For those of us well beyond our elementary years, the notion of spelling instruction conjures up images of heavy textbooks, weekly word lists, and rules we were required to commit to memory. In these days of spell-checking programs, some educators and students question the need to place a strong emphasis on the direct teaching of spelling. But a team of researchers suggests that such instruction can yield a number of benefits beyond improved spelling ability, particularly for students with the lowest-level skills.

In a study by Steve Graham and Karen R. Harris of the University of Maryland and Barbara Fink Chorzempa of the State University of New York at Geneseo, 2nd-grade students who were having difficulty with spelling were given 16 hours of supplementary spelling instruction (48 additional 20-minute lessons over a six-month period). The instruction focused specifically on "high-frequency" words (those that often appear in the writing of elementary schoolchildren), common sound/letter combinations, and spelling patterns and rules. A control group of students were taught math skills for the same amount of time.

Predictably, the students who received the supplemental spelling instruction performed better on spelling post-tests than those in the control group. They were better able to identify sound/letter combinations and to spell words correctly, and their proficiency went beyond the specific words and skills that were taught. But the students who received additional spelling instruction also performed better on writing fluency and word-attack (reading) tests immediately after the intervention.