A fun method for guiding invented spelling

I have always been a fan of invented spelling because it can be such a great way to develop and assess phonemic awareness and spelling abilities. I agree with the article that unguided invented spelling can leave struggling learners in the dust as others who are developing the needed phonemic awareness skills are flying by. For that reason methods for guiding invented spelling are essential. The activity the article shares, making words, is an excellent example of a fun method both the teacher and  student can benefit from. The teacher can use this activity to assess the students strengths and weaknesses in a non stressful manner for the student. Also, this technique allows for a variety of teaching opportunities. The student can benefit from this activity in numerous ways as they are practicing decoding words and developing phonemic awareness. They also are given the chance to share what they are learning as they tell the teacher and their peers the patterns they used and how to sort the words. Along with all the other benefits of this activity, it is multi-leveled. Therefore, teachers can assess the level on which their students need to begin and work up from there.

Parents may question the emphasis put on invented spelling and prefer it to be on corrective spelling. Below is an article and a website that would be useful to share with parents in order to explain invented spelling, the benefits, the developmental progress, and why it is used in schools.
http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/384-invented-spelling.gs
http://www.lindaslearninglinks.com/earlywrtgdev.html

Here is another helpful site for guiding invented spelling:
http://mrsjonesroom.com/writing/adult.html

Breaking comprehension down

                                        
Throughout class we have focused on the different aspects that are necessary for reading. Within each focus we have discussed comprehension. Therefore, comprehension is clearly essential for one to accomplish the goal of reading. Now, as we look specifically at comprehension, it is evident there are many complexities to be found within this focus. In order to better understand and translate comprehension for students, it is helpful to break reading down to prereading, during reading, and postreading. We, as teachers, can then use specific activities created for these three different periods of the reading process to foster and define comprehension.
Below, are several useful websites full of activities that can be used for prereading, during reading, and postreading comprehension.

http://www.studygs.net/preread.htm
http://www.tips-for-teachers.com/reading_strategies.htm
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/82/