Because identification of effective instructional practices for building spelling skills remains a concern of those charged with guiding the development of student language arts competencies, this paper presents a synthesis of research and expert opinion on those practices that have been shown to foster spelling proficiency among both beginning spellers and older students. Following the introduction, the first section discusses the implications of language research, including phonics and spelling rules. The second section surveys research on instructional methods, particularly the integration of spelling with other language arts. This section also discusses the role of games and the use of typewriters, computers, and other aids in spelling instruction. The third section cites studies outlining those practices that research has shown to be useless or minimally useful. This is followed by a section examining the divergence between research and practice in spelling instruction. The last section contains a summary of effective spelling instruction strategies. A bibliography concludes the paper. (HTH)