MOOY

These letters MOOY are actually the way my Mo spelled my name on the Mother's Day card he made me. After reading it to myself, I asked him while pointing at the word, if it spelled my name. He immediately said, "yes but I don't know how to spell it right." So I said, "Well, how do you spell it?" He said, "M-O-M-M-Y." I told him, "it sounds like you do know how to spell it. Let's see what letters you wrote right on the card." We looked at the M and then noticed he needed one O instead of two OO's that should have been M's. This little lesson brought me right back into the classroom. My Mo did just what many of the writers and spellers do in my classroom.

1. He is taking risks writing words independently.
2. He knew after looking at his word that he spelled it incorrectly.
3. He has a sense of himself as a speller and is beginning to understand that words can be spelled correctly or incorrectly.
4. He knew how to spell the word he wrote incorrectly after being asked to think about it (gosh this happens often in fluent writing with first graders).
5. He was able to compare what he had right and what was missing in his word.

I can't help but think about what this helps me understand about my writers as spellers. My first thought is that I have to remember that spelling and revision go hand in hand. Younger kids need time to come back to reread their writing and notice their strengths and weaknesses as spellers. Ooo, I will be thinking about goals for next year.