Review: Spell to Write and Read

I wasn't looking for a new language arts program, per se. But I have a boy who is quite logic smart and as a result is not a good speller - it just doesn't make sense to him logically, and the program we'd been using taught rules with too many exceptions. (in other words, their rules aren't very good rules).

So when I was in China last spring visiting some friends and they mentioned this Spell to Write and Read program, I was interested. Each of them though seemed to have a hard time summarizing exactly what the program teaches. This is not a reflection on my friends. It's just a complex program. In fact, if I had just picked up the book without a recommendation, I'm sure I would have dropped it and run.

The premise is that you teach reading and writing by teaching spelling. You teach spelling not by teaching the letters, but by teaching the letter sounds and phonogram sounds. What appealed to me is that the rules are much clearer and there are fewer exceptions - perfect for my logical boy. What also appealed to me is that I did a pretest and found that my kids scored at the same level - meaning I only have to prepare one language arts lesson each day.

I did three weeks of the program in the spring, mostly just teaching the basic sounds of the letters and phonograms to the kids. After that I did another placement test. With a little help using the new rules, Megan scored a grade level higher, and Ethan, two levels higher.

After our first two weeks this fall, things are going well and I'm glad I chose this program. I am not using it exclusively (it is meant to be all inclusive for language arts). I still have them reading other books and doing things with those like writing and grammar, because I prefer that. This program also insists you start cursive first. I'm not being a stickler with that either, because Ethan is already writing cursive, and Megan is writing far beyond her level but doesn't want to write cursive yet.

If you are interested in this book, I highly recommend setting aside a few hours to read through the entire instructor's guide first. It seems daunting, and it's good to have a friend who's done it available for questions, but you get a better idea once you've read the book. In the States I believe there are seminars you can attend to learn how to use it. I know some of my friends in China were able to attend one and said it's a must. They haven't come to Singapore, so I've had to muddle through on my own. But once you start doing it, you see the method behind the madness.