Stages of Spelling Development

       As students undergo and develop through the stages of reading and writing, they simultaneously develop their skills in spelling. Consequently, spelling skills are also developed in stages, and learners have specific characteristics at each stage, similar to the reading and writing stages. There are five stages of spelling development, and success at each stage in dependent on the previous.
       The table above shows the different stages and learner characteristics/abilities as students develop. It also shows that stages can overlap; meaning gifted students can achieve success at an early age and enter the next stage, while students with needs and challenges may take much longer than average to gain success.
       To ensure that students are successful at each stage, it is important that they are given an abundant amount of practice in writing and reading to develop their spelling skills, and are also exposed to a print rich environment with site words and words that they commonly use and can relate to. This exposure builds their vocabulary and memory, and also makes the abstract word more concrete to them.