Children's spelling of syllabic /r/ and letter-name vowels: Broadening thestudy of spelling development

Abstract

Many previous studies of children's spelling have adopted a narrow approach, examining one linguistic structure at a time and paying little attention to differences among children or changes with development. We broadened the focus by examining two different, but potentially related, patterns (stressed syllabic /r/ and letter-name vowels) and by tracking changes in performance from fall to spring of first grade. The results show how children move from using one letter for each phonological unit (e.g., SR for sir; KON for cone) to appreciating the function of “extra” letters (e.g., the vowel letters i of sir and e of cone). Errors such as SRE for sir may arise during this process, reflecting an overgeneralization of the silent e pattern. The results are generally consistent with the view that spelling becomes more “orthographic” with development. However, the course of development is not always as predicted by existing stage theories.