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result of this influence, they pass to the next stage.
(Gentry breaks this stage into a three step progression so it is here
that you see the most changes in the development of a word)
1) At least three phonemes represented. In one-syllable words, all
phonemes are represented and in the correct order but in two-syllable
words, only three or four of the phonemes are represented. Most
consonant phonemes are represented but with a mixture of the correct
form and phonetically consistent substitutions. There may be some
correctly represented vowels but most vowel sounds are generated by a
letter-name strategy so there are many examples of common lax vowel
substitutions.
E.g. rek (rag) ulo (yellow) kes (kiss) nas (nice) dotr or dadr (doctor)
2) Most, if not all, phonemes are represented, even in two-syllable
words. Most of the consonants are in the correct form and, if not, are
consistently phonetically correct. Still many lax vowels represented by
common substitutions. Maybe one or two examples of correct spellings of
one-syllable words.
E.g. siks (six) nis (nice) yalo (yellow) doktr (doctor)
3) Increasing use of correct form for vowel phonemes. Most consonant
phonemes are in the correct form. One or two visual features may begin
to appear (the silent e for tense vowels; double consonant forms).
Increasing examples of correct spelling of lax vowel, single syllable
words.
E.g. pikol (pickle) yolow (yellow) docdr (doctor) mafin (muffin)
Transitional Spelling:
Words spelled by transitional spelling look like English words, though
they are not spelled correctly. Transitional spellings employ many of
the features of standard spelling - the silent letters for markers,
scribal rules, and the rest- but employ them uncertainly. The
conventional spelling for short vowels are normally employed at this
stage, with occasional throwbacks to the letter-name strategies for
spelling vowels. Words with irregular spelling patterns are usually
misspelled by the children, and sometimes the misspellings have the
effect of making the spelling of the word look the way it should.
Transitional spellings will be mixed in with correctly spelled words
whose forms the children have either accurately invented or memorized.
Children who produce transitional spellings often demonstrate that they
have become aware of features of standard writing; particularly marking
rules, scribal rules, phonological rules, and morpheme conservation
rules. But they have not yet integrated all these features into a
systematic understanding of how English spelling words. In most cases,
they will do so with practice.
Transitional spellers are readers. The source of the features, the
generalizations about spelling that they are beginning to manipulate, is
in the print they see around them. The path to correct spelling lies
through more reading, more writing, and more attention to the way words
are put together.
Increasing evidence of visual, as well as phonemic features. Increasing
evidence of correct spellings, especially of one-syllable words.
E.g. Herow (hero) docter (doctor) qick (quick) moffin (muffin) yellaw
(yellow).
Correct Spelling:
The major cognitive changes necessary for spelling competency have been
accomplished.
  * An understanding of the English spelling system and its basic rules.
  * Mastering accurate spelling of prefixes, suffixes, contractions,
compound words.
  * Knowledge of how to distinguish homonyms.
  * Use of silent letters and double consonants correctly.
  * Can think of alternative spellings and visualization of a new
spelling word in the mind's eye.
  * Able to recognize word origins to use this information to make
meaningful associations.
  * Accumulation of a large body of known spellings
 Few of us spell everything correctly. All of us resort at
one time or another to a dictionary for the spelling of a troublesome
word. Most of the words we write we were never directly taught. Many of
them we have occasion to write no more often than once every two or
three years, yet we still spell them correctly without hesitation.
(Lots of stuff that I don't think I need to write here - unfortunately
the small synopsis I had of Gentry  with the examples stopped here - I
seem to be missing the last few paragraphs on another page)
When young Children use what they know about the spelling system to
guess a word's spelling, parents should realize that they are
"inventing" spelling, not just spelling incorrectly. Invented spelling
is a thinking process. It may begin as early as three or four years of
age. First children learn to recognize some of the letters of the
alphabet and to name them by their names. Then they use letters to spell
sounds, often the sounds heard in the letter-names: for instance, n
spells in. This insight is extended so letters are used to spell
messages, and a spelling system has been invented. Invented spellings
are everyday occurrences in young children's writing.
Children move through developmental stages of invented spelling as they
move through developmental stages of speech. parents should understand
that invented spelling doesn't lead to the formation of bad spelling
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