Building Spelling Skills (Evan-Moor)

Description
Building Spelling Skills for Elementary Students

Building Spelling Skills is an excellent resource for many spelling applications. Whether you are a homeschooler, a mainstream educator, or a parent helping your child with a spelling bee, this series provides a good base for learning many of the most common English words. This spelling series is perfect for spelling practice but is also comprehensive enough to use as a spelling program. Little teacher prep is required and each spelling list should only take 15-30 minutes to complete. These courses contain 30 week-long units although the number of words per unit varies by grade. There are five to eight words per unit for Grade 1 and 18 words per unit by Grade 6.

Features
  • 30 week-long units
  • Each Grade Level Teacher Book includes 30 reproducible units, an answer key, sentences for dictation, and a variety of forms, such as blank crossword puzzles and test forms.
  • Non-reproducible Student Practice Books do not include answers.
  • 160 pages each, w/ perforated pages.
  • Available for Grades 1 through 6

Topics

Nearly all of the lessons are phonics-based or word pattern-based.

The units for Grade 1 and 2 focus on words with short and long vowels, blends, digraphs, contractions, and variant vowels. The word lists also include plural nouns and past-tense verbs.

Lessons in Grade 3 and 4 emphasize words with blends, digraphs, variant vowel sounds, silent letters, and contractions. They also provide practice for prefixes and suffixes and homophones.

Students in Grades 5, 6, and beyond have lessons on words with blends, variant vowels, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and silent letters. In addition, they work on compound words, root words, commonly misspelled words, and irregular plural nouns.

Spelling Lessons

Each unit of these courses is divided into five lessons, one for each day of the school week. On Monday, students see the word list for the first time and then read and write out each word. The activities for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday use word study, dictation, and visual memory to improve retention. These might include filling in the blanks, completing the word, and finding rhyming words. Then on Friday, students complete a spelling test.

Combine with Spelling Games and Activities to enrich the learning experience. Each level mirrors the lists from Building Spelling Skills and has two pages of activities for every list and unit activities section covering 8 different themes.
Teaching Method
Traditional
Teacher-centered curriculum commonly used in classrooms that may include a text, teacher manual, tests, etc.
Charlotte Mason
A methodology based on the work of a 19th century educator who maintained that children learn best from literature (Living Books), not textbooks.
Classical
A methodology based on the Latin Trivium (three stages of learning), including the grammar stage (memorization and facts), logic stage (critical thinking), and rhetoric stage (developing/defending ideas).
Unit Study
A thematic or topical approach centered around one topic that integrates multiple subject areas.
Montessori (Discovery)
A methodology based on the work of a 20th century educator that emphasizes student and sensory-driven discovery learning and real-life applications.
Other
Other methodologies
Religious Content
Secular
Contains content contrary to common Christian beliefs (i.e. evolution).
Neutral
Avoids religious or theoretical topics or presents multiple viewpoints without preference.
Christian/Religious
Faith-based or including instructional religious content.
Learning Modality
Auditory
Learns through listening, talking out loud or reading out loud.
Visual
Learns through seeing, prefers written instructions and visual materials.
Kinesthetic/Tactile (Hands-On)
Learns through moving, doing and touching.
Multi-Sensory
Curriculum that employ a variety of activities/components.
Presentation
Sequential
Curriculum progresses through well-defined learning objectives. Emphasizes mastery before moving to the next topic.
Spiral
Topics and concepts are repeated from level to level, adding more depth at each pass and connecting with review.
Conceptual/Topical
Focus is on the “why,” often with a unifying concept as well as specific skills; coverage may be broader.
Teacher Involvement
Low Teacher Involvement
Student-led materials; parent acts as a facilitator.
Medium Teacher Involvement
A mix of teacher-led time and independent student work.
High Teacher Involvement
Teacher-led lessons; may utilize discussions, hands-on activities and working together.
Additional Materials Required
No other materials needed
Everything you need is included.
Other Materials Required
There are additional required resources that are a separate purchase.
Other Materials Optional
There are additional resources mentioned or recommended but are not absolutely necessary.
Consumable
Consumable
Designed to be written in; not reusable.
Non-Consumable
Not designed to be written in; reusable.