Spell Check Assignment

As a fourth grade literacy teacher in Duval County, spelling has become a strongly debated topic. Until last year, the official attitude towards spelling, as stated at various teacher literacy trainings, is that in terms of writing, the student’s ideas and thoughts should hold precedence over the student’s spelling and grammatical aptitude. However, the state of Florida has changed their stance entirely, and now 25% of the student’s grade on the FCAT writing test is based on spelling and grammar.

This paradigm shift has created an anti-spell check movement among my colleagues. I have heard it stated repeatedly that spell check will devalue the need for correct spelling. Furthermore, these teachers feel that  the current group of fourth grade students are indifferent towards the “art of spelling”. I largely disagree with their suppositions regarding spell check. However, as a teacher of language, I encourage my students to use spell check with caution. As stated by Susan Castillo “A spell-check feature can provide accurate options for correct spellings only if the initial attempt is close enough to be recognized as the intended word. It then becomes the student's responsibility to choose the correct option from a list. A student without spelling skills would be unable to choose the correct option consistently.” (Castillo, 2011)

Castillo, Susan. "Spell-check is valid tool for students to use in writing test." The Register-Guard,(Eugene, OR)09 January 2011: Print.