Spelling Inquiry - Softcover

Chandler, Kelly; Group, Mapleton Teacher-Research

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1571103031 ISBN 13: 9781571103031

Publisher: Routledge, 1999

Synopsis

Book by Chandler, Kelly, Group, Mapleton Teacher-Research

About this title

From the Back Cover

Teacher research often starts with a tension, an unnamed "something" that rubs against our teaching life like a pebble in a shoe. Ruth Shagoury Hubbard

For the members of the Mapleton Teacher-Research Group, spelling was that pebble in the shoe. Although these Maine elementary teachers had moved toward a holistic philosophy of teaching reading and writing, their spelling instruction lagged behind. Some teachers were still using traditional strategies that didn't seem to transfer to authentic literacy tasks, while others were using an "in context" approach that didn't seem to be explicit enough to produce proficient spellers. Rather than ignoring these tensions, the authors turned to teacher research to develop a program that is genuinely student-centered and inquiry-based.

Written by classroom teachers using a unique collaborative process, the book has a two-fold emphasis on inquiry. The authors discuss how to foster inquiry-based learning about spelling in their classrooms and also provide a detailed look at the workings of their schoolwide teacher research group. The accessible and lively narrative blends the voices of a dozen members, providing a truly K-5 perspective on spelling development.

Other unique features of Spelling Inquiry include:

- conveniently boxed tips on concrete teaching strategies that work for members of the research group;
- specific suggestions on how to start an inquiry group and how to integrate research into your daily practices;
- a detailed description of the process members used to develop a schoolwide survey on spelling for parents, as well as discussion of the ways they changed their practices based on the results;
- a chapter on assessment and evaluation including discussion of how the group developed and adopted a schoolwide rubric to evaluate spelling;
- five brief essays--including the morning message, "have a go" sheets, and spelling workshop--written by individual teacher-researchers that focus on specific strategies for teaching spelling.

Whether you are interested in spelling instruction or teacher research, Spelling Inquiry will help you pose personally compelling questions and develop a workable plan for answering them.

About the Author

Members of the Mapleton Teacher-Research Group teach grades K-5 at Mapleton Elementary School in northern Maine. They have been conducting research on literacy teaching and learning in their own classrooms since 1996. Kelly Chandler is an assistant professor of reading and language arts education at Syracuse University. She attended Mapleton Elementary from 1975-1981.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1571103031
• ISBN 13: 9781571103031
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176