Case Study: A Holistic Approach in the Orthographic Development of One Emergent Learner

Abstract

Spelling instruction should go beyond weekly spelling assessments. This was a learning philosophy I believed in prior to conducting this case study. Through this case study, read about how one emergent learner’s orthographic knowledge was strengthened though a holistic instructional approach. Emergent learners enter the classroom with different degrees of what they conceptualize about language and the malleability of words. With this in mind, teacher should do more than approach spelling instruction through a systemic approach that ignores what individual students are capable of and what they still need to develop. By developing spelling instruction through data collection on individual student conceptualization, spelling instruction can be more purposeful and develop orthographic knowledge in a manner that feeds-forward learning.