How Words Cast Their Spell - Spelling Is an Integral Part of Learning the Language, Not a Matter of Memorization

Oct 5, 2026

Uploaded by gewufjwa

The text argues that spelling is foundational to literacy because it enables readers and writers to focus on meaning rather than the mechanics of producing letters. It critiques earlier beliefs that spelling skill mainly comes from visual memory and whole-word rote memorization, citing research that shows limited visual memory effects and different error patterns for regular versus irregular words. It proposes that effective spelling depends on linguistic knowledge of sounds, letter patterns, phoneme-grapheme correspondences, meaningful word parts, and orthographic memory.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

How Words Cast Their Spell

Spelling as part of learning language

Limits of visual memory and rote memorization

Sound-letter knowledge and orthographic memory

How Words Cast Their Spell Spelling Is an Integral Part of Learning the Language, Not a Matter of Memorization ILLUsTRATEd bY MIchAEL WOLOs hINOW By R. Malatesha Joshi, Rebecca Treiman, Suzanne Carreker, and Louisa C. Moats I n 1773, Noah Webster stated that “spelling is the foundation of reading and the greatest ornament of writing.”1 he was right. Good spelling is critical for literacy, and it makes writing much easier—allowing the writer to focus on the ideas tobe conveyed, not the letters needed to put those ideas on paper. But ever since Webster’s “spellers”(which focused on how to spell the sounds that makeup words and thus taught spelling and reading simultaneously) went out of fashion in the early 1900s, spelling has not received as much attention as reading. This is unfortunate because spelling instruction underpins reading success by creating an awareness of the sounds that make up words and the letters that spell those sounds. As children learn to spell, their knowledge of words improves and reading becomes easier.2 And yet, even though there is a close relationship between reading and spelling (the correlation between the two is quite strong,3 ranging from 0.66 to 0.90, where 0 would indicate no correlation R. Malatesha Joshi is professor of literacy education at Texas A&M University, author of numerous books and articles on reading and spelling, and founding editor of Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Rebecca Treiman is Burke and Elizabeth High Baker Professor of Child Developmental Psychology at Washington University and author of dozens of studies on reading, writing, and spelling. Suzanne Carrekeris vice president of program development at the Neuhaus Education Center, author of several language and literacy programs, and a former teacher and school consultant. Louisa C. Moats is consultant on professional development and research initiatives for Sopris West Educational Services; author of several literacy programs, books, and reports, including the AFT’s Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science; and a former teacher and school psychologist. and 1 would indicate a perfect correlation), spelling in the elementary grades is usually taught as an isolated skill, often as a visual task.* Collectively, the authors of this paper have eight decades of experience helping preservice and inservice teachers improve their instruction in spelling, reading, and writing. one common perception we have encountered is that visual memory, analogousto taking a mental picture of the word, is the basis of spelling skill. Teachers often tell us that they teach spelling by encouraging whole-word memorization (e.g., using flashcards and having students write words 5 or 10 times) or by asking students to close their eyes and imagine words. We’ve encountered this perception that spelling relies on visual memory so many times that we became curious about when and how it originated—after all, it’sa far cry from Webster’s spellers. We traced it back to the 1920s: one of the earliest studies to stress the role of visual memory in spelling was published in 1926, and it found that deaf children spelled relatively well compared with normal children of similar reading experience.4 Based on this study, and the perception that the relationship between sounds and the letters that spell themis highly variable, many people concluded that learning to spell is essentially a matter of rote memorization. Thus, researchers recommended that spelling instruction emphasize the development of visual memory for whole words.5 More recent studies, however, do not support the notion that visual memory is the key to good spelling.6 Several researchers have found that rote visual memory for letter strings is limited to two or three letters in a word.7 In addition, studies of the errors * Throughout this article, the research and instructional strategies discussed are about spelling in english; they may not apply to other languages.

FAQs

Why is spelling considered critical for literacy in the text?

Good spelling supports literacy by making writing easier and allowing writers to focus on conveying ideas. Spelling instruction also builds awareness of sounds that make up words and how letters represent them.

What belief does the text challenge about how spelling is learned?

The text challenges the idea that visual memory is the main basis of spelling, such as teaching through whole-word memorization with flashcards or imagining words.

According to the text, what helps students spell well if not visual memorization?

Students spell well by developing insights from sound-letter correspondences and knowledge of meaningful word parts, syllables, and word origins. This supports a specialized memory system for letters in words, called orthographic memory.

Oct 5, 2026

Uploaded by gewufjwa