Inventive

Spelling
Laura Schluentz
What Is Inventive
Spelling?
Inventive spelling is when a student
creates and spells words by sounding
the sounds out. The words are spelled
incorrectly, however, it is more important
that the students uses the connection of
the sounds and the words over the
correct spelling.
 Phonological Awareness
- Phonological awareness is a student’s knowledge of the sound structures of letters
and words
- Rhymes, amount of syllables in a word, identifying syllables, segmenting a
sentence into words, recognizing alliteration

- Children’s phonological awareness was the only early reading skill predictive of later
invented spelling skills
- Although, early reading skills were also associated with invented spelling skills

children’s letter sound knowledge and phonological

awareness were significantly associated with their invented

spelling skills.
 Benefits Of Inventive Spelling

Enhances the Allows spelling to not Builds confidence and

awareness of sounds interrupt creative flow a sense of control in
within words while writing the classroom
Early Writing Components
Conceptual Knowledge
The understanding of print
and the process and product
of writing
Procedural Knowledge
Related to letter knowledge
and transcription skills
Generative Knowledge
The ability to produce
written text
Children develop these skills in
writing in early childhood and
these skills are related to later
literacy achievement
 Inventive Spelling as a Skill

Young children’s invented spelling is a

critical early writing early writing skill
because it represents children’s
intentional writing attempts utilizing
phonemic awareness, before the
development of automatized skills such
as letter formation, conventional
spelling, and reading
How to Teach Inventive Spelling
Be accepting of Do creative free writing
your students exercises

Be encouraging Sound out hard

when they are trying words and practice
out new words together

Practice phonics Have students share

their work to gain
confidence
 RESOURCES
■ “Zhang, C., Bingham, G.E. & Quinn, M.F. The associations among preschool children’s growth in early reading,
executive function, and invented spelling skills. Read Writ 30, 1705–1728 (2017).
https://doi-org.libproxy.library.wmich.edu/10.1007/s11145-017-9746-0”