Mrs. Fry

 
Fourth Grade Spelling Skills
 
 
A fourth grader's spelling experience should include:
 
spelling by analogy (be_: behind, because, behave)
short and long vowel spelling patterns (long a: able, state, rainy, today)
consonant blends (_r: library, hundred, scratch)
irregular spellings (build, watch, friend)
consonant spelling patterns (/j/: just, change, giant, gym)
soft/hard consonant spelling patterns (c: cities, fancy, notice, complete. cute)
spelling digraphs (weather, English, wheel, telephone, check)
spelling diphthongs (/ou/ hour, power; /oi/ voice, enjoy)
r-controlled vowels (/er/ certain, third, surface)
multisyllabic words (information)
spelling soft-syllable endings (/əl/: apple, final, camel)
spelling high-frequency words
spelling plurals and inflectional endings correctly
spelling roots, prefixes and suffixes correctly
 
 
Students will learn strategies that enable them to anticipate the spelling of a word, such as /er/ is usually spelled er, ir, or ur in stressed syllables  (person, circle, surface) but when /er/ follows /w/, the sound is usually spelled or (world).
 
These strategies should be integrated with opportunities for language growth. This might include antonyms (summer/winter), synonyms (construct/build), homophones (there/their/they're), homographs (wound, object), possessives (Maria's friend's his), regular and irregular plurals (hearts, geese), contractions (shouldn't), multiple meanings (check), idioms (caught short), compound words (everything), analogies (common: uncommon:: complete: incomplete), often confused words (lose/loose), abbreviations ( hour/hr.) Greek and Latin roots (port/transport) and sorting words by meaning, phonetic analysis and structural attributes.
 
Students should explore other word forms of high-use writing through the addition of prefixes and suffixes and the basic rules that govern their use. Students should have opportunities to explore irregular verb forms.
 
Explicit instruction in visual skills is essential. This is done in every spelling unit during the Word Preview. Students are then expected to apply these skills in writing and proofreading.
 
Students need abundant writing opportunities to work toward the mastery of Core Words 1-500, to grow them into many more words and to maintain 100% accuracy in all everyday writing for Priority Words 1-75 by the end of the school year.