Copyright Country Hills Academy. All rights reserved. |
Country Hills Academy
| Comparison of the Original Spalding WRTR and other similar products |
| In an effort to provide a more detailed analysis of these programs for our many visitors, I did away with the brief comparison chart in favor of this very comprehensive 5-page comparison of these products based upon my own personal experience with each of the products. I know that not everyone will agree with my assessments, but please realize they are based on the real use of the programs with my family. I hope you will find these comparisons helpful. On the 2nd page, I have also provided links to other informative comparison information. |
The products included in this comparison are:
- The Writing Road to Reading, 5th edition, 2003, herein referred to as WRTR
- Spell to Write and Read, 2002, herein referred to as SWR (this is the replacement for
Teaching Reading at Home (TRH))
- Rigg’s Writing and Spelling Road to Reading and Thinking, Level I, 1999, herein referred to as Riggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personal Background
When I first heard about explicit phonics back in early 2000, I heard about it through a friend who was hosting a
class using the Riggs program. I did not know of any other program like this. I went, loved the methodology, and
used the Riggs program for quite some time. Over time I heard about the other programs (WRTR and TRH).
Then when support from Riggs became a problem (see below), I switched to Teaching Reading at Home and the
WISE Guide. When the 5th edition of WRTR came out, I read it, and decided to switch yet again to use the
original program, not only because it was the original, but also because it seemed more complete overall. So the
information below is based on personal experience with these programs. And I sincerely hope it is helpful to those
trying to decide between these programs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Program Background
Back when only the 4th edition of WRTR was available, most people found it very difficult to follow and implement
even though they thought it fascinating and wanted to use it. Some found it necessary to write companion guides
so that it would be easier for parents to use the 4th edition. However, in doing so, those other companies have
tweaked the program and made so many changes, adding their own flavor to the program, that they really are no
longer companions at all, but their own stand-alone programs. Spalding Education International (SEI) is the
originator of WRTR; none of the other programs that claim to use the Spalding methodology are authorized in any
way by SEI.
Since SEI came out with their 5th edition of WRTR, no companion is necessary. This latest edition is in a league
all its own. No other programs are necessary through the 6th grade.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Completeness of Programs:
WRTR – Spelling from K-12; Reading, Composition, Grammar from K-6
SWR – Spelling from K-12 (need WISE Guide for this); some basic grammar covered*
Riggs – Spelling from K-12; detailed grammar covered in non-sequential manner**
*SWR covers basic grammar concepts such as parts of speech, punctuation, and kinds of sentences. However,
you will have to keep track of where you. Since two books are required for this program (SWR and the WISE
Guide for spelling), you have to go back and forth to keep on track.
**Riggs coveres grammar concepts in detail, but there is no logic as to when they are introduced – and expected to
be covered. For example, homonyms, homophones, homographs; sentence formats; punctuation are all covered
before the child even completes learning his second set of phonograms. Pronouns and irregular verbs are
discussed before children even learn what a noun is. Then it jumps into sentence diagramming. (Keep in mind my
child was only 5 at this point!) I personally found this program frustrating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- The Writing Road to Reading, 5th edition, 2003, herein referred to as WRTR
- Spell to Write and Read, 2002, herein referred to as SWR (this is the replacement for
Teaching Reading at Home (TRH))
- Rigg’s Writing and Spelling Road to Reading and Thinking, Level I, 1999, herein referred to as Riggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personal Background
When I first heard about explicit phonics back in early 2000, I heard about it through a friend who was hosting a
class using the Riggs program. I did not know of any other program like this. I went, loved the methodology, and
used the Riggs program for quite some time. Over time I heard about the other programs (WRTR and TRH).
Then when support from Riggs became a problem (see below), I switched to Teaching Reading at Home and the
WISE Guide. When the 5th edition of WRTR came out, I read it, and decided to switch yet again to use the
original program, not only because it was the original, but also because it seemed more complete overall. So the
information below is based on personal experience with these programs. And I sincerely hope it is helpful to those
trying to decide between these programs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Program Background
Back when only the 4th edition of WRTR was available, most people found it very difficult to follow and implement
even though they thought it fascinating and wanted to use it. Some found it necessary to write companion guides
so that it would be easier for parents to use the 4th edition. However, in doing so, those other companies have
tweaked the program and made so many changes, adding their own flavor to the program, that they really are no
longer companions at all, but their own stand-alone programs. Spalding Education International (SEI) is the
originator of WRTR; none of the other programs that claim to use the Spalding methodology are authorized in any
way by SEI.
Since SEI came out with their 5th edition of WRTR, no companion is necessary. This latest edition is in a league
all its own. No other programs are necessary through the 6th grade.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Completeness of Programs:
WRTR – Spelling from K-12; Reading, Composition, Grammar from K-6
SWR – Spelling from K-12 (need WISE Guide for this); some basic grammar covered*
Riggs – Spelling from K-12; detailed grammar covered in non-sequential manner**
*SWR covers basic grammar concepts such as parts of speech, punctuation, and kinds of sentences. However,
you will have to keep track of where you. Since two books are required for this program (SWR and the WISE
Guide for spelling), you have to go back and forth to keep on track.
**Riggs coveres grammar concepts in detail, but there is no logic as to when they are introduced – and expected to
be covered. For example, homonyms, homophones, homographs; sentence formats; punctuation are all covered
before the child even completes learning his second set of phonograms. Pronouns and irregular verbs are
discussed before children even learn what a noun is. Then it jumps into sentence diagramming. (Keep in mind my
child was only 5 at this point!) I personally found this program frustrating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Explanation of the Spalding Methodology:
WRTR – excellent*
SWR – very good**
Riggs – good***
The one point I cannot stress enough is that you have to read through this information thoroughly in order to
understand the program yourself prior to your teaching it.
*WRTR makes that easy because it is the original. And WRTR is written in a sequential, logical flow. There is
information on how and why this program works, making it evident that this is a proven method of teaching
children to spell and read.
**SWR – contains a brief introduction to the program, but doesn’t mention the Spalding methodology, except to say
that SWR clarifies and expands the program (implying the older WRTR edition). The author also includes her
Oregon Senate Hearing Presentation on “Literacy Today: What’s Wrong and How Can We Fix It?”
***Riggs – goes way overboard. There is so much information, it’s overwhelming. And it’s everywhere! Even
the daily lessons have extraneous information you have to work through to find your way to what you’re supposed
to do for that day. It’s very obvious the author knows her stuff, but it’s not logically presented at all. A simple,
concise chapter dedicated to the methodology would be sufficient, but it’s spread throughout the lessons, making it
difficult to use this manual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customer Support:
WRTR – from the company, SEI, excellent*
SWR – from the company, BHI, very good**
Riggs – from the company, Riggs, fair to poor***
Customer support is one of those things that makes or breaks a company. Being a former customer support
manager, I am very picky about this. I based my assessment on how prompt and how professional the responses
have been. I realize that some homeschoolers may not care about this particular point, but I find it very important.
The support you get tells you much about the company and the product itself.
*WRTR provides wonderful support. If I call them, I usually get an immediate response. If I email them, it may
take a day or so. Overall, they provide prompt and professional support for their product. There is also a yahoo
egroup available for support as well which yields responses usually within 24 hours.
**SWR provides very good support, realizing that the support is by the author herself, and I know she is very
busy. There is a yahoo egroup available for support which is likely to yield a response within 24 hours, but getting a
response from the author herself may take a few days. And when that response does come, it’s very professional
and helpful.
***Riggs provides less than stellar customer support. The author herself made it quite clear that she did not think
very highly of homeschoolers. I was told in no uncertain terms that if I questioned anything in the manual and didn’
t follow every instruction to the letter when the manual said to, that I would be failing my daughter. She was very
rude, discourteous, and unprofessional. When teaching our children at home, it’s important to be able to ask
questions as needed. This was not a viable option for me with Riggs. There is a yahoo egroup for people choosing
to use the Riggs program.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WRTR – excellent*
SWR – very good**
Riggs – good***
The one point I cannot stress enough is that you have to read through this information thoroughly in order to
understand the program yourself prior to your teaching it.
*WRTR makes that easy because it is the original. And WRTR is written in a sequential, logical flow. There is
information on how and why this program works, making it evident that this is a proven method of teaching
children to spell and read.
**SWR – contains a brief introduction to the program, but doesn’t mention the Spalding methodology, except to say
that SWR clarifies and expands the program (implying the older WRTR edition). The author also includes her
Oregon Senate Hearing Presentation on “Literacy Today: What’s Wrong and How Can We Fix It?”
***Riggs – goes way overboard. There is so much information, it’s overwhelming. And it’s everywhere! Even
the daily lessons have extraneous information you have to work through to find your way to what you’re supposed
to do for that day. It’s very obvious the author knows her stuff, but it’s not logically presented at all. A simple,
concise chapter dedicated to the methodology would be sufficient, but it’s spread throughout the lessons, making it
difficult to use this manual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customer Support:
WRTR – from the company, SEI, excellent*
SWR – from the company, BHI, very good**
Riggs – from the company, Riggs, fair to poor***
Customer support is one of those things that makes or breaks a company. Being a former customer support
manager, I am very picky about this. I based my assessment on how prompt and how professional the responses
have been. I realize that some homeschoolers may not care about this particular point, but I find it very important.
The support you get tells you much about the company and the product itself.
*WRTR provides wonderful support. If I call them, I usually get an immediate response. If I email them, it may
take a day or so. Overall, they provide prompt and professional support for their product. There is also a yahoo
egroup available for support as well which yields responses usually within 24 hours.
**SWR provides very good support, realizing that the support is by the author herself, and I know she is very
busy. There is a yahoo egroup available for support which is likely to yield a response within 24 hours, but getting a
response from the author herself may take a few days. And when that response does come, it’s very professional
and helpful.
***Riggs provides less than stellar customer support. The author herself made it quite clear that she did not think
very highly of homeschoolers. I was told in no uncertain terms that if I questioned anything in the manual and didn’
t follow every instruction to the letter when the manual said to, that I would be failing my daughter. She was very
rude, discourteous, and unprofessional. When teaching our children at home, it’s important to be able to ask
questions as needed. This was not a viable option for me with Riggs. There is a yahoo egroup for people choosing
to use the Riggs program.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spelling/Vocabulary Words Used:
WRTR – Extended Ayers Word List (updated to exclude archaic words and to add words from the Cobuild
Dictionary which rates words by frequency of use)
SWR – combination of several: N-Ables, American Heritage Word Frequency List, Ekwall Basic Sight
Word List, Ayers, Bishop, Fry, Hanna, Orton, Thorndike, and Spalding
Riggs – combination of variety: Ayers, Dolch, Hanna, Gates, Hornpacker, Thorndike
Because of the difference in spelling lists, all programs differ in their assessment of spelling level. WRTR is the
only program that uses the original Morrison-McCall Spelling Scale and Spelling Lists. The other programs had to
create their own scales. Rigg’s calls theirs the Rigg’s Orthography Scale. How they actually determined their scale
is unknown, as no information was found on that in their manual. SWR calls their scale the Morrison-McCall
Spelling Scale, but it is not the same as the original. Both SWR’s diagnostic tests and grading scale contain
different words and information than that in the original Morrison-McCall Spelling Scale and Lists. I’m not sure
how these differences were determined here either, as nothing is mentioned about that in SWR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Foreign Language Word Origins Included:
WRTR – no
SWR – no (are in WISE Guide)
Riggs – no
This is one thing I especially liked about the WISE Guide (the spelling book that goes with SWR). I want my
children to learn word origins. We are using Rummy Roots to help our children learn the words of Greek and Latin
origin. When using WRTR, we find ourselves using the dictionary a lot. But I guess that helps the children, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daily Lessons Included?
WRTR – yes (in separate Teacher's Guide)*
SWR – no**
Riggs – yes***
*the new teacher's manual fully integrates spelling, writing, and reading into detailed daily lesson plans. We;; have
more on the Teacher's Guide shortly.
**you need to piece together your own daily plans based upon both the SWR and WISE Guide to be sure
everything that can be covered is covered. While the WISE Guide is broken out into easily manageable spelling
sections, there is so much in the SWR that needs to be included, too, while also deciding which optional enrichment
exercises you wish to do or eliminate. You need to manage this.
***but be careful! As mentioned above, this program is not as logical and sequential as it should be. When I used
this program, I had to modify the lessons to suit my daughter. For example, at age 5, she was not ready for
sentence diagramming. Yet that’s what the manual said I should do next. So even though it is laid out for you, it’s
not really logical and you will likely have to make changes to make it work for your child.
WRTR – Extended Ayers Word List (updated to exclude archaic words and to add words from the Cobuild
Dictionary which rates words by frequency of use)
SWR – combination of several: N-Ables, American Heritage Word Frequency List, Ekwall Basic Sight
Word List, Ayers, Bishop, Fry, Hanna, Orton, Thorndike, and Spalding
Riggs – combination of variety: Ayers, Dolch, Hanna, Gates, Hornpacker, Thorndike
Because of the difference in spelling lists, all programs differ in their assessment of spelling level. WRTR is the
only program that uses the original Morrison-McCall Spelling Scale and Spelling Lists. The other programs had to
create their own scales. Rigg’s calls theirs the Rigg’s Orthography Scale. How they actually determined their scale
is unknown, as no information was found on that in their manual. SWR calls their scale the Morrison-McCall
Spelling Scale, but it is not the same as the original. Both SWR’s diagnostic tests and grading scale contain
different words and information than that in the original Morrison-McCall Spelling Scale and Lists. I’m not sure
how these differences were determined here either, as nothing is mentioned about that in SWR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Foreign Language Word Origins Included:
WRTR – no
SWR – no (are in WISE Guide)
Riggs – no
This is one thing I especially liked about the WISE Guide (the spelling book that goes with SWR). I want my
children to learn word origins. We are using Rummy Roots to help our children learn the words of Greek and Latin
origin. When using WRTR, we find ourselves using the dictionary a lot. But I guess that helps the children, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daily Lessons Included?
WRTR – yes (in separate Teacher's Guide)*
SWR – no**
Riggs – yes***
*the new teacher's manual fully integrates spelling, writing, and reading into detailed daily lesson plans. We;; have
more on the Teacher's Guide shortly.
**you need to piece together your own daily plans based upon both the SWR and WISE Guide to be sure
everything that can be covered is covered. While the WISE Guide is broken out into easily manageable spelling
sections, there is so much in the SWR that needs to be included, too, while also deciding which optional enrichment
exercises you wish to do or eliminate. You need to manage this.
***but be careful! As mentioned above, this program is not as logical and sequential as it should be. When I used
this program, I had to modify the lessons to suit my daughter. For example, at age 5, she was not ready for
sentence diagramming. Yet that’s what the manual said I should do next. So even though it is laid out for you, it’s
not really logical and you will likely have to make changes to make it work for your child.
