Well simply put divergent spelling is the deliberate misspelling or non standard alternative to a spelling of a word. Why would you purposely misspell a word?

Well divergent spelling is a popular advertising technique. A lot of companies big and small use this. An example of divergent spelling would be Dunkin’ Donuts, Krispy Kreme, or Froot Loops. The misspelling are used to attract attention or to render a trademark, more suggestive then merely descriptive. You can find these types of  misspellings everywhere from branding, pop culture, on the internet, and even in books. Though these types of spellings are imbedded in our culture I wonder how it affects young children. Explaining these “exceptions” can be difficult, but teaching when these exceptions are acceptable can be much more difficult.

When my daughters were small explaining that Krispy Kreme is not the proper spelling of these words individually was interesting. Not really knowing how exactly to explain why it is acceptable to misspell a word in this context is how I came to research divergent spelling. Then I changed my approach now we have fun games finding fun spellings of common words we know.

Tried all these options already. Do what I do when I am falling short on ideas, check out online. One of my favorite places http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com. This site has tons of options. Remember to be a great speller takes practice, but nothing says that practice can’t be fun.

1. Have small kids? Foam letters are a great learning tool. Stick the letters on the bathtub wall and have fun spelling. My kids even liked creating and sounding out their own word creations.

2. Use sign language to sign your letters as you spell your words.

3. Connect the Letters. Just like connect the dots but with letters. Ex: Connect S- P- E- L- L. There is another option to this making several dots for each letter itself. Both are very fun.

4.Pyramids. Ex: S

                          SP

                        SPE

                       SPEL

                      SPELL

These are fun my kids also like to change colors with each level.

5. Pipe Cleaners. Are you are crafty mom? Break those pipe cleaners out and bend them to form letters to spell words.

There are so many fun ways to practice spelling. Over the years I have gotten ideas from teachers, other parents, and the internet. Have more fun ideas to practice? Leave a comment and let us know.

I was doing some studying and came across a cool article that had a cool scoring chart that helps you analyze each developmental level of spelling.  There are 5 key steps to becoming a good speller.

1.  Precommunicative Spelling- the “babbling” stage of spelling.  The letters on precommunicative spelling does not correspond to sounds.  Examples: opsps=eagle rtat= eighty

2. Semiphonetic Spellers- when you learn that letters represent sounds. Spellings are often abbreviated representing initial and/ or final sound.  Examples: E= eagle; A= eighty

3. Phonetic Spellers- when you learn to spell words like they sound. The speller perceives and represents all of the phonemes in a word, though spellings may be unconventional.  Examples: EGL= eagle; ATE= eighty

4.  Transitional Spelling- when you begin to think about how words appear visually; a visual memory of spelling patterns is apparent.  Examples: EGIL= eagle;  EIGHTEE= eighty

5.Conventional Spelling- developed over years of word study and writing. Correct spelling can be categorized by instruction levels.  For example, correct spelling for a corpus… words that can be spelled by the average fourth grader would be fourth grade  level correct spelling.  Place the word in this category in this category if it is listed correctly.

Learning to spell is the coolest thing since, free library cards!!!!!! I love learning and spelling, so I’m so excited about this information. Which level are you guys on?  Well, no matter which level you are on, come and join us spelling monsters, as we help you one level at a time, with one game at a time!!!!!  This is Brainy, signing out with the latest edition of….. The Spelling Buzz!!!

For full article: www.gse.uci.edu/docs/DEVELOPMENTALSPELLING.pdf

To start with they found out that moms are the main purchasers for their children’s apps. With a whopping 88% of purchases being made by women. Most of these women being between the age of 25-35. They also found out that 53% of children sometimes do play alone but that 39% play with their parent. Only about 9% play with a sibling. They also wanted to get to get a sense of when parents were letting their kids play with apps. As it turns out, 53% of parents let kids play with devices whenever the kids ask, just like any other favorite toy. 22% of  parents let kids play when parents need a distraction. 18% of parents use apps when they want to create a learning experience for their children, and 17% when parents are driving. Based on this data, they believe that while keeping kids occupied is an important driver, learning and general play are also reasons to allow children to engage with mobile devices.

All of this got me thinking. Where do I as a parent fit into these stats? Do I use technology as a digital babysitter? Leave us a comment tell us what you think.

This week I have been looking around for the coolest T.V. shows that will help us with learning how to spell.  I have come up with my top 5 shows that I think we all could learn spelling from.  These shows will help with learning your ABC’s, as well as how to spell words, and also what the words definitions are.  Ok……these are my top 5 shows that are sure to start your spelling engines!!!

1. Super Why (PBS kids)

Join the Super Readers, Alpha Pig with letter power, Wonder Red with word power, Princess Presto with spelling power, Super Why with the power to read, and of course Super You with the power to help, as the go on adventures in Storybook Land to solve everyday problems.  This show is an excellent way to learn spelling while also watching a cool show.

2. Between the Lions (PBS Kids)

Between the Lions is about a family of lions who run a library filled with magical books.  The series has puppetry, animation, and music to keep kids aged four to seven engaged. The books come alive, letters sing and dance, and words play on this wonderful education show.

3. WordWorld (PBS Kids)

The animated series WordWorld is a show about the WordFriends- Sheep, Frog, Duck, Pig, Ant, And Dog.  WordWorld incorporates letters into the characters and animation to help kids understand that letters make sounds and, when put together, spell words.  This is a great show to teach the fundamentals of spelling and reading.

4.  Wilbur (DIscovery Kids)

WIlbur is about an 8-year-old calf that helps his friends- Ray the rooster, Dasha the duck, and Libby the lamb- solve their problems through reading a book and relating them to their own problems. Wilbur and his friends show kids that it is fun to spell and read, and also how to use lessons in the stories they read and apply them to real life situations.

5.  Sesame Street (PBS Kids)

I sure this show needs no introduction…. especially since it has been on the air since 1969!!!

Sesame Street is a classic educational show that uses puppets along with kids to teach, not only letters, words, and spelling, but also numbers, colors, and shapes.  Sesame Street is an all around great show for any kid to watch!!!!

Well there you have it!!! My top 5 TV shows that teach spelling.  I hope you all get to enjoy them, but not so much that you forget to join me, and my spelling monster friends in Spelltopia, as we continue our journey to learn all things spelling!!!

* Look into your local library. It’s a wonderful place to promote the love of reading, and the librarian can suggest grade-level appropriate books to read.

* Check out safe, parent-approved Internet sites. There are many that offer a daily craft activity to do alone or with a parent each day, some brain teasers, some fun educational games, etc.

* Download educational apps like “Spelling Monster”.

* Be sure to check with your childs teacher to get suggestions for summer books, workbooks and pleasure books. Or you could check online for age/grade appropriate book lists.

* Look into your local bookstores for a childrens reading hour, wee read, or story hour. One of our local bookstores often hosts reading hours with guest teachers and parents.

*Take your kids on a hike on a nearby nature trail. Walk slowly, and give your kids a chance to explore the trail, looking at whatever catches their eye. When you see them interested in something be sure to stop and examine their finding.

Just remember no matter whether you are walking a trail, finding a book at the library, or playing an interactive game keep your child engaged. The more fun your child is having the more involved he or she will be, and the more they will learn.

Resources :

http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/primer-on-summer-reading-loss.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_learning_loss

 http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=know_the_facts

Chicago’s public school system implemented an iPad program.  Using Title IID expiring funds CPS was able to roll out 750 iPads dispensed to 23 schools. Of this initial roll out 90% of iPads went to grades 3-8. The rest were divided between k-2 & 9-12.  Approximately 50 teachers and 1700 students directly benefited from this release. The program has done so well they have expanded the program to include another 5000 iPads and 60 more schools. Teachers agreed that using iPads helped increase student engagement, with benefits including increased completion of homework, increased time on task, and heightened motivation and confidence.

Now to a school that turned a huge a problem in schools today into a viable learning solution. Believing that each student should have access to internet connected device. Though not having the funding to purchase enough devices for each student the Osseo school district in Minnesota has been allowing students to bring their own devices to school through its Project Copernicus program. This program began with only three schools and eight classrooms and encompassed grades 5-12. Teachers worked as a team to develop curriculum ideas and three years later they have 80 participating classrooms.

In both school systems, both children and teachers benefited from the technologies being implemented. This isn’t the only article and these aren’t the only schools trying to find new ways to utilize technology in the classroom.

I have been doing some research on how spelling helps with reading, and came up with some pretty cool facts.  Spelling is a very important part of reading.  You could would not be able to read words properly, without knowing how the words are spelled first.  Very interesting!!!

Research has shown that learning to spell and learning to read relies on the same underlying knowledge, such as, the relationships between letters and sounds. Spelling instruction can be designed to help children better understand to help children better understand that key knowledge, resulting in better reading.  When teaching spelling, you have to first, make sense of the english spelling system. The spelling of almost any word can be explained if one or more of the following five principles of English spelling is taken into account.

• Words’ language of origin and history of use can explain their spelling.

• Words’ meaning and part of speech can determine their spelling.

• Speech sounds are spelled with single letters and/ or combinations of up to four letters.

• The spelling of a given sound can vary according to its position within a word.

• The spellings of some sounds are governed by established conventions of letter sequences and patterns.

Who knew spelling was such an important part of learning to read?  I love learning new things through spelling!!!  There is a whole world of knowledge that can be explored with proper spelling and vocabulary!   So kids, remember to join me  Brainy, and all the other spelling monster of Spelltopia on this journey to ultimate spelling knowledge.

I’m ready, are you?

For more information about how spelling helps with reading, read full article at

www.Idoline.org/article/8845/