UPDATE 2011!

Now that my oldest daughter is older (8), it has turned out that she needs explicit spelling instruction.  As a result, we ARE using All About Spelling as our only spelling program, and we love it.  She adores working on the whiteboard and it is so exciting seeing her applying the intensive phonics concepts she is learning ahead to new spelling words we haven’t specificaly learned.  It really does work!  I did convince my husband to start using it as well with me as his tutor, and it is helping his brain learn how to spell phonetically – he can feel it changing.  I’m still very, very impressed.

As a natural speller I’ve never given much thought to spelling curriculum for our children.  Our oldest daughter is only five, and is just starting to read and doesn’t yet write. When a big box containing All About Spelling Levels One – Four arrived in the mail, I wasn’t sure what to think.  An official spelling program – don’t kids just pick spelling up naturally through reading?  Well – apparently not all children do, and I do know more than a few adults with atrocious spelling who are capable readers.  Some of this may be the fault of sight-reading systems taught for a time in public schools, but for the most part it seems to be the lack of a systematic, phonics based spelling instruction.

Each level comes with a Teacher’s Manual and Student Material Packet at a cost of $29.95 per level ($39.95 for Level Three and Four).  The starter kit containing letter tiles, magnets and the Phonogram CD-ROM is also necessary at $25.95, and it sufficient for all of the levels.  There are currently four levels available, with two more in production.  While the materials are all non-consumable, if you are teaching more than one student additional Student Material Packets will be required at a price of $12.95 per packet ($17.95 for Level Three and Four), as the student materials are used from level to level as the instruction builds upon itself.  Indeed, new students should start in Level One to ensure mastery of the rules and concepts presented there before moving to the other levels.

Well, I cracked into Level One and cut apart all of the many cards, tiles etc.  The preparation time was extensive, but apparently perforated versions are now available.  It soon became apparent that the program is strongly focused upon multi-sensory learning – auditory, visual and tactile methods of learning are utilized in every lesson.  What a joy for parents of kinesthetic learners!  Moving the spelling tiles (magnets optional) to form words, switch out letters etc.  The Phonogram CD-ROM was a real blessing, and is a huge boon to any parent teaching their children to read using the Orton-Gillingham system of phonics instruction.  The program runs on any computer and displays the letter tiles as they appear during the course.  By clicking on the phonogram, the speaker states all of the sounds each makes.  Very neat, and I highly recommend it’s $14.95 well spent.

It was somewhere during reading through the second book that I realized that while the program may be ahead of where my daughter is academically, it would be perfect for my husband.  A victim of the sight-based reading techniques that were prolific during the ‘60s, ‘70s and sadly other eras, he found reading extraordinarily difficult, and his spelling is notoriously poor and based upon sight recognition.  Students who are struggling with spelling whether in public school or homeschooled often use All About Spelling remedially.  The program is written in a scripted, one-on-one teaching style, so it’s a natural fit for homeschooling or tutoring.

Around Level Three I was truly amazed at the wealth of concepts and rules that make up the spelling of English words.  There’s no way that I – as a natural speller- could convey all of the rules, generalizations, exceptions, concepts etc. that All About Spelling teaches. I learned to spell through reading, so I’m not consciously aware of all these key components that Marie Rippel has painstakingly assembled in a comprehensive, logical order.

This may sound daunting, but it’s not.  The program is strikingly simple to teach, the teacher manuals are laid out clearly, the excellent graphic design makes each lesson easy to follow, the step by step scripting and care taken to explain exceptions and other words that are taught at later levels in case students or parents inquire. Review is built into the manual, so that you don’t need to remember to do it, or wonder what to review, it’s all there, and each lesson includes review.  It’s also fun!  Working with the letter tiles makes all the difference for younger children.  Once you get going all you need are your student materials, index card box, magnetized tiles, a board for building words, a pencil, a yellow pencil for later levels and a notebook for the word dictation, homophone lists, and phrase/sentence dictation that comes at later levels as well as other activities.

I remember the spelling lists assigned in public school – just lists of random words that were to be memorized and spewed back out.  Where was the instruction?  Where was the true learning and understanding?  Rippel’s program points out the paucity of my own childhood instruction.  There is no other program I’ll consider for our family should we require formal spelling instruction.  I’m trying to convince my husband to undertake a study of the program, and I’m excited to hear that two more levels are planned.  For someone who never looked into spelling programs before, Rippel now has a new devotee.

All About Spelling is only available through the official All About Spelling website.  An extensive selection of spelling articles, FAQ, sample lessons etc. are available for you to explore.  A one-year satisfaction guarantee is also provided.  Marie Rippel has also authored All About Homophones – a homophone resource book for grades 1 – 8.