ABSTRACT
The social judgments that attend spelling are centuries old. These polarised attitudes towards spelling have spanned the chequered history of our language, with as many happy rule breakers as conscientious rule makers. Spelling is always subject to change and debate. This chapter so far has cited Americans, which helps to highlight some common drivers of language change. Many teachers, like myself, have used spelling tests, but have bemoaned how those tested spellings were quickly forgotten. Spelling mistakes like 'hav' and 'gon' make perfect sense to a child at the 'phonetic stage' of spelling development. Paying deliberate attention to the roots, history, words parts and correct spelling of individual words could potentially prove time-consuming, so selecting words judiciously for their high value, words that you want children to remember, is of course important. Making these sound–letter correspondences visible in every classroom can help children do a better job of dictionary searches for spellings.
