Spelling Plus
Ninety percent of text in English is made of just 1,000 base words. Spelling Plus is a core program that focuses on teaching spelling efficiently and effectively. The goal of this program is to teach the 1,000 most commonly used and misspelled words to mastery. Beyond the core list, "personal words" (either misspelled words from children's own writing or more difficult words assigned by you) keep the gifted speller challenged while giving poorer spellers the repetition and practice they need to gain competence. Spelling Plus is adaptable for use with a variety of approaches to teaching language, and may be used either as a text or as a supplement. Major sections include: Incredible English, Spelling and Teaching, Recommended Teaching Techniques, Spelling Lists, Word Bank, and Additional Teacher Resources. Besides memorizing lists of words, emphasis should also be on everyday writing—so daily dictations are extremely important. Continual use of words from the previous week's word lists ensure mastery of those words. Susan Anthony's program gives detailed information on how to use dictation effectively. Simply put, just use last week's spelling words in this week's dictation sentences. Then, hold your child accountable for all misspelled words in the dictation. If necessary put the misspelled words from the dictation back on the child's personal word list until the word is mastered. 169 pages, paperback, 8 1/2"x11". reproducible, grades k-6.
90% of text in English consists of just 1000 base words! Spelling Plus will help you teach the most commonly used and misspelled words to mastery, ensuring improvement in students' first-draft writing. Beyond the core list, personal words keep gifted spellers challenged while giving poor spellers the repetition and practice they need. Success-oriented strategies enable teachers to focus on progress and encourage students without sacrificing high standards. Spelling Plus may be used as a text or supplement. It is more a method of teaching spelling than a curriculum per se. Reproducible worksheets are included.
"We have been home schooling for a number of years, but I had never found a satisfactory spelling curriculum. They always seemed too vague or too complicated. Yours feels "just right." I appreciate the way you have laid out what to do so specifically and simply. We all feel as though we know what is expected and the success the girls have had has given them a real sense of accomplishment." —Beth J., home school mom
To see how your kids are doing in spelling, administer pretests starting with Level B.
Recommended for grades K-6. The entire program can be taught from one book, but related resources are available to save you time. The Spelling Plus Workbook has four copies of each list for daily practice. Audio files of Susan teaching the lessons, giving the weekly tests, and dictating are now available to save you time, especially if you have kids at several different levels.
Dictation is an essential part of the program. You can make up your own sentences or use those in the Dictation Resource Book. The Homophones Resource Book and Personal Dictionary are optional. They can save you time and help track kids' progress.
Listen to the related workshop Spelling for Success. The handout for that workshop has enough information to enable you to give this approach a try before purchasing anything.