Spelling You See is, hands down, one of my favorite new curriculums and by far my favorite spelling curriculum of all time! We first reveiwed it last year, which you can read about here. When the opportunity presented itself to review the more advanced books for this program, I jumped at the chance. And now?
Flower took a spelling test to check her placement. Her spelling has improved so dramatically since using Spelling You See last year (starting with Wild Tales) that she was placed in Spelling You See: Ancient Achievements, Book "F" in the series. The Instructor Manual is a slim guide and includes the Philosophy, the 5 Developmental Stages of Spelling, Getting Started and Lesson by Lesson Instructions. There is also a Weekly Activity Guide, FAQ and Resources. Everything you need to understand the program, how to implement and succeed at it.
The Student Workbooks are 8 1/2 by 11 and come 2 to a level and contain 36 sections. Each section contains "chunking" (identifying vowel words and chunks, along with consonants and endings) which the student then color codes with a colored pencil, copywork and dictation. Each section has 5 days worth of activities, previewing the same source document for the entire week. Each "chunk" is color-coded so if your student stays with this program long term, they'll automatically know what color the vowel chunks, consonant chunk, etc are. Each text has a theme, with engaging text and beautiful, full color pictures.
Day 4 the student chunks the groups by color, then the parent dictates the source text to the student, helping as needed.
Day 5 the student chunks the groups by color, then the parent dictates the source text to the student, offering no help. There is a place at the bottom of each page to write down number of words spelled correctly.
As Flower gained confidence and spelling skill, we speeded up the days, so that often she would be doing 2-3 or more lessons a day and 2-3 sections a week. Because she is loving having the SKILL of spelling as part of her life, she is highly motivated. Plus, there are erasable colored pencils invovled, which completely appeals to her inner artist (and as a side-note, these pencils are totally reserved for her spellling program. In her mind, that's what they are for and she NEVER uses them for anything else- I would recommned this for anyone using the program- the colors are integral to the success of gaining visual spelling mastery and they are erasable so the student can correct any mistakes while still maintaining the visual integrity of proper spelling).
This is a fantastic program.It is THE spelling program I am recommended, regardless of learning style or age. Why? Because it uses so many neural pathways to teach spelling: copywork (visual), colors (kinesthetic), dictation (auditory). We basically haven't stopped using Spelling You See since we were first introduced to it last year. My spelling challenged, now 12 year old, has improved dramatically in spelling, going from unsure about basic spelling to writing words like, "preserved" and "ancient" and "Egyptians" with ease and confidence. When she falters during dictation, I'll ask her if there were any "chunks" in the word at all. From there, she mentally "sees" the word and can, more often than not, spell it correctly.
Did I mention that I love this curriculum? Love, love, love it. It is perfect for any speller who lacks confidence or ability, any type learner (auditory, kinesthetic or visual) and a perfect tie-in to classical ed (copywork, dictation). Not only that, it's FUN and painless. My daughter readily gets spelling out and has even been found working ahead on her own.
If you have a faltering or poor speller (or are one yourself) do yourself a favor and gift them with Spelling You See . It will allow them to gain mastery and confidence at a rate that will astound you.
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I super love Spelling You See
Flower took a spelling test to check her placement. Her spelling has improved so dramatically since using Spelling You See last year (starting with Wild Tales) that she was placed in Spelling You See: Ancient Achievements, Book "F" in the series. The Instructor Manual is a slim guide and includes the Philosophy, the 5 Developmental Stages of Spelling, Getting Started and Lesson by Lesson Instructions. There is also a Weekly Activity Guide, FAQ and Resources. Everything you need to understand the program, how to implement and succeed at it.
The Student Workbooks are 8 1/2 by 11 and come 2 to a level and contain 36 sections. Each section contains "chunking" (identifying vowel words and chunks, along with consonants and endings) which the student then color codes with a colored pencil, copywork and dictation. Each section has 5 days worth of activities, previewing the same source document for the entire week. Each "chunk" is color-coded so if your student stays with this program long term, they'll automatically know what color the vowel chunks, consonant chunk, etc are. Each text has a theme, with engaging text and beautiful, full color pictures.
The Program by the Week:
Day 1, 2, 3 the student chucks the groups by color, then copies the source text.Day 4 the student chunks the groups by color, then the parent dictates the source text to the student, helping as needed.
Day 5 the student chunks the groups by color, then the parent dictates the source text to the student, offering no help. There is a place at the bottom of each page to write down number of words spelled correctly.
As Flower gained confidence and spelling skill, we speeded up the days, so that often she would be doing 2-3 or more lessons a day and 2-3 sections a week. Because she is loving having the SKILL of spelling as part of her life, she is highly motivated. Plus, there are erasable colored pencils invovled, which completely appeals to her inner artist (and as a side-note, these pencils are totally reserved for her spellling program. In her mind, that's what they are for and she NEVER uses them for anything else- I would recommned this for anyone using the program- the colors are integral to the success of gaining visual spelling mastery and they are erasable so the student can correct any mistakes while still maintaining the visual integrity of proper spelling).
Did I mention that I love this curriculum? Love, love, love it. It is perfect for any speller who lacks confidence or ability, any type learner (auditory, kinesthetic or visual) and a perfect tie-in to classical ed (copywork, dictation). Not only that, it's FUN and painless. My daughter readily gets spelling out and has even been found working ahead on her own.
If you have a faltering or poor speller (or are one yourself) do yourself a favor and gift them with Spelling You See . It will allow them to gain mastery and confidence at a rate that will astound you.
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2 comments:
Thanks for your review! We reviewed Level B last year, took a break, and then finished it out this year. I liked the program theoretically, but I was a little concerned about how successful it would be long term. It's really helpful to see how your daughter progressed. We're looking forward to starting Wild Tales this summer!
Very timely review, Lisa! I am going to check this out. Thank you!
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