Memory for Spellings in Normal and Dysgraphic Spellers

Abstract

The ability to spell is highly correlated with the ability to read. Shanahan (1984) reported correlations of 0.66 and 0.60 in samples of second and sixth graders, respectively. Various reasons for the high correlations can be identified. One is that some of the same knowledge sources, processes and strategies are utilized (Ehri, 1986; Simon and Simon, 1973; Simon, 1976). In order to read and spell words whose spellings are familiar, people are thought to access letter-analyzed representations of specific words stored in lexical memory. Lexical memory for specific words spellings can also be used to read and spell unfamiliar words by analogy, that is, by retrieving from memory words that resemble the unfamiliar words either in spelling pattern or in pronunciation, for example, reading or spelling “grief” by analogy to “brief” (Marsh et al., 1980). Another way to read and spell unfamiliar words is to utilize one’s general knowledge of the orthographic system which includes grapheme—phoneme and phoneme—grapheme relations, letter position constraints, and morphophonemic and morphographic spellings patterns (Becker et al., 1980; Venezky, 1970).