The development of spelling competence in elementary school children

The basis of this thesis was an experiment designed to determine when and to what extent elementary school children begin to use spelling principles creatively. One hundred thirty-four children in grades two to six were given a spelling test composed of nonsense words which, in order to be spelled correctly, require the speller's knowledge of the major sound-letter correspondences of English orthography, including the use of final "silent" e and doubled consonants. Results of the experiment indicate a correspondence between children's spelling abilities and the organization of their spelling series, Basic Goals in Spelling by Kottmeyer and Ware. Because of the powerful role of the series (which is used throughout California) in shaping the spelling competence of the children tested, the series and the principles underlying it are examined in detail in this paper.