READING AND SPELLING CONNECTIONS IN THIRD AND FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the connections between the oral reading abilities and the spelling behaviors of third and fifth grade students. Seventy-two third graders and sixty fifth graders from two different schools (one urban and one suburban) were the subjects of the study. Each subject read a selection one level above his/her current grade placement, spelled the words on the appropriate grade level list of the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge and took the appropriate level of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. Oral readings were scored for accuracy, rate and phrasing. Spellings were scored for accuracy, phonetic quality and stage of spelling development. These scores were then analyzed using correlations, partial correlations and multiple regression techniques. At both grade levels there were high, significant correlations between spelling and reading variables, with spelling variables accounting for from 40% to 60% of the variance in oral reading measures and a smaller, but still significant percentage of the variance when standardized test scores were used as a control. These results confirm a strong relationship between spelling skill and oral reading ability, supporting the argument that a common body of conceptual word knowledge underlies both.