Chapter 2
• Spelling inventories consists of lists of words specially chosen to represent a variety of spelling features or patterns at increasing levels of difficulty.
• The best guide to selecting an inventory is the grade level of the students you teach.
• Three reasons why spelling inventories are used are to find out what particular orthographic features students know and what to study, identify students developmental stage of work knowledge or instructional level, group students for instruction, monitor students growth in work knowledge over time, and provides information on students spelling stage and reading level.
• To obtain a complete understanding of the work knowledge of English language learners we should study what students know about literacy in their primary or first language.
• The continuum of features at the top of the feature guide shows gradations for each developmental level.
• Experience has shown that when students study a particular orthographic feature, it is best if they are in groups with students who are ready to study the same features.
• Spelling assessments are used to identify students developmental stages, to determine features that need instruction, and to and to form and reform instructional groups.
• Primary Spelling Inventory
-Grades K-3
-26 words that start with simple CVC words and ends with inflected endings
-Kindergarten read aloud 5 words
-1-3 grade read aloud 25 words
• Elementary Spelling Inventory
-Grades 1-6
-25 increasingly difficult words
-Starting with “bed” and ending with “opposition”
• Upper Level Spelling Inventory
-Upper level elementary through high school
-31 words
-Arranged in order of difficulty from “switch” to “irresponsible”
***For PSI, ESI, and ULSI one should stop testing a student when he/she reaches their frustration level or misspells 5 words in a row. ***
• KSI stands for Kindergarten spelling inventory
-5 phoneme words are carefully chosen and are a part of PALS testing
• QIWK qualitative inventory word knowledge
-Looking at students writing in their journals or first drafts of reports or stories
• WFI word feature inventory
-Divided into four achievement levels to corresponding to four of the five stages developmental word knowledge (all but emergent stage)
• A spelling inventory should be given 3 times a year, beginning, middle and end to assess progress and to determine if changes need to be made
• Spelling inventories are scored using a feature guide
-One should calculate a power/raw score (right/wrong)
• Common confusion in scoring
-Static Reversal: writing letters backwards (“b” for “d”)
-Kinetic: error of letter order (“pte” for “pet”)
-Both should be counted as correct in terms of represented sounds but not for correct spelling
