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This teacher's guide is clearly written for school classrooms but can easily be adapted to
homeschoolers.
The first three pages explain the Guide’s structure and how to pretest to begin instruction.
Especially note on page iii under 2 the first bullet. The next six pages are dedicated to
explaining the method, research, and documented effectiveness in Spalding Schools in addition
to listing instructional resources for teachers. The next 6 pages list instructional resources for
the teacher. This is followed by 2 pages of a listing of high quality children’s literature for
grades 5-7 – very handy!
The next four sections include Planning, Delivering, Assessing, and Evaluating.
The Planning Section - This section provides the content to be taught. The first 16 pages
explain a bit about the spelling, writing, and reading lessons. The next 13 pags provide a very
detailed scope and sequence section. The Framework for Designing Lessons follows for 6
pages along with a grid format for the first 4 weeks of lessons. There are 42 pages here
before you get to the actual lesson plans. The lessons incorporate spelling, writing, and
reading all in a day's lesson plan.
These 41 pages basically summarize the detailed information that is referred to by page
number in the WRTR – this is fantastic! Hopefully, this will encourage teachers and parents
alike to read those sections in WRTR to glean all necessary information. While there is much
to be gained by reading these pages, homeschoolers will have to wade through information that
is geared toward public school teachers (there is much mention here about whole groups of
students, etc.) who are managing children in a classroom environment.
The Spelling Lessons teach phonemic awareness, spelling/vocabulary, syllabication, markings,
and English rules and concepts. The lessons themselves are very well documented - perhaps
too much (if that's possible). One of the things that makes Writing Road to Reading (WRTR)
such a great spelling program is the flexibility in starting students at the appropriate Ayres list
based upon the monthly testing. These lessons automatically start you in List V, and all the
helpful hints, rules, some of the writing lessons, etc. in this section are based upon those
words. What if a child tests at a different level (lower level)?
Within the Spelling Lessons as well, kids at this level are still being asked to write their
phonograms "that begin at 2 on the clock" and "that begin with a line." I would think that
most 6th graders are past this.
The Writing Lessons include sentence construction and composition, some grammar, discuss
aspects of vocabulary (such as prefixes and suffixes and their meanings) sometimes based
upon that day's spelling words as well as learning to compose paragraphs, reports, essays,
communications, and poetry.
The Reading Lessons teach fluent and expressive reading, literary appreciation, text
structure, and comprehension strategies. While they provide great detail on what to teach,
you will need to make sure you have all the books and selections ready ahead of time each day.
The Delivering Section is dedicated to the "how" of teaching - basic instructional procedures
and strategies. There are 25 pgs for spelling, 32 pgs for writing, and 19 pgs for reading. To
me, this seems a bit much, considering all this is already addressed in the WRTR, which
should be used in conjunction with the lesson plans. Could perhaps some of this be combined
with the pages in the beginning of the Planning Section?
The Assessing Section discusses how to test your child in each of the three categories:
spelling, writing, and reading. The Spelling Assessment is outstanding, as it easily enables you
to determine the level of efficiency and grade level of your child. The Writing Assessment is
pretty basic, as it's merely a checklist of items learned/mastered. The Reading Assessment
uses the McCall-Crabbs books to assess reading grade level. There is nothing to assess
literature analysis understanding, even thought this is taught in the reading lessons. All
testing forms are included in the back of this section, which is a plus.
The Evaluating Section is 27 pgs talking about continuous program improvement; again, too
much for a lesson plan book, as this is also covered in the WRTR.
Pros: Lesson plans are very detailed, well written, and easy to follow.
Cons: My biggest concern is being able to use these lessons if the child tests at a different
level than List V, which is the starting level all these lessons are based upon. I certainly
realize that it's a tough line to walk - either no lesson plans (and you create your own - which
was the original way WRTR worked) or lesson plans that have so much detail that flexibility is
sacrificed. If you'd like a more flexible lesson plan schedule, click here.
In my opinion, this teacher's guide contains about 140 pages too many - as most, if not all, of
this is all covered in the WRTR. It's a lot to wade through and could be overwhelming to
homeschoolers just starting out. But then, perhaps this could be seen as a Pro for public
school teachers who may not have the time to study WRTR thoroughly.
Bottom Line: The Spalding Foundation should be commended for developing such a detailed
lesson manual, as prior to, many parents found this program hard to teach. With the revised
5th edition of WRTR, things have been made easier; this manual is the icing on the cake.
WRTR is an outstanding product, and this teacher's guide is a wonderful compliment. You
cannot go wrong teaching with this program.
homeschoolers.
The first three pages explain the Guide’s structure and how to pretest to begin instruction.
Especially note on page iii under 2 the first bullet. The next six pages are dedicated to
explaining the method, research, and documented effectiveness in Spalding Schools in addition
to listing instructional resources for teachers. The next 6 pages list instructional resources for
the teacher. This is followed by 2 pages of a listing of high quality children’s literature for
grades 5-7 – very handy!
The next four sections include Planning, Delivering, Assessing, and Evaluating.
The Planning Section - This section provides the content to be taught. The first 16 pages
explain a bit about the spelling, writing, and reading lessons. The next 13 pags provide a very
detailed scope and sequence section. The Framework for Designing Lessons follows for 6
pages along with a grid format for the first 4 weeks of lessons. There are 42 pages here
before you get to the actual lesson plans. The lessons incorporate spelling, writing, and
reading all in a day's lesson plan.
These 41 pages basically summarize the detailed information that is referred to by page
number in the WRTR – this is fantastic! Hopefully, this will encourage teachers and parents
alike to read those sections in WRTR to glean all necessary information. While there is much
to be gained by reading these pages, homeschoolers will have to wade through information that
is geared toward public school teachers (there is much mention here about whole groups of
students, etc.) who are managing children in a classroom environment.
The Spelling Lessons teach phonemic awareness, spelling/vocabulary, syllabication, markings,
and English rules and concepts. The lessons themselves are very well documented - perhaps
too much (if that's possible). One of the things that makes Writing Road to Reading (WRTR)
such a great spelling program is the flexibility in starting students at the appropriate Ayres list
based upon the monthly testing. These lessons automatically start you in List V, and all the
helpful hints, rules, some of the writing lessons, etc. in this section are based upon those
words. What if a child tests at a different level (lower level)?
Within the Spelling Lessons as well, kids at this level are still being asked to write their
phonograms "that begin at 2 on the clock" and "that begin with a line." I would think that
most 6th graders are past this.
The Writing Lessons include sentence construction and composition, some grammar, discuss
aspects of vocabulary (such as prefixes and suffixes and their meanings) sometimes based
upon that day's spelling words as well as learning to compose paragraphs, reports, essays,
communications, and poetry.
The Reading Lessons teach fluent and expressive reading, literary appreciation, text
structure, and comprehension strategies. While they provide great detail on what to teach,
you will need to make sure you have all the books and selections ready ahead of time each day.
The Delivering Section is dedicated to the "how" of teaching - basic instructional procedures
and strategies. There are 25 pgs for spelling, 32 pgs for writing, and 19 pgs for reading. To
me, this seems a bit much, considering all this is already addressed in the WRTR, which
should be used in conjunction with the lesson plans. Could perhaps some of this be combined
with the pages in the beginning of the Planning Section?
The Assessing Section discusses how to test your child in each of the three categories:
spelling, writing, and reading. The Spelling Assessment is outstanding, as it easily enables you
to determine the level of efficiency and grade level of your child. The Writing Assessment is
pretty basic, as it's merely a checklist of items learned/mastered. The Reading Assessment
uses the McCall-Crabbs books to assess reading grade level. There is nothing to assess
literature analysis understanding, even thought this is taught in the reading lessons. All
testing forms are included in the back of this section, which is a plus.
The Evaluating Section is 27 pgs talking about continuous program improvement; again, too
much for a lesson plan book, as this is also covered in the WRTR.
Pros: Lesson plans are very detailed, well written, and easy to follow.
Cons: My biggest concern is being able to use these lessons if the child tests at a different
level than List V, which is the starting level all these lessons are based upon. I certainly
realize that it's a tough line to walk - either no lesson plans (and you create your own - which
was the original way WRTR worked) or lesson plans that have so much detail that flexibility is
sacrificed. If you'd like a more flexible lesson plan schedule, click here.
In my opinion, this teacher's guide contains about 140 pages too many - as most, if not all, of
this is all covered in the WRTR. It's a lot to wade through and could be overwhelming to
homeschoolers just starting out. But then, perhaps this could be seen as a Pro for public
school teachers who may not have the time to study WRTR thoroughly.
Bottom Line: The Spalding Foundation should be commended for developing such a detailed
lesson manual, as prior to, many parents found this program hard to teach. With the revised
5th edition of WRTR, things have been made easier; this manual is the icing on the cake.
WRTR is an outstanding product, and this teacher's guide is a wonderful compliment. You
cannot go wrong teaching with this program.
| Review of Succeeding in Reading with The Spalding Method 6th Grade Teacher's Guide by Spalding Education International |
Country Hills Academy
| Our Grade: 7/09 B- |