Elementary school teachers must explicitly teach spelling and handwriting to their
students (this is not to say that secondary educators do not address these skills, but they do so to
a lesser extent). For students with disabilities and for other struggling writers, more extensive
practice and review of spelling, vocabulary, and letter forms and the thoughtful application ofother adaptations (e.g., individualized and abbreviated spelling lists, special writing paper) by the
teacher will be required. Whether teaching spelling or handwriting, certain curriculum
considerations should be addressed, including the following:
• Sequencing skills or grouping elements (words or letters) in developmentally and
instructionally appropriate ways;
• Providing students opportunities to generalize spelling and handwriting skills to text
composition;
• Using activities that promote independence;
• Establishing weekly routines (e.g., pretest/posttest, distributed and cumulative daily
practice);
• Providing spelling or handwriting instruction for 15 minutes per day;
• Introducing the elements at the beginning of the instructional cycle;
• Modeling how to spell the words or write the letters correctly;
• Highlighting patterns and pointing out distinctive attributes (or having students
“discover” these); and
• Giving students ample opportunity to practice with immediate corrective feedback.
Students should spend time practicing the elements being taught and self-evaluating their
performance, with the teacher frequently checking their work and correcting errors as necessary.
Depending on how well the students do, the teacher may teach additional skills lessons. The
students also might work with each other to study/practice and evaluate each other’s work.
Finally, at the end of a cycle of instruction, the teacher should assess how well the students
learned the elements.