Spelling wasn’t something that I had to really think about with my first child. She is a natural speller and any ol’ workbook did the trick. Child #2 is another story. She can do the work perfectly, but it does not transfer over into her writing. I just knew that All About Spelling would work for her!
All About Spelling is a hands-on curriculum. The lessons are simple to teach and the student follows along with the lesson using letter tiles. It is mastery-based, not grade level-based, so students of any age can jump in at whatever level is needed. Continual review ensures that the lessons stick.
I also use this for my 7 yr. old beginning speller. The short lessons, daily review, and hands-on work keep him from getting bored and distracted.
I do our lessons on a magnetic whiteboard that I bought at Walmart. A magnet board is not a necessity for this program, but it saves a lot of time since the letters do not have to be lined up each day. I definitely recommend purchasing the magnets for letter tiles. It was so much simpler than cutting my own.
Level 1 covers:
- How to say and write the first 32 phonograms
- How to segment words into their individual sounds
- Short and long vowel sounds
- How to identify and count syllables in a word
- How to choose between c and k at the beginning of a word
- When to double f, l, and s
- How to spell /k/ at the end of a word
- How to form plural words by adding s or es
- Compound words
- Open and closed syllable types
Level 2 covers:
- The open and closed syllable types
- How to divide words into syllables
- How to spell multisyllable words
- When y can say /î/
- How Silent E can make a vowel long
- The vowel-consonant-e syllable type
- Two spellings for the sound of /z/
- The two sounds of long u
- The difference between hard and soft c and g
- Ways to spell long e
- That English words don’t end in i, j, u, or v
- The most common way to spell the sound of /er/
- When to use oi/oy, aw/au, and ow/ou
The Nitty Gritty:
- Starter Kit (letter tiles, magnets, phonogram cd-rom) $26.95 – used for all 6 levels
- Level 1 teacher & student $29.95
- Level 2 teacher & student $39.95
- items can also be ordered individually
Things I Like:
- hands-on
- easy to teach
- concepts are taught in a logical order
- works for all ages instead of grade-leveled
- my kids don’t dread spelling!
Value: Spelling is one of those subjects that is worth every penny if it works for your child. This on is particularly budget-friendly for a big family like mine since it is non-consumable.
See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about All About Spelling!
I recieved All About Spelling levels 1 & 2 and the starter kit free for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was given.
