consists of around ten to twelve words that fit into two different categories. She asked me to read off the words from the first category (say it, repeat it, press it, write it, and then listen to it being used in a sentence), and she expects them to know those words by heart. The second category, however, is harder, so she always stops the test and tells everyone to stand up in order to go over those words one more time. She shows them a cutout of the word and then does an exercise with them, spelling the words and doing a motion for each letter so they can remember better. It is really cute to watch – put your hands on your hips for letters that would stay on the line, assuming you were writing them out (like e, i or o, for example), raise your hands to the sky for letters that would go above the line (like k, l, and h for example) and touch your toes for letters that would go below the line (like g, y and q, for example). After this exercise, she has all the students sit down and then she reads off the words and only says them in a sentence. Many of the students still have a few words missing on the page after all of this repetition, so she goes around to make sure that everyone has an answer down for every number and repeats words if necessary.

After the spelling test, she has all the students sit on the rug and listen to a story as I grade the tests. She tells me to put an “x” through any of the numbers the students get wrong and then write the word correctly next to their incorrect answers. She then asks me to write a fraction on the top of each page (ex/ 5/6 for the first side and 3/4 for the other side). She will later record those results in her grade book and perhaps save them for parent conferences and personal reference. She does not use these words again because there are always new words every week.

I think that there is a lot of merit to these tests because students need drilling at the beginning. None of this information is in their base of prior knowledge; first-graders have hardly anything to draw on when it comes to the written word. I remember studying with my mother every Thursday night – drilling and drilling until the words were like second nature to me. I know that this goes against constructivist learning completely, but I don’t know if there is a better way to teach children how to spell at this level. It is sad for students whose parents don’t practice with them; I can see clear evidence every Friday of the children who just show up and write whatever comes to mind. Nonetheless, I think that it is hard to teach children the multitude of words in the English language without employing rote memorization to some degree. Moreover, I really like how she has every student say the word after she does, “press it” and then write it down. “Press it” means to break the word down into its individual syllables. This is so useful, in my opinion, because it makes them really think about the word in its parts. This might make it easier for them to visualize the word in their heads. Further, Mrs. Moniz uses a really fun exercise to teach children the words from the hard list (and maybe even the easy list at the beginning of the week when the new words are introduced). I think that this activity would be commended by many constructivist teachers; students make their own meaning of each word by assigning motions to each letter. First graders love motion, and the first five or six words are strictly read off the paper. I could see how a short break from sitting and writing could be really exciting to them and help them to remember better.

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