Nicole Loraas

494: Portfolio
7 March 2015
Best Piece of Academic Work: Reflective Essay
I have chosen my Developmental Spelling Analysis research paper as my best
piece of work. I completed the Developmental Spelling Analysis research paper in
Professor LaBontys language arts EDU397 course. This particular assignment
required thorough research and much time and reflection in order to complete it
correctly. This paper required me to collect a student work sample of their writing
and spelling, study their work sample, decipher where theyre spelling development
is deficient, and analyze which interventions and spelling words to provide the
student with in order to advance their learning and knowledge. I chose this piece of
work because it required me to analyze student work, think critically about that
students development, and decide how to provide the correct interventions in order
to advance their learning. This assignment not only challenged me as a learner, but
it also taught me valuable skills necessary to be a proficient teacher.
For this assignment I first had to research and learn about the different
stages of spelling development, how students progress through the different stages,
and which stage a student should be in at their current age. I also learned how to
calculate spelling errors, the nature or reason of the error, and how to provide
spelling words or interventions to correct those spelling errors. I then collected a
writing sample from a seven year old student and analyzed his writing and spelling.
I calculated all the students errors and sorted the errors into the appropriate stages
of spelling development. I used the errors to determine which stage of development

the student was in, and which spelling rules and patterns the student needed to relearn or be taught in order to advance his spelling education.
This assignment was very beneficial to me as a teacher because it helped
teach me the importance of spelling to a students education. Spelling is crucial
because it effects and relates to a students reading and writing ability.
Understanding spelling and reading rules, phonemes, phonemic segmentation,
letter sounds, and letter names are critical for students to learn correctly because it
provides the entire foundation to understand how to read, write, and spell. Students
who understand how to string phonemes together will be successful in identifying
new words and being able to read and understand never before seen words.
Students who struggle with spelling, phonemes, and phonemic segmentation wont
be able to identify new words and will have difficulty recognizing words that they
have already learned. Spelling is vital for students to practice and learn because it
provides them with the opportunity to learn and practice new words, and increase
their reading and writing comprehension as a whole. The developmental stages of
spelling is an extremely useful tool to use in the classroom because it will aid me in
understanding where my students are in their development and how to differentiate
to each students ability in order to benefit them personally as a learner.
I chose this assignment as my best piece of work because it was vital to my
education as a teacher and challenged me to work to the best of my abilities. I
believe the Developmental Spelling Analysis was one of my best pieces of work
because I researched the content, used real-life student examples, analyzed student
work, and used critical thinking skills to choose how to best benefit a students
future education. The time and effort I poured into this assignment certainly paid off
because it has shown in my teaching abilities to understand, assess, and provide

students with the differentiated instruction they need in their reading and writing
abilities in order to better benefit their individual learning.