This action research project describes a program to increase the application of spelling skills in students' writing. The target population consisted of first grade students in a middle-class community in the northern suburb of a large metropolitan area. The problems of inadequate application of spelling skills to student writing were documented with a spelling checklist, a developmental spelling list, and samples of student writing. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students did not transfer spelling skills to their daily writing across the curriculum due to a lack of a formal spelling curriculum. A review of solution strategies suggested by knowledgeable others, combined with an analysis of the problem setting, resulted in the selection of three major categories of intervention: establishing a print-rich environment, direct teaching of spelling strategies, and implementing student centered activities. Post intervention data indicated that the students internalized spelling strategies in daily writing. More research is necessary to determine whether improved spelling is a result of the intervention. (Contains 27 references, and 3 tables and 5 figures of data. Appendixes provide illustrations of developmental stages of learning to spell, a developmental spelling checklist, and writing and spelling samples.) (Author/RS)