ABSTRACT
Learning how to read and write can be one of the biggest challenges in children’s lives. One of the most important components of writing at the single-word level is spelling. Although interest in spelling development has increased in recent years, the study of spelling has still not attracted as much attention as the study of reading (Caravolas, Hulme, & Snowling, 2001; Treiman, 1998). Studies of spelling development are important not only because of the pedagogical interest in understanding how children acquire this major facet of literacy, but also because children’s early spellings provide information about their initial knowledge of the graphic and phonological characteristics of writing that could not be obtained in other ways.
