Spelling

At Langshott, we believe that spelling is a fundamental component of literacy. Accurate spelling supports children in communicating effectively, improves writing fluency, and contributes to successful reading and vocabulary development.

Our spelling curriculum is built upon the understanding that English spelling is influenced by three interconnected principles:

• Phonology – the relationship between sounds and letters
• Morphology – the meaningful parts of words and how words are constructed
• Etymology – the origins and history of words

We teach spelling through the combined study of phonology, morphology and etymology.

Children will be taught the following principles:

• Words are made up of meaningful units called morphemes.
• Many spelling patterns can be explained through word structure.
• Related words often share spelling patterns because they are linked in meaning.
• The history and origin of words can help explain unusual spellings.
• Knowledge of word construction supports spelling and understanding unfamiliar vocabulary.

This approach moves beyond learning isolated word lists and instead develops transferable spelling knowledge that can be applied across the curriculum.

Spelling is taught explicitly through regular, planned lessons and is closely aligned with the school's writing curriculum. During spelling lessons, pupils encounter new morphemes and spelling concepts that can be applied in their writing, helping them make meaningful connections among spelling, vocabulary and composition.

Typically, children will perform the following range of activities:

• Explore bases, prefixes and suffixes.
• Build and manipulate words.
• Investigate relationships between words.
• Use word matrices to explore word families.
• Write and discuss word sums.
• Learn and apply suffixing conventions.
• Investigate the origins and development of words.
• Apply newly learned spelling knowledge within meaningful writing tasks.

Grammar and Punctuation 

After the initial explicit teaching of grammar and punctuation (delivered through Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar) we teach grammar in context through writing lessons..