I have been unsatisfied with my ability to engage my students in their spelling work. Many students with spelling difficulties put very little effort into spelling and did poorly on their tests. These students often complained and tried all kinds of avoidance techniques when it came time for spelling. No surprise here: from a struggling reader’s point of view, the lessons were probably boring and sometimes too hard. High achievers, too, often seemed to put little effort into spelling and showed little enthusiasm for it.

This year has to be better
My main goal before the year started was to have my students—especially the strugglers—be more engaged in their learning during spelling time.

I was thrown a curve ball right away: my new class turned out to be a highly skilled spelling group! Most were already quite good at spelling, and measuring improvement with an already strong group is more difficult. I questioned whether my goal was still meaningful, but decided to go ahead with the plan. If what I created helped improve their spelling scores, it would be worth trying again in future years with less proficient spellers.

Gradually adding choice
My main change was to implement Academic Choice in spelling lessons. During the first four spelling units of the year, I modeled the learning options available to students during spelling time. They included using rainbow words, word puzzles, flashcards, partner practice, write-your-words, spelling sparkle, and tic-tac-toe.

Before offering a choice, I taught and everyone practiced it first; I gradually built a menu of ways to practice. As they practiced each one, I observed how students responded. Some loved Spelling Sparkle; others could take it or leave it. Some really were into word puzzles, while others just went along with them. They were always curious, though, and willing to try each new approach.

Once students were familiar with the new options for practicing their spelling, I began to offer choices during spelling time. Three days a week, I gave students the choice of practicing our new words in any of the six ways mentioned above. They made their choices each day by placing their name cards under the choices they wanted in a “Spelling Choice” pocket chart. They were free to pick the same choices repeatedly or to make a different choice each time, as long as they used their time well. We designated an area in the room for each activity. Each practice session lasted about 15 minutes. At the end of each session, students shared what they had learned, either in pairs, small groups, or as a whole group.

Test results improve
To measure whether giving choices was working, I compared average scores on five randomly chosen students’ first two spelling tests (taken before they were allowed to choose) to their second two (when academic choice was up and running). I also did a class survey during Morning Meeting to gather students’ opinions about the matter.

Student              test score        average

                         October           November
Nick                  14/14              14/14
Maddy               13/14              14/14
Leah                 12/14               13/14
Michael             12/14               13/14
Cameron           13/14               13/14

Everyone in the random sample I took started out as a good speller. After we instituted academic choice, according to the test data I collected, everyone improved or held steady.

Morning Meeting survey
As a second measure of the effectiveness of my efforts, I distributed surveys to students asking: Which ways of practicing spelling make you a better speller? Here are the results:

• Word Puzzles 2
• Rainbow Words 1
• Flashcards 3
• Partner Sharing 6
• Spelling tic-tac-toe 10
• Spelling Sparkle 16
• Write your words 6

The value of choices
I see the value of having multiple options for students. While most felt Spelling Sparkle made them better spellers, not all did, and the small number of students (3) who felt flashcards made them better spellers benefitted from having it as a choice.

If I consider general engagement rather than just test scores, results are even clearer: the students are much more engaged. On days when we have a whole-group lesson on a new set of words, they are much more interested in the words and ask for choices. During spelling choice time, the class runs smoothly, with everyone focused on work.

No backs!
Now that I’ve seen how giving choices benefits students, I plan on adding choices to math time, and I will eventually include them in reading time. It takes work on the front end—you have to teach students each work-time option and give them practice with it before it goes up on the choice board—but now that I’ve seen the power of choice, I won’t ever go back.

Rebecca Rasmussen teaches 3rd graders at Northland Community School in Remer, Minnesota.