About spelling and incorporating literature.
I have “spelling from literature” on the schedule once or twice a week. When I am done reading aloud a literature book, I just go around and ask the kids to spell words I pick from what we just read. We just spell orally when we do this. They like it and it’s quick. I can tell what they need to work on when I do this, but that’s not really my goal. I’m just asking them to spell words I think they can spell but that will make them think.
I also think spelling words from the story helps them think about what we read.
We do “spelling form a list” the same way. When they do dictation, they are expected to spell the words properly. That’s about it.
We have a wide range of accomplishment in spelling at my house, but in general I’ve seen that reading produces good spelling more than studying spelling would–and it’s much more fun. They all improve as they read more.