A Note (All) About Spelling

{photos by Jenny Bischoff}

Today we have the privilege of hearing from Lisa Ann Dillon, who is our Lead Intermediate Teacher and Math Curriculum Coordinator. She has used All About Spelling in her classroom and has some great advice for those of us who will be starting this program with our kids at home. This was sent to Intermediate families with their first grids, but we thought others might benefit from the following guidance and suggestions – thank you Lisa Ann!

Last year while using All About Spelling Level 1 in the classroom, I became a big fan.  The program progresses step by step without any wasted lessons!  A systematic approach to spelling will benefit all of our students so I am so excited that SLOCA has officially adopted this powerful program.  This year, Level 3 families will continue on from what was begun last year (AAS 2).  Level 4 families however are jumping into a program in the middle (AAS 3).

At Intermediate Level 4 if your student struggles to learn the rules and apply them, it might make sense to start with AAS Level 2.  Keep in mind if you change books, you will still use that book the following year.  You might even want to borrow an AAS Level 1 book just to have an overview and see the skills kids should have from the start.       

The goal of this program is for students to learn these rules to automaticity just like math facts!  In fact, AAS has several similarities to Singapore Math.  The program is foundational and uses manipulatives.  Those spelling tiles are gems and last year I saw more than once how the use of the tiles helped cement the concepts in the brains of our little ones.  We want for students to have the necessary information to assess whether or not they are spelling words correctly.  They are not simply memorizing words from a list to pass a quiz; they are gaining the skills necessary to spell correctly when they write!

(This 18×24 inch magnetic white board holds all the tiles. A 24×36 inch board would give you even more room to build words.)

For all, I suggest first thoroughly reading through the appendices and first chapter.  That is why I will put it right on the grid; we won’t begin formal lessons until Thursday of the second week. Becoming familiar with the rules and words your student will learn will help you to see the connections in this program as well as know what is coming up. 

Even if your child is a strong speller, on your home days, please follow the structure and use the time to have your student memorize the rules and practice applying them.  Then, if the words themselves are easy and the rules are quickly learned, you can also pull a few frequently misspelled words from the rough draft of their writing samples to add to their lists.   In this way, each family can personalize spelling instruction for the individual students.

At home you will do the lessons and reviews.  In class every week or every other week, we will do quick dictation.  The dictation will reveal how well students are assimilating the lessons.   We will use this information to assess student success with the program and this will go on the Progress Report.  If students seem to really struggle, we will recommend that you drop off the class schedule and take the program more slowly at home.  If your child is doing well, we will recommend you stay at our pace to be sure those rules have time to sink in.  This way, students will have those rules to fall back on for a lifetime rather than for this short time they are at SLOCA! 

(This storage box, found at Staples and Office Max, holds the cards perfectly. Any similar size box will do.)

As always, if you have questions or are struggling to make the program work for you in any way – please let us know.  We can and want to help you.  Simply contact your child’s teacher or feel free to email me – [email protected].  We are here for you and want to help make your year of spelling instruction a success!

Note: we found out that if you email All About Learning Press <[email protected]>, they will send you a pdf of the progress charts and other charts that came with the student packet. Good to know if you lose yours or need another copy! They also have a wonderful Spelling Resouces page with helpful Spelling How-Tos, teaching strategies, and advice for struggling learners. Check it out!

SLO Classical Academy is not affiliated with any of the above mentioned businesses.