Can knowing and learning spelling patterns ensure accelerated progress in spelling?

The aim of this study was to find out if knowing and learning spelling patterns can ensure accelerated progress in spelling. To trial its effectiveness, 10% of the lowest spellers in Years 5 and 6 were selected to complete an extended writing task. This was used to calculate the percentage of correctly spelt words to form a baseline. An adult was trained to conduct daily spelling sessions, lasting no more than 15 minutes. In the first four sessions of the week, pupils were introduced to a spelling pattern, practised identifying the pattern within words and
sentences and applied the knowledge of the spelling pattern to spell other words. The final session of the week was used to recap on all the spelling patterns and words taught in that week and pupils were tested on their knowledge of patterns and spelling of unfamiliar. After 10 weeks, pupils completed another extended writing task, which was also used to calculate the percentage of correctly spelt words and compared with the baseline to measure impact. Weekly class spelling scores were also used as secondary data to further inform the conclusion.