This study investigated the effects of instructing an experimental group of mildly handicapped students in a strategy for spelling new words by using spelling patterns from known words. The control group learned to read and spell sight word vocabulary. Results indicated that the experimental group was significantly superior to the control group in spelling both highfrequency sight words and an untrained set of transfer words; however, there was no significant difference between groups in their ability to read sight words or to read transfer words. These findings support the notion that direct instruction in an analogy strategy (e.g., comparing unfamiliar words with known words) can assist mildly handicapped students in spelling new words.
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