English Teacher Pet Peeves (Part 1)

It’s a hard-knock life being an English teacher. Grammar mistakes are everywhere and sometimes it feels like you’re the only one who sees them.  Here’s our short-list of our pet peeves. Do any of these remind you of yourself?

Alot of people think a lot is one word

Alot: Character Creation of Hyperbole and a Half

A lot is always two words, never one.  Trust us.  This is such a common mistake (and a pet peeve) that the always hilarious web-comic, Hyperbole and a Half devoted an entire comic to it. She created an adorable creature and named it Alot (see below). Now you’ll never forget, because the next time you see the word, ‘Alot’ you’ll remember this guy.

Their pirates. They got there ship stuck over they’re.

Oh my. This one’s a doozy.  These homophones haunt us all.  Here are some easy ways to remember which their/they’re/there to use! Let’s start with their.

Their is possessive.To help remember, think of the ‘i’ as a person (as shown in the picture to the right).  So if you are talking about people and something that they own, you use ‘their!’

For example: Their dog is so cute. 

They’re is a contraction of ‘they’ and ‘are.’ If you can substitute ‘they are’ into the sentence, use ‘they’re.’

For example: They’re best friends.

Last but not least, let’s discuss ‘there.’  ‘There’ has the word ‘here’ in it, so it means a place or a position.

For example:
He’s sitting over there.
or
There are six puppies.

Great!  Now you’ll never fall victim to the terrible their/they’re/there mix-up ever again!

Its a great book, but it’s cover makes it look bad!

Tricky, tricky its/it’s. You might remember that one of these words is a contraction and that one is possessive, but which one is which?! Let’s start with the possessive one first.

‘Its’ is possessive.  Think about it like ‘our’ or ‘your’ – one word, not a contraction, and possessive!

For example: Careful with the knife, its edges are sharp!   

Okay, now the next one is a bit obvious. ‘It’s’ is a contraction of ‘it’ and ‘is.’

For example: It’s so sunny outside!

These are just three common grammar and spelling mistakes, and we’ll share more next week.  Are there any grammar and spelling mistakes that are your pet peeves?

If you think you’d like some help with your grammar and spelling or essay writing, we can help!  RRLS now offers online and face-to-face Essay Coach Programs!

Invented Spelling and the Transition to Conventional Spelling Part II

Teaching children how to spell can be a long and difficult process. Last week, we covered the five different stages involved in the transition from invented spelling to conventional spelling. This week, we’re going to talk about practical applications and how you can encourage conventional spelling and writing in your children or students.

• Encourage writing from a young age. Children enjoy expressing themselves and they feel proud of themselves when they are able to write out stories and feelings. When children are still in the Precommunicative and Semiphonetic Stages, there should not be too much emphasis on conventional spelling. If young students start writing as part of their daily routine, they are more likely to continue it as they get older. Thus, they should be encouraged and positively reinforced to write.
• Scaffold the learning process. Once a child understands the letter-sound correspondence, parents and teachers can start teaching him or her basic spelling conventions. There are plenty of games, online and off, that kids can use to learn how to spell. However, it is important to remember to start with the most basic spelling conventions (such as one-to-one letter-sound correspondence) in order to build up the child’s spelling repertoire. Also, while spelling correction is vital, a child should not be penalized for words that he or she hasn’t learned yet.
• Writing and spelling aren’t just for school. If you want to encourage your child to write at home, create opportunities for it! Have him or her start a journal, play word games as a family (such as Scrabble or Boggle), or solve a crossword puzzle together. Suggest creative writing activities like writing stories about your family or family life. Be imaginative!

The most important idea to take away from this blog is to encourage your child to write without putting the entire focus on spelling. If children delight in writing, that emotion should be encouraged. Conventional spelling takes time and patience, so don’t worry if you still see spelling mistakes in your child’s writing. Go over the misspelled words together and make a game out of correcting them.  If you make writing fun, your child will continue to do it.

Invented Spelling and the Transition to Conventional Spelling Part I

“Pepul ware scee macks in the wintr” could be a phrase written on many elementary school papers (actual translation: “People wear ski masks in the winter”). This type of spelling is called “invented spelling” – it is very common for children to spell words this way when they first learn how to read and write. According to Elaine Lutz, who coined the term “invented spelling”, it “refers to young children’s attempts to use their best judgments about spelling”. While this type of spelling is generally accepted when a child first begins to write, there is some debate about the importance of spelling versus the encouragement of writing. J Richard Gentry characterized the transition from invented spelling to conventional spelling into five stages:

• Precommunicative Stage: The child uses letters from the alphabet, but without any letter-sound correspondence.
• Semiphonetic Stage: The child starts to understand that letters represent sounds, and usually uses only one letter per sound, blend or word. For example, “U” for “you”.
• Phonetic Stage: The child starts using one letter per sound and phonetically spells words that can be deciphered, such as “kom” for “come”. 
• Transitional Stage: The child starts relying on visual representation and an understanding of word structure to spell words. For example, “higheked” for “hiked”.
• Correct Stage: The speller understands the basic rules of English spelling, such as prefixes, suffixes, alternative spellings, and silent consonants. The speller also recognizes irregularly-spelled words, and generalizes about spelling and exceptions to the rules.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog about encouraging correct spelling in children.

Ruth Rumack has been a full-time teacher and educator since 1996. Visit her Google+ page to find out more about early childhood education.