Hello 3rd Grade Parents-

One thing we wanted to touch base with you on is spelling. Your child may have mentioned that spelling will be a bit different this year. In the past, your child was asked to memorize the spelling of 10-20 words on a list. The list was given on a Monday and the students were given a test on Friday. With any luck, your student would remember the correct spelling of a word when using it while writing.

With the implementation of Iowa Common Core Standards, the focus is no longer on having the child memorize the spelling of the words. Research suggests that the whole-class weekly spelling test is much less effective than an approach in which different students have different sets of words depending on their stage of spelling development, and emphasis is placed on analyzing and using the words rather than taking a test on them ( Palmer & Invernizzi, 2015).

With that said, we will not be using drill and practice, rote memory assessments to test your students achievement in spelling. Instead, we will be assessing phonics, decoding, and use of the words in the correct context. Your student will still have a spelling list every week. However these words will be used to teach sounds and letter patterns within the words. For example, this week’s spelling strategy is VCe words. (words with a vowel,consonant e like in come) We will teach the students how to segment the word and find the vowel, consonant, and letter e pattern. Then using what they have learned about the patterns, be able to use this in their daily writing. This will help them to not only help them in spelling but also in their reading achievements. We will practice our spellings words and skills weekly.

Thank you for working through this change with us. You can continue to work on the spelling of the words with your kids as practice, but instead of memorizing them, have them write it by using it correctly in a sentence. Encourage them to identify the phonics and patterns in the words. Please let Mrs. Sliger or I know if you have any questions about the spelling this year.

Educationally yours,

Mrs. Bock and Mrs. Sliger