Spelling Course

Lesson 1 • Phonemes and Graphemes Explained

Introduces the smallest units of sound and their written representations. Students connect spoken language to written symbols for the first time.

Lesson 2 • Consonant Sounds and Clusters

Examines individual consonant sounds and common consonant clusters at word boundaries. Cluster recognition reduces common spelling errors in blended sounds.

Lesson 3 • Reading Words Aloud for Spelling

Trains deliberate oral pronunciation as a spelling strategy. Careful articulation helps students hear every sound before writing it.

Lesson 4 • The English Alphabet and Its Roles

Covers vowel and consonant distinctions and their functional roles in words. Establishes the alphabetic framework all subsequent spelling rules depend on.

Lesson 1 • Applying Phonics to New Words

Integrates all phonics patterns into a decoding-to-spelling strategy for unfamiliar words. Students practice encoding novel words using pattern knowledge.

Lesson 2 • Consonant Digraphs and Blends

Teaches two-letter consonant combinations that produce single or blended sounds. Mastery prevents the common error of omitting one letter in a pair.

Lesson 3 • Vowel Digraphs and Diphthongs

Covers two-vowel combinations that create single or gliding sounds. Students apply vowel team rules to spell words accurately.

Lesson 4 • R-Controlled Vowel Patterns

Examines how the letter r alters the preceding vowel sound in English. Recognizing r-controlled patterns prevents vowel substitution errors.

Lesson 1 • Identifying and Counting Syllables

Teaches reliable methods for detecting syllable boundaries in spoken and written words. Accurate syllable counting is the gateway to multisyllabic spelling.

Lesson 2 • The Six Syllable Types

Introduces closed, open, vowel-team, r-controlled, silent-e, and consonant-le syllable types. Each type predicts the vowel sound and spelling within that syllable.

Lesson 3 • Syllable Division Strategies

Covers VC/CV, V/CV, and VC/V division rules for splitting written words. Correct division reveals the syllable type and guides vowel spelling.

Lesson 4 • Spelling Multisyllabic Words

Applies syllable analysis to spell three- and four-syllable words accurately. Students combine syllable type knowledge with phonics for complex words.

Lesson 1 • Changing Y to I Before Suffixes

Teaches when a final y changes to i before adding a suffix. Mastery prevents errors in plurals, past tenses, and comparative forms.

Lesson 2 • The Silent-E Dropping Rule

Explains when to drop the final silent e before adding a vowel suffix. Correct application prevents errors like 'hopeing' or 'loveable.'

Lesson 3 • Plurals and Irregular Plurals

Covers standard plural formation rules and common irregular plural forms. Students spell plurals of nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, sh, and f correctly.

Lesson 4 • Doubling the Final Consonant

Covers the 1-1-1 rule for doubling a consonant before a vowel suffix. Students avoid errors like 'runing' or 'stoped' by applying this rule.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Root Words

Introduces Latin and Greek roots as the meaning cores of many English words. Recognizing roots allows students to predict spelling and meaning simultaneously.

Lesson 2 • Adding Common Suffixes

Examines noun, verb, adjective, and adverb suffixes and the spelling rules they trigger. Students integrate suffix knowledge with the rules from the previous chapter.

Lesson 3 • Morphological Analysis in Practice

Applies prefix, suffix, and root analysis to unfamiliar multisyllabic words. Students build a systematic strategy for spelling words they have never seen before.

Lesson 4 • Adding Common Prefixes

Covers high-frequency prefixes and the spelling changes they may or may not trigger. Students attach prefixes correctly without altering the base word spelling.

Lesson 1 • Commonly Confused Word Pairs

Addresses near-homophones and visually similar words that are frequently misused. Students learn precise meaning differences to guide correct spelling choices.

Lesson 2 • Contractions vs. Possessives

Clarifies the spelling distinction between contractions and possessive pronouns. Mastery eliminates the its/it's and their/they're/there confusion.

Lesson 3 • Understanding Homophones

Defines homophones and explains why they cause persistent spelling errors. Students use meaning and context to distinguish the correct spelling.

Lesson 4 • High-Frequency Irregular Words

Targets words whose spelling cannot be predicted by phonics or rules alone. Students use visual memory and mnemonic strategies to master these words.

Lesson 1 • Words Borrowed from Other Languages

Examines loanwords from French, Spanish, and other languages that retain foreign spelling patterns. Students recognize these patterns to avoid phonics-based misspellings.

Lesson 2 • Building a Personal Spelling Vocabulary

Guides students in creating and maintaining a personalized list of challenging words. Systematic review of personal lists accelerates long-term spelling mastery.

Lesson 3 • Using Context to Confirm Spelling

Teaches how sentence context narrows down the correct spelling of ambiguous words. Students cross-check spelling choices against meaning and grammar.

Lesson 4 • Academic and Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Focuses on spelling the technical and academic words most common in professional writing. Students apply morphological analysis to domain-specific terms.

Lesson 1 • Editing Strategies for Professional Writing

Applies spelling accuracy within the broader context of professional document editing. Students integrate spelling checks into a complete editing workflow.

Lesson 2 • Systematic Proofreading Techniques

Introduces structured methods for detecting spelling errors in completed writing. Students move from intuitive reading to deliberate, word-by-word inspection.

Lesson 3 • Using Dictionaries and Spell Checkers

Covers effective use of print and digital dictionaries alongside spell-check tools. Students understand the limits of automated tools and when manual checking is essential.

Lesson 4 • Identifying Personal Error Patterns

Trains students to analyze their own spelling mistakes and categorize them by type. Pattern awareness allows targeted practice rather than random review.