Learning to spell and punctuate: A study of eight‐ and nine‐year‐old children

Abstract.

This study explored various aspects of the spelling and punctuation development of six Native American children from the United States during their third and fourth grade years, as seen in classroom writing samples. A number of conclusions were drawn up from the analysis. The subjects spelled most words conventionally. The more frequently a word appeared in the subject's writing, the more likely it was to be spelled conventionally. Selected orthographic features varied widely in how conventionally they were spelled, with those which were less frequent, less predictable, or more abstract tending to be more difficult. Almost every spelling feature examined showed growth from third to fourth grade. The invented spellings of particular features tended to reflect understandable, logical processes. Invented spellings which were either real words or permutations of the intended word were common. Punctuation was more difficult than spelling for the subjects. Children used a variety of linguistic information and strategies as they wrote.