Homeschool Resources: Spell to Write and Read

A few week's ago, I wrote about how I taught Mary to read using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.  I really like the program because I was able to teach Mary to read at an early age, even before she could write!

Eventually her writing abilities caught up, and I began to realize I needed something else to help with spelling.  One day we were writing a thank you card to a friend of ours who had given us some books.  I dictated to Mary to write, "L a u r a."  She insisted that was not correct and it should be "L o r a."  That's how it sounded after all.  I agreed that it did sound like it should be spelled "L o r a" but it really should be spelled "L a u r a".  A friend of mine introduced me to phonograms and the Spell to Write and Read program, a completely different approach.  Most people probably would use either The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading  or  Spell to Write and Read, but I ended up using BOTH.  We started using Spell to Write and Read after we finished The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, just before Mary turned four.  Spell to Write and Read is best implemented when the child can write, and I didn't want to wait that long to teach Mary to read, since she was really interested in learning to read before she could write!  Maggie is interested in learning to read, and she can't write either, so it looks like we're heading down the same road:)

The Core Kit includes the Spell to Write and Read Book, the WISE Guide for Spelling Book, 70 phonogram cards, 28 spelling rule cards, and a phonogram CD.  To use this program, you need to have all of this plus a log, either The Primary Learning Log for younger students or a Black Composition Notebook for older students.

This essence of this program is that the English language is comprised of 98 keys: 70 basic phonograms and 28 spelling rules.  While many phonics programs teach the basic letter sounds and then lots and lots of exceptions, Spell to Write and Read teaches the 70 basic phonograms and 28 spelling rules and very few exceptions!

So, what exactly is a phonogram?  A phonogram is a letter or a combination of letters that produce a sound.  In the English language there are 45 sounds written basically 70 different ways.  Take for example the letter a.  It has three sounds: /a/ as in am, /A/ as in apron, and /ah/ as in wasp.  Instead of teaching the first as the short-vowel sound, the second as the long-vowel sound and the third as an exception, with this program you teach that the phonogram a has three sounds: /a/, /A/, /ah/.  Now, the order of the sounds is important, as the sounds are taught in order of frequency in the English language.  /a/ is the most common sound of the phonogram a; /A/ is the second most common; /ah/ the least common.  In this case, there is a flashcard with the letter a on it.  The student recognizes this phonogram as /a/, /A/, /ah/.  Another example is the multi-letter phonogram eigh.  This phonogram has four letters but only one sound: /A/.  In this case, there is a flashcard with the letters eigh on it.  The student recognizes this phonogram as/A/ four-letter /A/.

The first step in this program is to teach the student the 70 basic phonograms.  In order to do so, you use the flashcards provided.  It is really helpful to listen to the pronunciation CD yourself first to ensure that you can pronounce the phonograms correctly, but you needn't get bogged down trying to master proficiency of all the phonograms before teaching them.  I just told Mary that all of this was new to me, too, so we were going to be learning together.  Every once in a while, I even have her quiz me on the phonograms.  Boy, does she ever love that!  One of the ways in which you teach the phonograms is by dictation.  You dictate the phonograms and the student writes them in the back of the log discussed above. 

The next step is to actually begin spelling words from the Wise Guide for Spelling (a listing of 2,000 core words of the English language).  The student does not need to have mastered all 70 phonograms before beginning this step.  Each section lists the phonograms that the student should know and that you should review prior to dictation.  The way the dictation process goes is as follows: You dictate a word and the student records the word in the Primary Learning Log BEFORE seeing the word written.  You lead the student by sounding out the word syllable by syllable, giving as much information as necessary to enable the student to correctly identify the phonograms used and spell the word correctly the first time.  After the student has written the word in the Primary Learning Log, you write the word on the board and the student checks her work.  You then lead the student in marking the words appropriately.  Some markings include underlining multi-letter phonograms or in the case of a phonograms with more than one sound, writing the number of the sound used above the phonogram if it is not the first sound.  Take wasp for example.  The student would record a 3 above the a to indicate that we pronounce the third sound of the phonogram a in wasp.

Another component of this program is teaching the spelling rules using the spelling rule cards.  With this program, you teach spelling rules as necessary to spell words in the Wise List.  There are also reference pages in the back of the Primary Learning Log that are used to introduce and reinforce spelling rules.  Recently, I have discovered that these reference pages, oddly enough, are Mary's favorite part!

Each section of the Wise Guide contains 20 spelling words and suggested sentences, but you can choose to teach the words at whatever pace you want.  We started our second year of this program just this past week.  Since we are reviewing words from the very beginning, we are doing 40 words a week.  When we catch up to words that are more difficult for Mary, we will slow down our pace to 20.  Each section also contains many language arts activities for various levels to reinforce the words taught in that section.  Personally, I have found that I prefer a more systematic approach to grammar, so this year I have introduced another resource for grammar instruction, although I still plan to use some of the activities in the Wise Guide.  I just don't care for the random order in which the grammar material is presented.  The first year you use this program, it is recommended that you begin with section A; however, there are diagnostic tests in the back of the book that can be used to assess your child's spelling level to determine appropriate placement.  I use these periodically.    

Does this all sound very confusing?  Admittedly, it does take some getting used to.  Is it worth it?  YES!  This program makes the English language logical!  There are very few exceptions to the rules in this program, so by applying the phonograms and the spelling rules, you can confidently spell, write, and read words of the English language!  Rest assured Wanda Sanseri guides you step by step in the instructions about what markings to use, what to record in the reference pages, etc.  We have been using this program for a over a year now and the markings have now become intuitive for both Mary and myself.