TOS Review All About Spelling

Hank is in second grade, and I didn't have plans to introduce a formal spelling curriculum until 3rd grade. No particular reason other than it didn't fit into our current schedule. But then we received All About Spelling as part of the TOS Crew, and I am so glad we did.

My memories of spelling class aren't very exciting. Writing spelling words ten times each, spelling them aloud over and over, writing each word in a sentence, and then the test. I was actually a pretty good speller so stressing out over my grade wasn't an issue. It was just b.o.r.i.n.g.

Enter All About Spelling. This is really a fun program! It's multisensory which is perfect for my active monkey, and Hank has blown through the first seven lessons of Level 1- the holidays have thrown us off schedule, not his lack of progress. He actually ENJOYS it and asks to do it. A seven year old boy asking to do spelling?? Crazy, isn't it?

As I already said, this is a multisensory program. It includes activities that use the three main learning pathways: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. The lessons are scripted and super easy to follow. Another huge bonus is that it requires very little prep time on my part.

And the activities are easily adaptable to your student...one of the lessons is segmenting words - learning to hear the sound of each letter that makes up a word. The lesson suggests your student move a token for each sound. However, Hank prefers to either bounce a ball or do a jumping jack for each sound. This has also helped his reading tremendously, and he is steadily improving.

What All About Spelling offers:
* Complete, step-by-step lesson plans
* Stress-free teaching
* Direct instruction
* Lessons that progress in logical order
* Reliable spelling rules
* Multisensory learning
* Letter tiles to demonstrate abstract concepts
* Individualized student review
* Writing practice through dictation

What do you get when you purchase All About Spelling?

The All About Spelling series consists of six levels, each level building upon the previous one. To build a firm foundation for spelling, students start with Level One and progress through the series. The All About Spelling Lesson Book for each level contains step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions. Each lesson plan book comes with a corresponding Material Packet, which contains:

Flashcards (Phonogram Cards, Rule Cards, Sound Cards, and Word Cards)
Index card dividers
Tokens
Progress Chart
Completion Certificate
Many other level-specific teaching tools that help you teach and help your students learn.

If you don't already own a set of the All About Spelling Letter Tiles, you will need to order those as well. One set of letter tiles contains all the tiles you need to complete all six levels.
In this comprehensive program, your student will learn "phonograms," which are letter and letter combinations such as sh, ou, and ay. Phonograms are the basic building blocks of words. I recommend the Phonogram Audio CD-ROM if you are not familiar with the sounds of the basic phonograms. Featuring clear enunciation of the sounds of the letter combinations, this interactive audio program provides an easy way to learn the sounds of the phonograms.

The flash cards and index card dividers are a nice sturdy cardstock, and the colors are bright and cheerful but not painfully so.

The Starter Kit is used in Levels 1 - 6, and you can purchase it for $26.95.

Level 1 which includes the Teacher's Manual and One Student Material Packet is sold for $29.95.

You can teach multiple students the same level, but each one will need his own Student Material Packet. These can be purchased separately for $14.95.

Levels 2-6 are $39.95 each.

In a nutshell, I think this is a quality product, and I highly recommend it!

You can click here to read what other TOS Crew members say about it.