The New South Wales (NSW) Stage 2 Spelling Sequence document shares an evidence-based approach to teaching spelling to Year 3 and 4 students (State of NSW, 2023). The approach focuses on teaching students phonological, orthographic, and morphological features of words simultaneously through specific spelling sequences. Each sequence is aligned with NSW curriculum content descriptors and delivered in five-week blocks. Students have a phonological, orthographic, and morphological focus for the first four weeks. The final week works to consolidate their learning.

The document provides teachers with sequences that cater to specific content descriptors (State of NSW, 2023). Included with the sequences are a list of sample words to use in activities, supporting notes with advice for teaching each focus (phonological, orthographic, and morphological), and a spelling generalisation list. However, it is up to individual teachers to create spelling activities and learning experiences for students each week. The document does not provide ready-made activities or any resources that can be directly shared with students.

Using the NSW Spelling Sequence to teach should support student development (State of NSW, 2023). During stage 2, students should increase their ability to segment words into syllables and phonemes, particularly in multisyllabic words. They will work on their blending, segmenting, isolating, and exchanging phonemes when attempting tasks (Thomas & Thomas, 2021). Students will continue to develop their understanding of vowel grapheme–phoneme correspondence, be introduced to the schwa phoneme, and explore the range of letter patterns found in English (State of NSW, 2023). Additionally, students will develop their knowledge of inflectional and derivational suffixes, prefixes, and homophones.

State of New South Wales. (2023). English – Stage 2 – Instructional sequence – Spelling [PDF]. NSW Department of Education. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/en/home/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/english/documents/english‑s2‑spelling‑instructional‑sequence.pdf

The Effectiveness of AI to Create a Spelling Game:

AI is a valuable tool for teachers to generate ideas for activities. However, to be able to use this tool effectively, teachers need to be specific in their wording. While I was using AI, I learned that it is important to include the year level and exact learning outcomes that you expect from the game. Without this information, the generated activity was irrelevant to my learning sequence. I needed to specify what phonemes and suffixes the activity should incorporate. Once I did this, the activity was somewhat relevant to the sequence. I then made further adjustments to suit my teaching style, informed pedagogy, such as a multisensory approach (Thomas & Thomas, 2021), and the context that I would be teaching in. AI was then used to generate base words for the game, saving time that I could use to prepare other elements. Using AI to generate ideas, rather than blindly following its suggestions, reduces workload and supports creativity.

Thomas, D., & Thomas, A. (2021). Teaching and learning primary english. Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand.

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/explainers/easy-changes-you-can-make-to-get-a-better-nights-sleep/news-story/44bc02fa66ec04c52914af77b90d6816

Supporting video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDEDE4rVAIc&ab_channel=ABCNewsIn-depth

'use comprehension strategies, such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning, to analyse texts by drawing on a growing knowledge of context, text structures and language features to build literal and inferred meanings' VC2E3LY10

Level 4 - English - Literacy - Phonic and word knowledge

'understand how to use and apply phonological and morphological knowledge to read and write multisyllabic words with more complex letter combinations, including a variety of vowel sounds and known prefixes and suffixes' VC2E4LY03

'understand how to use knowledge of letter patterns, including double letters, spelling generalisations, morphological word families, word origins, and common prefixes and suffixes to spell more complex words' VC2E4LY04

Thomas, D., & Thomas, A. (2021). Teaching and learning primary english. Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (n.d). Victorian Curriculum F–10: English (Version 2.0). https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/english/english/curriculum/f-10