ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the role of morphological processing in the development of spelling in children in primary school. The chapter begins with a presentation of general features such as the characteristics of alphabetic systems and the place of morphology in spelling and morphology acquisition models. It follows a review of the scientific writings published between 2006 and 2016 to shed light on how Grade 1 to 6 students learn the spelling of morphologically complex words in alphabetic writing systems. The resulting information is organized in two parts. The first part deals with the contribution and predictive nature of morphological awareness on spelling skills. The second part describes children’s sensitivity to the morphology of words and their use of morphological knowledge at different primary school levels. This synthesis leads to the demonstration of how developing knowledge about morphemic structure can help students develop spelling skills. Instructional strategies about morphology for integrating classroom practices that can offer insight into spelling are suggested at the end of the chapter.
