English
Article
Article
How Spelling Supports Reading
Last updated 2025/05/08
Description
This is a thorough, comprehensive article for all educators that clarifies how English spelling is much more regular and predictable than we may think! Dr. Louisa Moats outlines several key principles for making sense of the English spelling system, including the many factors that influence how words are spelled: the historical layers of English, parts of speech, position-based tendencies, and morphology.
Curriculum Connection
B2. Language Foundations for Reading and Writing
Across the Foundations of Language strand (and the Language Foundations Continuum), students apply their knowledge and understanding of phonics, orthography, and morphology to support word-level reading and spelling. For example, students use “the position of the grapheme or phoneme and their knowledge of position-based tendencies, as necessary, to support spelling and determine accurate pronunciation when reading.” This resource supports educators in 1) understanding why words are spelled the way they are, and 2) understanding how to provide evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction to support spelling.
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