3. The right to actively construct knowledge about the spelling system

Since English is an alphabetic language and not a collection of arbitrary symbols for each word, the task of learning to spell will be made easier if we can help young writers understand that there is rhyme and reason to it. Some of the articles in this issue illustrate this principle, and it should be noted that active con
struction is the key to the value of exploring spelling patterns. If children are encouraged, for instance, to think of a number of words with long e's in them and then talk about what they notice, they will have taken ownership of this knowledge.