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Spelling Power
How To Use It

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Now that you have Spelling Power (SP), how do you use it? These posts may help answer your questions. Thanks to all the wise moms who shared their wisdom. To see why people love SP, see Spelling Power: What's So Great About It?.


Spelling Power Description
From: Désirée
Note: Désirée's description also appears at Spelling Power: What's So Great About It?.

We use Spelling Power. I never thought I would use a spelling program. I hate all those others out there with lists of words to memorize, and Writing Road to Reading, though appealing to my logical nature, was too rigid and disciplined for my son. I figured we would just use his writing to find words to work on and use many of the strategies Gigi mentions. BUT...I have toddler twins, and anything I find to make life easier is welcome, and Spelling Power sounded just like what I wanted in a spelling program, so I decided to try it.

It is extremely well researched. The author spent years going through all the data on teaching and learning spelling and found out what worked and what did not. She then put everything that worked together into this program.

One thing students and parents like is the fact that it takes only 15 minutes a day (5 minutes of this the parent is needed for). This is not a gimmicky thing. Research has shown that this is the optimum amount of time. Any more time spent on spelling a day is no more productive.

The first five minutes are spent in pre-testing a list of words. You say the word and use it in a sentence, the student repeats it, and the student writes it as best he can. Then you spell it out loud, so he can check it. If it is misspelled, it is put in the study words column immediately, with the correct spelling dictated by the teacher. After five minutes of this you stop. You usually end up with 3 or 4 study words. (You stop before five minutes if you come to the end of a list, or the student has misspelled five words. We stop after three misspelled words. -ed.)

Then the student copies the study words onto the study page. He uses the 10 steps to study his words. They are: Say (pronounce it aloud), Look (look carefully. Ask yourself questions such as, "Can I spell it the way it looks? How many syllables are there? Any double letters? Silent letters? What are the vowels in each syllable? Anything peculiar about this word? etc."), Say (say the letters while looking at the word), Close (close eyes and visualize the word and spell it), Check (check that you got it right), Trace (trace the word on your desk, in a sand tray, on sand paper, on a fabric board, using large arm motions), Write (without looking), Check (was it right?), Repeat (if it was not right), Sentence (write the word in a sentence).

The last five minutes are spent in an activity. There are many ideas in the book, and additional ones on a set of activity cards you can buy. These are great, ranging from writing your words in pudding to essay writing. They are multi-sensory, and can work on drilling words, skill building, writing, dictionary skills and homonyms, from primary to high school level.

The manual has all the placement tests, so you can start at the best place for each individual child. I found these very accurate. They are meant to place the child so that he will get most of the pre-test, but will get about 3-4 words he can not spell in each session. This way he is not too discouraged, but has something to study each day.

The manual also has a reference section where you can look up words your child misspells in his own writing, and you can see what the spelling level is of the word, where it comes up in the Spelling Power flow word lists, and if it is commonly misspelled by children and/or adults. This way you can decide whether to incorporate words from the child's own writing into the program. The flow word lists are carefully arranged by level (which do not correspond to grade levels), but also are grouped according to a certain spelling rule, pattern or sound. Although you may use the flow-word lists exclusively, using the student's own misspellings is encouraged, and easy to do---just include them in the pre-test.

The teachers' guide in the manual can be intimidating at first--there is a lot of information there! But there is a "Quick Start" section (in the Third Edition), to get you up and running the program fairly soon, then you can peruse the rest of the manual as you use the program. It makes more sense then. There is also a section on coaching writing, and one on teaching dictionary skills.

I hope this helped you. I really like this program, and my son does too. The great thing is it is flexible. You can add your own words, choose activities your child enjoys, work on skills he is weak in, and the child is free to use any strategy he likes to learn the words' spelling---the "look" step can use whatever strategies work best for that child and that particular word. If he knows the Orton Phonograms, he can use those. If he goes by instinct or what 'looks right', (as an avid reader might) that is fine too. The ten steps work on a variety of senses and learning styles.

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Common Misconceptions
From: Paula H.

I've seen a few misconceptions people often have about SP, regarding how much to cover in a day, pretesting and retesting, and checking for errors. After you've read Desiree's post and looked through the Quick-Start section of the manual, come back to this info, to make sure you didn't get the same wrong ideas.

  1. IMMEDIATE SELF-CORRECTION: You check each word before you go on to the next word.
    Mom: "TABLE. The apple is on the table. table."
    Jimmy: "table"
    Mom: "okay."
    Jimmy writes t-a-b-e-l, looks to see whether it looks right, and says, "table."
    Mom: "T-A-B-L-E" while Jimmy checks his spelling. (Note: I prefer to have Jimmy spell aloud what he wrote, so his eyes don't miss a misspelling while I'm spelling it aloud).
    Jimmy: "Oops, I got it wrong." Then Jimmy lines through "tabel" and writes, "table" in the other column.

  2. HOW MUCH TO COVER: Then you go on to the next word. When Jimmy has 5 words in his second column (or 3 words in our family), you stop there, or when it's been 5 minutes, or when you have finished a group. So some days you could possibly only get through 5 words, some days you could get through 20, if the child had no misspellings. Of course, each child will be at a different point in the lists, but you only need to be involved with each child individually 5 minutes, during the pre-test step.

  3. DISCOVERY ACTIVITIES: These are to reinforce your study words. Don't get too worked up over which activities to use. The choice of activities is less important than that you're doing something to study the words. No reason you couldn't choose 6-10 that suit you, from the book; put them on a list; and each day your kids choose one from your short list. When they get bored with the short list, choose some more from the book. Just don't get obsessed with this step.
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Pacing for Weak Spellers
From: Paula H.

You proceed at the child's pace, and how far to go is clearly described in the manual. Basically, you pre-test through a word list, and stop when a. you finish a group list, b. the student has missed 5 words (we stop after 3 missed), or c. you've pre tested for 5 minutes. Then the student studies missed words, then you do an activity. The next day, your testing time (max 5 min.) begins with yesterday's missed words. I continue to include a missed word on the pretest until he has pre-tested it correctly two days in a row, and put it on the list again a week later just to make sure; this is more than the manual recommends, but we need it.

Each student will proceed through the book at a different rate. I think that's better. In most packages, one student might spend a week on a list he knew how to spell by noon Monday. Another student (mine), by Friday afternoon, would still spell "thare," "woold," and "thay." By then, he's done all the workbook pages, and you're on your own to come up with activities to continue to study these words. Or in a classroom, you just go on to next week's list, even though you didn't learn this week's.

If your child proceeded slowly through SP (normal for a poor speller), then the grade-level average would have zipped past her. If that's the case, how should you proceed? Should you use a graded spelling program and keep her at that pace? I think not. If she's weak in spelling, she's not likely to retain lessons which proceed too fast for her. It makes more sense to me, to use SP at a pace that meets her needs, a pace where she will be able to learn and retain.

My ds is a poor speller, but SP has helped greatly. He will probably always be behind the average, but always progressing, so this year he's much better than last year. I'm satisfied with that. He's in 3rd, does 2nd grade level spelling, and 4th grade level math. Should I hold him back in math, to stay on grade level? Of course not. I let him proceed at his natural pace. That's the beauty of HSing. So if I don't worry about him being ahead in math, then I can't worry about him struggling in spelling, either. Not allowed.

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Managing multiple students
From: Kathie

My daughters, ages 8 and 10, pretest each other while I make dinner. Since I am within earshot, I correct any mispronunciations (especially for the 8 year old), and any words that are used incorrectly in sentences. I find this reinforces phonics skills for the younger one because she is reading 3 and 4 syllable words in isolation, and it motivates the older one to create some really interesting sentences for her sister! After they finish their 5-minute pretests, they do the study sheet and reinforcement activities independently.


Managing multiple students
From: Paula H.

Spelling Power should take only 15 minutes per day, with Mom involved for 5 minutes per student. Here's a possible plan for managing several students. We'll assume 4 kids, Adam, Bob, Cathy, and Diane (A, B, C, D).

Set-up: Write "Adam" on two small Post-its. In your SP manual, stick the first one to the page he's on, so it sticks out like a book-mark. Put the second one immediately below the last word he pretested on yesterday. That way you have Adam's page and stopping-point marked in your manual. Do the same for the other children.

  1. Keep their pretest sheets separate from their study sheets, not in the same notebook. This will make one of your tasks easier. If you're using the Record Books, you may want to cut off the binding, and put them into 3-ring binders. If you're copying your sheets from the masters in the book, see my note below about minimizing copy expenses.

  2. Adam pulls out his pretest form binder (I just use notebook paper in a binder), turns to the next free page, and writes his name, date, and level at the top. You pull out Adam's binder of study sheets, and turn to yesterday's study sheet. That will list the words he got wrong yesterday; use it to begin today's pretest. Set the timer for five minutes, and test Adam on yesterday's missed words.

  3. Now pull out your SP manual. Turn to Adam's page (the Post-it is sticking out, so it's easy to find the page). Give him the rule for the list he's on (see my alternative rules, below). Start pretesting words from where you left off yesterday, as marked by Adam's Post-it. When the timer beeps (5 min.), move Adam's Post-it to wherever you stopped, so you'll know where to start tomorrow.

  4. Give Adam his binder of study sheets. Bob gets his pretest binder, and you get Bob's binder of study sheets. Set the timer, and Adam is doing today's study sheet while you re-test Bob from yesterday's study sheets, then pretest Bob on new words. When the timer beeps, don't forget to move Bob's Post-it down the page to where his last pretested word is.

  5. Do you use the activity cards? With 3 or more kids, it may be a wise investment. When Adam finishes his study sheet, he chooses an activity card from the box (perhaps you have separated 10 for him to choose from, which would be appropriate for him.)

  6. Now Adam is doing his reinforcement activity, Bob is doing his study sheet, and you've just begun pretesting Cathy.

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What if it doesn't help his daily writing?
From: Paula

I'll fire some ideas at you. If I suggest enough things, maybe one will work well.

1. I review misspellings more than SP says. I'll retest the word until he gets it right TWO days in a row. If he gets the same word wrong twice on his pretests, I'll include that word at least once a week, until he's strong on it. Progress is slower, but stronger.

2. With my son, we have motivation problems. He tries hard to spell right on the pretest, so he doesn't have to do the study steps. But on his daily writing, it's easier to spell poorly than to spell right. How's this sound? After he writes something, he proofs it himself for spelling. Then give him, say, 10 m&m's, but take away one for each misspelling on a page? He keeps whatever's left. Adjust the plan to work in your situation.

3. On his daily writing, I don't correct misspelled words which are way above his spelling level. If he writes, "fewryous" (furious), I don't correct it.

4. If you've been doing it for long, might you have progressed past the level which would be normal for him? Check the appendix for the approximate grade-level of words. If he's learning 5th-grade words in his daily spelling lesson, then spelling them wrong a week later, that's understandable if he's a 3rd-grader.

5. I just had a big idea. I don't know whether it's a good idea, though. What if you ditched the SP book for awhile, and considered his daily writing as the pretest? What I'm saying is, he writes something, you choose five misspellings, and those are his study words? If he only misspells 3 words (at an appropriate grade level), then he only has to study 3. It could back-fire, but it just might make him more aware of his spelling.

6. It could be that he's learned to "beat the system." He might skim through the study steps, just enough to get it right on tomorrow's pretest, then promptly forget it. If you test him on a missed word a week later, is it wrong or right? If it's wrong, maybe he's skimming through the study steps. If it's right a week later, then he has two spelling approaches: one he uses for spelling class, and one he uses everywhere else. You need to find a way to bring that spelling-class approach into other writing.

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Spelling Power for Perfectionists
From: Paula H.

I've heard this scenario many times: "My child is a perfectionist, and the pretest upsets her terribly." How do you make Spelling Power work for a perfectionist? Go ahead and adapt! The SP manual is not Holy Writ! You're the teacher. Don't be a slave to your curriculum. Do what will work best for your daughter. If you want to do study-test-study, then do it.

With that said, let me ask you something. I'm thinking that her time would be more fruitfully spent, if she studied only the words she didn't know. But how do you determine which words she needs to study? By a pretest. But she hates getting words wrong on the pretest; she feels like she wasn't given a fair chance. Vicious cycle. Tell me if you think this would work. (And if you don't like this idea, or she doesn't, forget it! Never be afraid to adapt the program to fit your needs.) How would she feel about it, if you gave her the words, but she answered orally, not in writing? Make clear that this is not her spelling test (since it's not written down), this is simply to identify which words to spend her time studying. It's just a more productive use of her study time. If she gets it wrong, she knows it's one she'll want to study. If she gets it right, but feels unsteady, leave it up to her whether she wants to study it. If she doesn't know the spelling, she doesn't even have to try. Example:

Mom: "believe"
dd: "Hmm, I don't know that one. Add it to the list."
Mom: "Okay. Next word, brief."

Get the idea? Do everything you can, to separate this procedure, from the "test." Find a fun name for it, like the "Detective Step." How many words to cover? I don't know. You decide. Then, when she has her detective list, she can study them whatever way she chooses, it's her responsibility. She doesn't have to use SP's steps. You also keep a permanent list (or mark it in the SP book), of her detective list. This will be a running list, which you add every detective list to.

Test her on the detective list, or on all the words (your choice), the next day, by the regular SP method. Test her again, several days or a week later, to check long-term retention. She only has to do SP's study steps on the ones she misses on a test. Let her know that you'll be adding these words to future tests, too. Once she has studied them, they're "fair game," any time in the future. Since these are the words she got stuck on, they're the ones you, mom, want to check back on, since you want to make sure she really learns them, and they weren't just memorized for the test. That's why you'll keep your running detective list.

Do you think you could "pull that off"? Do you think it would convince her that this first step isn't a test she's failing? It's really a way of narrowing down what she needs to study. If you can make it enough different from a "test," and she likes it, I think her time will be more productive. But even with the detective step, if she still feels like she has failed by not knowing a new word, then forget it. Let her study everything in advance.
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Do I need the Activity Task Cards?
From: Désirée

The box has extra activities not found in the book but...there are plenty in the book to keep you going for a long time! I did buy the cards because I find it easier to dig out a relevant one for the day ahead of time, put it in a protective sleeve and leave it with my son's spelling things for him to use on his own once I am done dictating the pre-test and he has done the study steps. He also likes being able to choose his own sometimes. SO...not necessary, but nice to have if you don't mind spending the extra cash.


Activity Task Cards
From: Paula

The activity cards are more convenient, especially with several students using them. But the manual has over 100 activities (write the word with chalk outside, in huge letters, draw a picture of the subject and incorporate the word in the picture, like the word "stairs" going up steps, hop around on letters scattered on the floor, etc.); that should keep you going for awhile. If you're not sure the convenience is worth the expense, you may want to start with the manual, and after you've used it for awhile, you'll be better equipped to make your decision. That's what I did. On the other hand, if convenience is valuable to you, everyone I've heard from agrees they're very useful.


Do I need the Student Record Books?
From: Laura B.

In the Appendix, there are reproducible masters of the pages you will need, but I think the books are probably cost-effective if you don't have a very cheap copier available to you. We don't write the sentence section, but do find the check off page useful when studying. I don't think they are a *need*, but they are useful to me, and I prefer working with them. I could still use SP if I didn't have them.


Student Record Books
From: Désirée

I used a record book at first, but when it was full and I found it too expensive to buy another. I came up with this idea: I use a regular notebook for the student to write his words, but have copied and covered the ten-step check-boxes with a sheet protector. I put a fairly stiff card under it, trimmed it to size, covered everything with a sheet protector, and taped the edges. I have the sort of sheet protector we can write on with a pencil. Now he can check off the steps as he goes, but we don't need special sheets. He can even lay his check-sheet over the word so he doesn't have to cover the model with his hand. It is a bit inconvenient having to erase it every day [editor's note: you could use Vis-a-Vis markers, to make erasing easier], so now I am thinking of simply writing the steps on index cards, punching two holes in them and binding them with rings so he can just flip through them as he does each step. [Editor's note: per Heather in WI, "Shop Ticket Holders (Avery 75255) from Staples work a lot better than just plastic sleeves for a write on / wipe off cover for kids workbook pages. They're a lot tougher."]


Student Record Books: A "Frugal" Approach
From: Paula H.

For the daily test, let each child have a notebook. I use a 1" 3-ring binder, so I can restock it with notebook paper as needed. There's no reason any of the daily or review tests need to be on a form. For the study sheet, we Xerox the form from the manual. The size we use has space for eight study words. Since he generally doesn't miss more than 2 (or 3) words per day, we can usually fit three or four days on one 5-cent copy. And some days he gets none wrong! The forms for older students have smaller lines, so there's space for 12 study words per page. So if we use one form per week, that's 36 copies (less than $2) per student per year.

 

Amended Study Sheet
From: Paula H.

I've adjusted our Study Sheet master. See the WORD file. It spells out the six steps in the "Look" item, and it gives more details of many of the other study steps. The extra comments help the student remember what to do on each step.


Do I need the Quick Start Videos?
From: Paula

No.

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Recommended Ages
From: Paula H

The curriculum is designed for students age 8 through adult. Can you use it earlier than that? The manual says that for younger children, spelling instruction needs to include reading and phonics instruction. The program can be adapted, using a method called the study-test-study approach, where the younger student studies the words before being tested on them (unlike the standard program).


What's the youngest age you can use Spelling Power?
From: Angie

I can't say the youngest age, but if she can handle Explode the Code Book 5 or MCP Plaid Phonic book B, then she should be able to start Spelling Power at Level A. I would recommend using the study-test approach until she reaches at least level B and probably until level C, regardless of age. You have to have a good base of spelling ability before using the test-study approach. I'm using the study-test approach successfully with a 6 yo about halfway through level A.


Recommended Ages
From: Laura B.

We began when my ds was just turning 6. We also use study-test for many lists, but some we did test-study-test (Groups 1-5 for example). By the end of the year, in Level B, I was able to ask him which he wanted to do after I read out the whole list for a group. If he wanted to try them, I'd allow it, if he promised not to get too upset if he missed a few. Some lists, he hear the list, and just say, "I have to study those first--I don't know any of those!"

If a child can write all the letters, and has a pretty good grasp of sounds and symbols, AND their hand doesn't get tired out VERY easily (we had a bit of a problem with this in all subjects), I think they are capable of using SP if you are able to study-test for some groups.


Recommended Ages
From: John at Sonlight

While Spelling Power does include a couple of very simple spelling lists with words [appropriate for second graders], the fact is, there are only a very FEW lessons that are even remotely that easy. If you really tried to "do" Spelling Power with a relatively "normal" ("average"?) second grader, it is our opinion that you would run out of reasonable lists and work within a few weeks--because your child will not have mastered her basic phonics (including most of the digraphs for long vowels). . . . That is why we try to follow the author/publisher's recommendation and do NOT recommend Spelling Power until THIRD grade. Return to the top of this page  

Paula's Spelling Power rules
6 Wait eight days to make great clay.
7 We happy chiefs receive these deep cleanings.
8 Try to tie nice wild tigers at night.
9 I hope an old doe will go slow in the boat.
10 A huge blue fruit moves new soup to the moon.
12 Her first nurse works on early journals. "or" after w; "er" at end of words.
13 Pour war corn on your door before roaring. "ar" after w.
14 Who dares go there to their bear's fair?
15 Irritated deer made a frontier series this year.
16 How clowns shout and howl in the shower!
17 My tall daughter always thought she saw the cause.
18 Toy coin
19 I should push good.
22 I know lambs talk and write for hours.
24 I miss the full jazz stuff.
29 A total pencil costs a little nickel.
32 The flies tried buying the keys. Change y to i after a consonant.

I love Spelling Power. The one thing I don't like is some of the group rules, especially the ones for Groups 6-19+, which are lists of possible spellings for the target vowel sound. They're too hard to remember that way, and I disagree with some of the choices of possible spellings. I have developed goofy sentences which use all the spellings I consider standard for a particular group's sound. They're easier to remember than a laundry list, too. The numbers refer to group numbers. If these don't make any sense to you now, they will if you start using the program.

How to use the rules

First, he learns to spell the goofy sentences.

Then, he needs to spell "chair." He spells it "chere" and it doesn't look right. So on a piece of scrap paper, he writes, "Who dares go there to their bear's fair?", which is rule 14, the rule for the "air" sound. Then he tries each potential spelling: chare, chere, cheir, chear, chair; and selects the one that looks right.

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