Learning Means Changing

The new school year is right around the corner, and I’ve been scribbling down ideas and typing up plans as if I were training for a marathon.
And in a way, I am.
Many of the plans are new, exciting, infant-sized creations that I am hoping will be as important our growth as I believe they will be.
I’ve always struggled with spelling plans.  Growing up, I was the kid that memorized lists 30 minutes before the test, kicked out the answers, and aced every exam.   Often, memorization wasn’t necessary because spelling has always come easy for me.  I’m just a wordnik by nature.  No assembly required.
As a teacher, it quickly became apparent that my spelling rules and lists and tests weren’t very effective.  The good spellers remained good spellers, but the lists did nothing to strengthen their vocabulary.  The struggling spellers still struggled, and the weekly results on their spelling tests did nothing to boost confidence.
My district tried new methods.  Different word walls requirements.  A variety of strategies.  Still, nothing seemed right.
To top off the ineffectiveness of the whole process, my kids were uninterested in the words we studied each week.  Noting really “fit”.
It was definitely time for a change.  This year, my kids will generate their own spelling and vocabulary lists based off of our district’s weekly spelling rule from the scope and sequence.  Words will come from across our curriculum, and their personal reading and writing.  At the end of each week (or every two weeks), they will create a project that shows their understanding of the rule.  I’ve made a list of possibilities that span the multiple intelligences.
We will also have a Greek/Latin root word weekly study with student made products as our guides, which I am blatantly stealing from Bonnie Smith over at the English Companion Ning. Great ideas there!
My goal is to stretch their learning, inspire them to be on the constant hunt for new and interesting words, and (shhh, don’t tell!) have some fun along the way.
I’m eager to get started and see how it looks in action!