Traditional methods of teaching spelling emphasized that pupils might write each new spelling word correctly and repeatedly from a weekly list in the spelling textbook. Some weaknesses in this approach are that rote learning is being stressed without emphasizing application of what has been learned, and that there is nothing which relates the spelling of words correctly to situations in daily life. A review of traditional methods of teaching subject matter shows that sometimes these approaches were successful. The issue of phonics versus the whole word method of instruction in spelling has been around for some time. Leonard Bloomfield's linguistic approach, whereby pupils learned through a patterns approach in reading and in spelling, does not stress phonics, but phonics is inherent in the method. Many approaches should be used in helping pupils learn to spell well, based on the pupil's style of learning and based upon what works. The following approaches should be stressed in teaching spelling: (1) all pupils should experience phonics instruction as an approach to unlock words, but it should not be overdone; (2) the key to how much phonics to teach should be based upon what a specific child needs; (3) the teacher should focus upon the individual pupil rather than debate phonics versus holistic approaches; (4) diverse procedures should be used in teaching spelling to provide for the pupil's learning style; and (5) a patterns approach may assist some pupils in spelling development. (Contains 11 references.) (NKA)