Creative Spelling with Visual Strategies on the Microcomputer.

In a study involving creative spelling, 300 kindergarten children and one first grader used computer programs to spell words in isolation and in stories they wrote. As the children made progress toward writing words in conventional spelling, they developed phonological spelling strategies similar to those that have previously been reported for children using paper and pencils. At the same time, they also developed visual spelling strategies in more detail than previously reported. There was no delay in the development of visual strategies to justify the claim that a new visual state of spelling occurs after a phonetic stage. The development of visual, print-based spelling strategies by the children is discussed in terms of the microcomputer's potential for accelerating the acquisition of spelling skills, and includes the following observations: (1) stage theories of spelling development need to be adjusted to account for visual strategies in more detail before the transitional stage; (2) creative variations that follow a standard spelling are not simply a relapse to a transitional or phonetic stage; (3) sometimes only visual influences, but alternatively alternating and simultaneous visual and phonetic. influences, appear in the development of a child's spelling; (4) the computer has exceptional capabilities for making children aware of letter relationships in spelling. A note on how to obtain the computer programs used in this study, 11 tables, and three figures are included. (27 references) (CGD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************