All About Spelling Curriculum for Struggling Spellers {Review}

In my home we have one natural speller and one struggling speller. (The third pupil is yet to be determined. She’s currently working on learning to roll over.) One of my kids is able to spell with ease after a quick lesson. He seems to easily internalize spelling rules, segments words easily, hears each sound and encodes it with *joy* (this one BEGS for more spelling words!!).

My other speller struggles. Review and repetition are necessary. We move through curriculum at a sloooow pace. I scribe for him in other subject areas to avoid him shutting down as a writer as he’s finding his writer’s voice.

I use All About Spelling successfully with both of these learners. Here’s why it’s working for both of them:

[After purchasing the curriculum myself and using it for several years, I became an affiliate with All About Learning Press. Links in this post are affiliate links.]

Students are taught strategies to analyze words. Both my natural speller and struggling speller are being taught how to analyze why a word is spelled the way it is. This is empowering for both of them!

It incorporates review of previously taught rules frequently. We are continually building on previous learning as words are mixed into subsequent steps that specifically review concepts, not simply the same words. So, this isn’t a program of: here is your new list of spelling words to memorize; you’ll have quiz on Friday.

It’s mastery based with no specific “grade level” printed on the cover of the book. We can adapt the speed easily. Each level of the program is divided into “steps” rather than “lessons.” Which means, for my natural speller he will often (ask to) complete a step in one day. My struggling speller will take maybe two weeks to complete a step. There are natural stopping points throughout each step so we don’t feel like we’re failing when we stop for the day. (The program suggests 20 minutes a day– sometimes we do that, often we stop shorter, before we hit the ceiling of frustration levels.)

It incorporates an easy-to-use app with letter tiles with pencil/paper to present a variety of modalities to interact with words. The simple Letter Tiles app (the same app used for the All About Reading program) is such a great way to visualize the building blocks of words- vowel teams, sound of /er/, consonant teams, suffixes, prefixes, syllable tags, and even Latin /Greek roots for later levels. After the concept is understood using the app to build words, we take to pencil/paper (or more likely white board and marker which creates less frustration for erasing!).

It’s simple, no fuss, and effective. Open the book, grab the app and cards, and go! Each step follows the same format so my learners know what to expect and I know the rhythm for teaching. We can pick up where we left off easily at any point in the step.

And, it WORKS! My struggling speller has improved by leaps and bounds! He is gaining his confidence, and I am truly astonished by how much ground he has gained. I worried so much for him as a writer and it’s just amazing to hear him verbalize word attack strategies when he comes to a tricky word. All without a single “spelling test” of memorized, artificial lists. We’ve kept at it consistently, in small chunks, and have seen amazing gains!

Oh, and they have a ONE YEAR money-back guarantee! You can actually use the curriculum for a full year, treat it as your own, and if it isn’t working for your learner, you can return it! Read more about that here.

• You can find samples and scope & sequence charts for each level here. 
• If you’re just looking at starting your young learner on spelling for the first time, you might be interested in this article: The Right Time To Start Spelling Instruction. 
• Alternately, if you’re looking to switch to this program with an older learner, you may like to read this: Using All About Spelling With Older Students. 
• You can read more about the Orton Gillingham instructional approach at the curriculum’s site here. 

I hope this was helpful! I felt so overwhelmed selecting a spelling program with my firstborn, and I’m so glad I found AAS all those years ago!

If I can help answer any other questions, feel free to reach out to me on my social media accounts (instagram / facebook) or the comments below.