Spelling Curriculum for Grades K-6th

Spelling 4th Grade & Up
Spelling is a subject that must be learned sequentially and at the pace of the individual student.  The following levels are not equivalent to grades in school.  Students should begin with Level 1, especially students who have not had any prior instruction in phonics.  Progressing at a comfortable pace, move on to the next level whenever your child is ready.  Each level has 24 to 30 steps.  You may complete a step in one day, one week, or even one month (i.e. step one in level 1 covers ALL letter sounds!) This way, a student who already knows the first sound of each letter of the alphabet can breeze through level one in a few weeks, but a kindergartener just starting out will use level one for the entire school year.
Text: All About Spelling
In Level One your student will learn:
  • How to say and write the first 32 phonograms
  • How to segment words into their individual sounds
  • Short and long vowel sounds
  • How to identify and count syllables in a word
  • How to choose between c and k at the beginning of a word
  • When to double f, l, and s
  • How to spell /k/ at the end of a word
  • How to form plural words by adding s or es
  • Compound words
  • Open and closed syllable types
  • and more!
In Level Two your student will learn: 
    • The open and closed syllable types
    • How to divide words into syllables
    • How to spell multisyllable words
    • When y can say /î/
    • How Silent E can make a vowel long
    • The vowel-consonant-e syllable type
    • Two spellings for the sound of /z/
    • The two sounds of long u
    • The difference between hard and soft c and g
    • Ways to spell long e
    • That English words don’t end in i, j, u, or v
    • The most common way to spell the sound of /er/
    • When to use oi/oy, aw/au, and ow/ou
    • and more!
In Level Three your student will learn: 
    • Two additional ways to spell the sound of long a
    • Five reasons for adding a silent e to the end of a word
    • The C+l-e syllable type
    • How to add consonant and vowel suffixes
    • More ways to spell the sound of long o
    • The three sounds of past tense suffix –ed
    • When to double consonants before adding suffixes
    • When to drop the silent e before adding a suffix
    • More ways to spell long e
    • Additional ways to spell the sound of /er/
    • More ways to spell long i
    • Contractions
    • Homophones
    • And more!
By the end of Level 1, your student will be able to write phrases such as these from dictation:

    the pink pig
    camp in tents
    sad songs
    a stiff neck
    big clamshell
    quick snack
Resources:
Phonics Help
Spelling City
By the end of Level 2, your student will be able to write sentences such as:

    Her child found a red flower.
    Is the soil moist or dry?
    My aunt saw a small tiger.
    Why is the pig in the hall?
    See the huge cage of mice!
    The storm swept over the land.
Resources:
Phonics Help
Spelling City
By the end of Level 3, your student will be able to write sentences such as:

   My dog tried to eat my pennies!
   Babies make me feel joyful.
   Please put this in the house.
   She didn’t clean her room.
   Light the fire while I fry the fish.
   Her team has thirteen members.
Resources:
Phonics Help
Spelling City
In Level Four your student will learn: 
    • When to use ch or tch for the sound of /ch/
    • When to use the three ways to spell the sound of /j/
    • How to add prefixes
    • Additional ways to spell the sound of /er/
    • Spelling strategies that will help him tackle longer words with ease
    • and much more!
In Level Five your student will learn:
    • When to apply the I-Before-E Generalization
    • How to add two suffixes to a word
    • Clues for when to use tion and sion to spell the sound of /shŭn/
    • How to alphabetize words to the fourth letter
    • The Doubling Rule for adding vowel suffixes
    • Nine ways to pluralize words
    • Another way to spell /er/
    • New spelling strategies that will help him tackle longer words with ease​
    • and much more!
In Level Six your student will learn: 
    • Clues for when to use -ible and when to use -able to spell the sound of /ibl/
    • Strategies for choosing between -cle and -cal
    • Exceptions to the I-Before-E Generalization, and easy ways to remember them
    • Practice with -il, -el, -al, and -le
    • Additional spelling strategies that will help students tackle longer words with ease
    • and much more!
In Level Seven your student will master important spelling concepts:
  • Clues for knowing when to use ANCE or ENCE for the sound of /ĕnts/ as in significance and conference 
  • Strategies for spelling words with Latin and Greek elements as in deductible and hydroscope
  • Loan words from French, Spanish, and Italian such as camouflage and scenario
  • and much more, including a plan for lifetime learning!
Spellzone - help, learn and improve English spelling