In 5/6 Gearman, we have been enthusiastically engaging with our spelling program – ‘Word Origins’.

Among the many things we have come to explore and understand, concepts such as the structure and spelling of English words are determined by the language of origin. To spell a word, we use graphemes (letters) to represent each phoneme (speech sound) in the word. In English, we write (and read) words as a combination of meaningful parts (morphemes).

We have a daily routine of joining together in our learning circle and unpacking a specific word. We explore sound patterns and the position of a sound in a word, the rules around letter combinations, letter sequences, the use of certain letters, and the history of written English.

There is a lot to consider when it comes to spelling, and we are working together to learn all of the components and improve our skills. We also know the important link between reading and being a capable speller.