HIGHLIGHTING KEY

IDEAS IN SPELLING
Uncovering the Logic of English: A
Common-Sense Approach to Reading,
Spelling, & Literacy

Outline
Eide presents several ideas and strategies to
approaching the seemingly irregular and illogical
chaos of English.
Our complex language can be inaccessible to
students, specifically in regards to spelling, due to
the many exceptions and unexplainable relationship
between letters and words.
Creativity is key with as the sets of rules are not
explicitly applied to classrooms.

Oy vey The Irregularities

Oy vey isnt even the start of the irregularities we
observe, and seemingly effortlessly navigate, as
proficient readers, writers, and spellers.
Spelling can be near impossible for some
students, especially without a concrete set of
rules or relationships outlined to support their
learning.
Struggling learners seek consistency or routine,
but our current pedagogy toward spelling does
not always support such learning.

When
expressin
g /sh/ in a
suffix
why are
there so
many

-ti as in torrential
-ci as in
commercial
-si as in
controversial

That just how you spell it

English is silly English is complicated That
just looked right are all phrases we are guilty of
uttering in regards to justify spelling.
In reality there are a multitude of rules and logic
that apply to English.
By introducing these strategies to students, we
can help them improve as readers, writers, and
spellers

KEY IDEAS FROM

EIDE
Unfortunately the text is written from a linguistic perspective
and explicit strategies are not stated for classroom teachers.

Overarching Themes
The text states that the spelling rules can be
categorized into one of three categories, which is
essential to understand:
1. Rules that limit the usage of one or more given
phonogram
2. Rules that control how suffixes are added to words,
and
3. Rules that explain which sound of a phonogram is
heard based upon other patterns within the word
(Eide, 2011, p.41)

Letter Relationships & Sounds

Check out the summary on
www.spellingwithnico.weebly.com if you havent already to
better understand the why C softens to /s/ sometimes and
other times /k/
The relationship between letters is heavily focused on the
surrounding vowels, letter placement, and distance from
consonants
Struggling students can be taught the rule as it is a
concrete and consistent strategy to support their spelling,
especially if they frequently miscue [C] [S] [K]
Exceptions are usually due to English borrowing other
words from different languages, such as ciao or faade

Understanding How Suffixes Are

Added to Words
Though it is complicated to write,
Eide provides a logical flow map to
follow for adding suffixes to words.
By helping students understand the
morphological importance of
affixes, the strategies to applying
them are incredibly accessible

(Eide, 2011, p. 92)

Do you hear what I hear?

The difficult part of English is deciding what should or
should not be written.
For example, why is there a g in light that isnt
pronounced, but later it produces a /f/ in laugh and the [f]
is not written.
Eide explains these complex scenarios derive from Old
English, whereas the pronunciation has changes the
spelling remains in place.
The sets of rules help the struggling speller, but also
provide supplemental instruction for students who thrive
for the unanswered questions of illogical English

Overall
Excellent resource to support struggling readers and
spellers. Explore www.spellingwithnico.weebly.com to see
resources and how to align strategies for students K-8.
The literacy crisis, discussed by Eide, continues up to the
intermediate level though a phonological approach to
the first introduction of spelling is not always appropriate
it is supported to help at-risk students.
Questions or concerns let me know! It is a quick read
and I would be happy to loan it to you

References
Eide, D. (2011). Uncovering the logic of english: A commonsense approach to reading, spelling, and literacy.
Minneapolis: PeadiaLearning.
Logic of English: https://
www.youtube.com/user/LogicofEnglish