Spell to Write and Read
by Wanda Sanseri
Advanced SWR DVD Intro from Paul Munger on Vimeo.
How is Spell to Write and Read taught?
While I personally think Spell to Write and Read is the best spelling curriculum out there for most children, it is more teacher-intensive on Mondays and maybe one other day of the week than other spelling curriculum. I know that having more than two children would make it tougher to teach spelling using a curriculum that is more teacher/parent-intensive.
However, I look at spelling skills like this:
Everything we write is "judged" by employers, college professors, fellow employees, and others, all of our lives. People who have poorer spelling skills are often looked down upon by those who are well-educated and spell well.
For me, I'd rather focus my energies upon teaching spelling well, and then leading into solid good writing instruction, and also focusing on math skills. Those would be the two areas in which I would really focus on spending my instruction time with my children.
So many other subjects can just be read about. History, science, literature. Now, I only have two children, and they don't have any learning disabilities, so that may seem daunting to you. I don't know your situation except that you've mentioned that you have more children than I do.
Once a child can read and spell well, and then begins to write well, the world is opened up to him or her! Everything becomes easier.
If I had more than 3 children, I'd group them into 2-3 groups, even if they were spread apart by a few years, and begin instruction with Spell to Write and Read. SWR proceeds at such a quick pace, as far as ability levels, that in a few months, each child (if they started at the beginning as a non-reader) would be at about the 3rd or 4th grade spelling level. After one year using SWR, they'd be in the 5th-7th grade spelling level. So it wouldn't matter if my jr. higher or high schooler was a poor speller and started at the beginning or near the beginning of SWR. They would catch up very quickly unless they had a language disorder/reading/spelling challenge.
We chose to use SWR like this:
Monday: parent dictates new spelling list to each child (or grouped children, depending on ages and ability levels).
Tuesday: parent works through a reference page with child (or grouped children), if one is required work that week. Children practice their spelling words, either writing them out (many ways to do this to make it fun) or using SpellQuizzer computer software (separate from SWR, so an additional purchase, but easy for children to use.)
Wednesday: children continue to practice their words on their own. Can listen to their word list on audio CDs (separate purchase from SWR but made by the same company) or however mom wants them to practice their words.
Thursday: we always played a game to have them practice their lists of words one last time. Used any board game or card game, and in order for them to get their turn, they needed to spell the spelling word correctly from their list.
Friday: either parent tests child(ren) with spelling list words, or children use SWR audio CDs to test themselves, pausing the CD between each word so they may write their words down neatly.
Using this kind of format, the parent is primarily working with each child separately or in small groups on Monday, to dictate the new list of words. This is required - and cannot be altered. The dictation process of SWR's new spelling lists each week is one of the key components that makes it work!
On the other days of the week, Mom doesn't really need to be all that involved, unless a child has a very difficult time working on his own. Or, an older child can quiz that child so mom is free to do other things.
Spell to Write and Read has a little bit of a learning curve for the parent, because there is so much info. in the teacher's guide (first 48 pages or so) that is helpful info. for parents whose children don't yet read. Most parents start using the teacher's guide on about page 49 or so to begin teaching their children using the program. That seems to work well and isn't so overwhelming.
There are at least two other programs that are similar to SWR that may be a bit more "parent friendly" or not as teacher intensive: All About Spelling, and The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. They both use similar methods to SWR, but may work better with larger families.
However, I look at spelling skills like this:
Everything we write is "judged" by employers, college professors, fellow employees, and others, all of our lives. People who have poorer spelling skills are often looked down upon by those who are well-educated and spell well.
For me, I'd rather focus my energies upon teaching spelling well, and then leading into solid good writing instruction, and also focusing on math skills. Those would be the two areas in which I would really focus on spending my instruction time with my children.
So many other subjects can just be read about. History, science, literature. Now, I only have two children, and they don't have any learning disabilities, so that may seem daunting to you. I don't know your situation except that you've mentioned that you have more children than I do.
Once a child can read and spell well, and then begins to write well, the world is opened up to him or her! Everything becomes easier.
If I had more than 3 children, I'd group them into 2-3 groups, even if they were spread apart by a few years, and begin instruction with Spell to Write and Read. SWR proceeds at such a quick pace, as far as ability levels, that in a few months, each child (if they started at the beginning as a non-reader) would be at about the 3rd or 4th grade spelling level. After one year using SWR, they'd be in the 5th-7th grade spelling level. So it wouldn't matter if my jr. higher or high schooler was a poor speller and started at the beginning or near the beginning of SWR. They would catch up very quickly unless they had a language disorder/reading/spelling challenge.
We chose to use SWR like this:
Monday: parent dictates new spelling list to each child (or grouped children, depending on ages and ability levels).
Tuesday: parent works through a reference page with child (or grouped children), if one is required work that week. Children practice their spelling words, either writing them out (many ways to do this to make it fun) or using SpellQuizzer computer software (separate from SWR, so an additional purchase, but easy for children to use.)
Wednesday: children continue to practice their words on their own. Can listen to their word list on audio CDs (separate purchase from SWR but made by the same company) or however mom wants them to practice their words.
Thursday: we always played a game to have them practice their lists of words one last time. Used any board game or card game, and in order for them to get their turn, they needed to spell the spelling word correctly from their list.
Friday: either parent tests child(ren) with spelling list words, or children use SWR audio CDs to test themselves, pausing the CD between each word so they may write their words down neatly.
Using this kind of format, the parent is primarily working with each child separately or in small groups on Monday, to dictate the new list of words. This is required - and cannot be altered. The dictation process of SWR's new spelling lists each week is one of the key components that makes it work!
On the other days of the week, Mom doesn't really need to be all that involved, unless a child has a very difficult time working on his own. Or, an older child can quiz that child so mom is free to do other things.
Spell to Write and Read has a little bit of a learning curve for the parent, because there is so much info. in the teacher's guide (first 48 pages or so) that is helpful info. for parents whose children don't yet read. Most parents start using the teacher's guide on about page 49 or so to begin teaching their children using the program. That seems to work well and isn't so overwhelming.
There are at least two other programs that are similar to SWR that may be a bit more "parent friendly" or not as teacher intensive: All About Spelling, and The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. They both use similar methods to SWR, but may work better with larger families.
Literacy Today:
What is Wrong and How Can We Fix it?
Oregon Senate Hearing Presentation, February 2001
by Wanda Sanseri, author of Spell to Write and Read
by Wanda Sanseri, author of Spell to Write and Read
