Facilitating invented spelling through language analysis instruction: An integrated model

Invented spelling ability reflects young children's developing awareness of the internal structure of words - at syllabic, phonemic, and morphemic levels, as well as their letter-sound knowledge. Controlled intervention studies have demonstrated that these language analysis skills can be taught in kindergarten, with a significant effect on early spelling. This paper examines the effects of an instructional approach that emphasized integration of language analysis teaching into the whole-language kindergarten curriculum. Children who received this type of instruction were, on average, representing all of the phonemes in written words at the end of kindergarten, and their performance continued to improve into first grade.