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Dear Parents,

You may have been wondering why your child brings home papers occasionally with incorrect spellings that haven't been corrected or marked by the teacher's pen.

Do you remember when you child learned to speak? S/he probably made many "mistakes" (or approximations) in speech, and they didn't bother you much. You may have corrected a few, laughed at several, but mostly you included the child in the events of everyday life, encouraged the child to speak and enjoyed the conversations. You probably knew, as parents do, that children learn to talk the same way they learn to sit up, crawl and walk ~ they learn to talk by talking!

Learning to write works the same way. For example.....in September of last year, one child wrote:
                                                  IyztvamHDisalm

Now this doesn't look like your writing any more than a child's early words sound like your talking. But it's a tremendous piece of work! First of all, and most important, this child knows that written language is supposed to mean something, and he knows exactly what it means when asked to read it. Just about every letter stands for one word in the story.
                                                   IyztvamHDisalm
                          I was (watching) TV at my house. Then I saw a little mouse.

Some developmental stages in writing come before this one, and others come after. From this sample I saw that the child knows the following:
            � print proceeds in a straight line from left to right across a page
            � print is made up of letters
            � letters come in upper and lower case
            � letters stand for sounds in the words he wants to write.

Later on, the child wrote the following response to a story about two friends playing together. The writing still doesn't look like yours, but it's much closer:
                                                      I like The prt.
                                        The blw and The.
                                         yullow turnn to.
                                             gren fum.
            (I like the part (when) the blue and the yellow turned to green from __________)

Since writing the earlier sample, this child has learned that:
             � written language is made up of words separated by spaces
             � each word between spaces stands for one word in speech.
             � written words are made up of a number of different letters
             � there are a number of letter/sound combinations in each word. (both beginning and
               ending sounds are included in this story)
             � when you "know" a word (the), you spell it the same way every time
             � if you don't "know" a word you can use what you do know about the letters and sounds
               to say what you mean until you learn the "correct" way.
             � you self correct your own writing when it doesn't look right to you, just as children
               self correct their own speech.
             � punctuation is a part of written language.

That's a lot to have learned, and the child has probably learned more that cannot be documented by looking at this one sample alone.

I plan to help your child learn to write the way you helped them to speak. If we put all our energy into correcting temporary spellings, children get discouraged and lose a natural desire to write. They learn from heavy correction that meaning is less important than spelling the words right. If we invite them to use their oral language in their writing, even though they can't spell all the words correctly, we free them to say what they mean. In fact, as the examples show, they learn a lot about writing in general, and spelling in particular, from the risks they take along the way. Children learn to write by writing, and we are most helpful to them when we appreciate and encourage their best attempts.

Is there a time for teaching particular points of spelling, grammar and punctuation? YES!! When a child publishes a story, all spelling, grammar and punctuation is corrected, as other children will be reading the story. We will also be starting spelling at the beginning of the year. I want my students to study the words to improve their writing, not just for a test. Therefore, all words tested on in spelling, become words in which the students must spell correctly in their daily writing.

I hope this letter has been of some help. Please remember to celebrate all successes, no matter how small they may seem. Every success is a building block to the next. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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