Several parents have questioned me at to why we use "nonsense" words when teaching Wilson.  Nonsense words are words that follow the rules we are learning, but are not able to be memorized.  We use nonsense words because it forces students to use the rules that they are taught in order to spell the word.  For example, if I dictate the word "zuff" to a student, this isn't a word they have ever seen or memorized so it gives me a clear indication of whether the student knows the bonus letter rule... or not.  (After a short vowel, if you hear /f/, /l/ or /s/, double the f, l or s. 

        Additionally, in this month's Catholic Teacher magazine, they stated the following:

"It's Monday morning.  Are you distributing words for this Friday's spelling test?  Ask yourself: Do your students remember last Friday's words?  Teachers know that students often don't retain the words they memorize for spelling tests.  In fact, research demonstrates that spelling skills aren't simply "caught" from reading; students must have explicit instruction, and word lists are a common tool."

"Move students beyond memorization.  Word sorting helps students retain what they know and transfer their analytic skills to new words by internalizing the spelling system.  Kinesthetic, collaborative spelling experiences like word sorts motivate students and help them focus on spelling patterns."