Use a morphograph-based rule-teaching routine: introduce the rule, apply it in whole-group instruction, then assign independent worksheet practice¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The Darch et al. (2006) intervention sessions followed a three-activity routine for rule-based spelling instruction: teachers first introduced "the spelling rule in whole group instruction time (5–7 minutes)," then applied "the spelling rule, also in whole-group instruction (10–12 minutes)," and finally had students complete "independent worksheet practice while the teacher circulated to assist as necessary (5–7 minutes)." Each 30-minute session focused on six words, and each week's sessions focused on a different type of word, such as phonetically regular words, regular words with a prefix or suffix, and irregular words. This routine operationalizes the morphemic strategy of teaching students to spell and blend bases and affixes.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires teachers trained to deliver scripted lessons; in the study, teachers were graduate students who received three 1-hour training sessions and had to demonstrate adequate performance during role-playing before implementation

Constraints¶

• The routine was implemented in sixteen 30-minute sessions over a 4-week period with all words taught at a fourth-grade level of difficulty; effects were substantively important but not statistically significant in that trial

Target Learners¶

• Elementary students with learning disabilities in grades 2–4

Target Learning Goals¶

• Spelling words composed of learned morphographs and applying consistent spelling rules

Related Strategies¶

• Direct Instruction Spelling
• Inflectional Endings Instruction

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. (2014, January). Students with Learning Disabilities intervention report: Spelling Mastery. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/579