English: Effective teaching of spelling and vocabulary through Word Inquiry

Would you like to ignite your students’ curiosity about how words work?

This spaced learning program will include:

• two 90 minute webinars presented by Fiona Hamilton
• one whole day face to face workshop including a 90 minute webinar presented by Fiona Hamilton
• one 90 minute online follow up session.

The first webinar will focus on:

• using inquiry to engage learners in thinking critically and problem solving, as they deepen their understanding of how words are structured
• balancing inquiry, explicit teaching and practise to consolidate learners’ understanding of conventions

The second webinar will focus on understanding English orthography and the interrelationship of phonology, morphology and etymology in order to explain the English spelling system.

The whole day face to face workshop will include:

• making connections with spelling and vocabulary in the Language strand of the Australian Curriculum: English
• an illustration of practice from a Tasmanian school
• a 90 minute webinar presented by Fiona Hamilton – Diving Deeper ‘It’s All Relative’ – Deepening understanding in distinguishing morphological relatives from etymological relatives and distinguishing words that look related but really aren’t.

The 90 minute online follow up session will involve participants delivering a presentation to share their use of the Word Inquiry process and tools to effectively teach spelling and vocabulary.

PRESENTER INFORMATION – FIONA HAMILTON

Fiona Hamilton began her education career in Australia and is well-known internationally for her work helping teachers and schools embed Word Inquiry into both their curriculum and way of thinking. Learners are taught the logic of the English spelling system by following a scientific process aided by specific tools.