Review of Spelling You See

We were first introduced to Spelling You See last year when we began using Level E American Spirit.  Here is the review we did for that level. All of my children have struggled with spelling at some time during their school years.  Spelling You See offers a spelling curriculum like no other than we have ever seen or experienced.  We were given the opportunity to review the next level in the series Level F Ancient Achievements.  I decided for Stephen to work with this Level since he had just completed Level E.
What is Spelling You See
Spelling You see is a very unique spelling curriculum that does not use the typical word list to teach spelling.  It is not set up by grade level but rather takes a student through 5 developmental stages in sequential order.  You can read about each of the stages in more detail here.  Placement guidelines are available so that you can correctly place your child at the appropriate level since one does build upon another. There are currently 7 levels available.   When you purchase Levels B-G for your child it includes a Instructor's Handbook, Student Workbook in 2 parts, and a set of erasable color pencils.  Level A includes items a little different from the other levels since it is designed for your very young students.  
Current Levels available are:

• Level A Listen and Write
• Level B Jack and Jill
• Level C Wild Tales
• Level D Americana
• Level E American Spirit
• Level F Ancient Achievements
• Level G Modern Milestones

Introduction To Level F Ancient Achievements
In the Instructor's Handbook that sales for $14 you will find several sections including an Introduction Section that includes the philosophy, the stages of spelling, and the curriculum sequence.  It includes how to get started using the curriculum, many tips for success, a color coded answer key, lesson by lesson instructions, dictation passages, and weekly activity guide.  It tells you very clearly how to use the program.  We had no problems getting started right away.  It is a simple but very effective program to use only taking about 30 minutes to complete each day.  

There are 36 lessons that are broken down by day using the letters A-E.  
As with several of the previous levels you continue the concepts of chunking, copywork, and dictation.

• chunking - Students find and mark the concepts they are working on for the week.  Concepts include vowel chunks, consonant chunks, bossy r chunks, tricky y guys, silent letters, and endings.  Each concept is also color coded using color pencils or a highlighter if you prefer.   These concepts are gradually introduced to students through out the lessons.
• copywork - Students spend 10 minutes copying the passage for the day.  The repetition helps students see words in context and trains the brain to pay attention to the details.
• dictation - Parent sets timer for 10 minutes and dictates passage to student making sure to correct any spelling errors as they come up.  This is not handwriting practice so to keep the student moving, they are allowed to strike through any errors and correct immediately.

In Level F Ancient Achievements, there is a new section called the Spotlight area that calls to attention one or more of the words in the passage for the week. This helps introduce students to the new skill level stage of Word Extension (stage 4).  The reading passages also gradually increase in reading level.  Passages are about ancient civilization which I love that it reinforces history as well.    
The student books are broken down into 2 workbooks.  They have perforated sheets which make them easy to tear out and use each week or you can keep the sheets right in the workbook.  Each passage contains colorful artwork relating to the story. The workbooks are consumable and you will need a set for each of your students.  They sale for $30 for the set and come with erasable color pencils.  You can download a sample lesson here.

What Spelling You See Looked Like In Our Homeschool

Monday - I had my son read the passage out loud.  He then completed the chunking exercises for worksheet A by my side.  That part usually can be completed in less than 10 minutes especially in the early lessons.  He then completed the copywork for worksheet A and then mark the chunks on that sheet.  This took approximately another 10 minutes to complete.  Each student sheet is labeled clearly with the lesson number and letter.  It was easier for my son to write on a flat surface so we always tore the sheets out for the week. Here is what Day 1 looked like when complete.  You can see the instructions are simple and clearly stated.

Tuesday - Repeated the same process as above using Worksheet B.

Wednesday - Repeated the same process as above using Worksheet C.  We would also discuss the spotlight section together.

Thursday - This is dictation day so we would set a timer for 10 minutes and he would complete the dictation exercise. 

  Friday - This is the 2nd dictation day.  However, if the student does well on the 1st day you can skip this and we often did.  
This curriculum is one that myself and my children would highly recommend. They love using it and we can really see significant progress in their spelling.  
Be sure to click the banner below to see what my fellow crewmates thought of Spelling You See.