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Posted on October 20, 2014 3:45 am
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mequqy
mequqy
Reps: 87
Spelling Tests
Many teachers have done away with traditional spelling tests, but in my third grade classroom last year, I saw the negative influence upon students, especially in their writing. Though phonics instruction was provided early on in their education, the lack of spelling instruction resulted in their lack of knowledge of spelling and recognizing words within different texts. Should spelling tests be implemented again, or are they too outdated for today's students?
 
     
     
 
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Solution 1
Posted February 24, 2015 4:04 pm

zyWute
zyWute
Reps: 201
I think spelling tests should be in the classroom still. Although we have spellcheck and other tools to help us with spelling in today's day, children need to know words on their own. What happens when they are writing on paper and don't have a computer? We cannot become solely reliant on technology, we still need students to learn spelling.
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Solution 2
Posted February 20, 2015 8:40 pm

aBudyP
aBudyP
Reps: 97
I think spelling tests should be used. If students never have a chance to practice spelling words, then any writing assignments they have later on they could have trouble with sounding out words and thinking through their spelling.
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Solution 3
Posted October 20, 2014 10:49 pm

umyhyT
umyhyT
Reps: 95
I know every student is different, but for me personally, spelling tests really did help me. Like in the situation you presented, my teachers noticed the same negative impact in my classroom when spelling tests were taken away.
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Solution 4
Posted September 30, 2015 3:48 pm

Megan Lee
Megan Lee
Reps: 200
I think that spelling tests should continue to be used in the classroom. In one of the classes that I observed, the teacher had students do a variety of activities on their weekly spelling words in addition to learning how to spell them. Some of these activities were finding the definitions for each word, and using the words correctly in a sentence or paragraph. At the end of the week, students turned in all of their activities and were given the spelling test. I found this strategy to be very effective, it helped students learn how to both spell and correctly use the words, improving their writing skills.
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Solution 5
Posted October 11, 2015 5:58 pm

dubaNu
dubaNu
Reps: 190
I believe that spelling tests are extremely beneficial to students. Not only does it help them learn how to sound words out, but their vocabulary words can be words they will use for the rest of their lives.
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Solution 6
Posted March 9, 2015 1:37 pm

yPyjeW
yPyjeW
Reps: 104
Absolutely! Spelling textbooks AND tests should be be implemented again! I am an outstanding speller. When I was in school, we had an actual textbook with guided work every single day, as well as tests every Friday. We were not only asked to spell the words, but were asked every single afternoon to complete an assignment involving the words and comprehension. My younger sister (4 years younger), is a horrible speller. She has had to rely on "spell check" to guide her through both undergrad and her Master's program! It's embarrassing to her. Students today rely too much on the computer to do their work for them, just like students in math classes rely on calculators instead of reasoning through the particular strategies needed to complete the problem.
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Solution 7
Posted March 10, 2015 12:33 am

edyRav
edyRav
Reps: 108
I believe spelling tests should be implemented again to provide accountability for the students. If they do not feel there is value placed on spelling, they will not value it in their work. I do believe that many students do not retain the words they studied each week. I think teachers should incorporate spelling words from various weeks throughout the year, so the students do not study them one week and then forget them by the start of the next week.
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Solution 8
Posted October 5, 2015 3:30 am

Caitlyn Bogatin
Caitlyn Bogatin
Reps: 100
I believe they are necessary because I myself struggle with spelling and I think if it was found to be more important or focused on a little bit more when I was in elementary school then maybe I would be better at spelling. I would just do something a little more fun for them to practice like cut and pasting or drawing a picture or making a story with the words.
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Solution 9
Posted March 12, 2015 1:45 am

eTypaX
eTypaX
Reps: 104
I have stopped giving Spelling Tests in my classroom. In writing when I conference with the students I expect to see the pattern we are working on in phonics to be used correctly in their writing. I also expect the sight words we are working on to be spelled correctly. I use checklists when I conference and spelling is a section on the checklist. I try to conference with my students each week and we refer back to the checklist each week to hold them accountable for what we talked about previously.
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Solution 10
Posted March 12, 2015 3:46 pm

yqureZ
yqureZ
Reps: 103
I think that spelling tests should be used still. I teach in high school and students cannot spell many common words correctly and have to use their phones to check the spelling of words. Putting in these tests again will help to build up this foundation for spelling.
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Solution 11
Posted March 15, 2015 3:09 pm

ByHuSu
ByHuSu
Reps: 102
This year was the first year I have not used spelling tests, and I just went back to them last week. Spelling tests with random words are good, but I don't think that is the point of the tests. I think they are best used when they focus on a specific phonics pattern for the week. By having the students memorize those spellings, it will help them make connections for similar words in the future, even if that particular word was not on a spelling test. Sometimes repetition really is best.
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Solution 12
Posted February 24, 2017 6:08 pm

gyVyPe
gyVyPe
Reps: 250
I think that spelling tests should still be implemented into the classroom. I believe it gives students the opportunity to learn new words and not just look towards a word wall for the spellings.
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Solution 13
Posted December 7, 2020 11:14 pm

Stephanie A
Stephanie A
Reps: 54
I believe that there is room for them in the classroom. I noticed with my own child that spelling isn't stressed anymore and her skills have not progressed. I try and work with her at home but when its not reinforced in the classroom theres little I can do.
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Solution 14
Posted September 25, 2023 2:27 am

yPeSyL
yPeSyL
Reps: 50
I believe that spelling test are important. It helps the student learn how to read. However, their are students that have difficulty reading so at times making adjustments to spelling test not only benefit the average student but the ones that struggle with writing. I've had students in my classroom that have had dyslexia and they were given seperate test at seperate times. Their tests were given in a multi-sensory way rather than the traditional way and when I tried to implement multsensory testing with my other students, it worked and they liked that way better. So, yes continue to implement spelling test but try to implement it in a way that is benefical to all of your students. Think outside the box!
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