Spelling Power -4th Edition

10th Anniversary Edition Includes Free CD-ROM

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LSP
5 Customer Reviews Average rating: 3.6
Price: $59.99 Add #LSP to cart Item #LSP
This item ships for FREE via Media Mail (to the U.S. only). Details.
  • Author: Beverly L Adams-Gordon
  • Pages: 352

A complete and effective 3rd grade through college spelling program. All in only 15 pleasant minutes per day!

You don't have to look far to discover that poor spelling skills haunt many — and probably most — homeschooled children. (That classroom educated children may do no better should give us no comfort. We want our children to do excellent work, not merely "better than others.")

Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd. has certainly been exercised over this matter of spelling. No matter what resources we Holzmanns have used, they have all let us down at one time or another... until, finally, as a result of several customers' strong recommendations, we tried Spelling Power by Beverly L. Adams-Gordon.

In one 350-page book, Mrs. Adams-Gordon has put together a complete and effective spelling program to take students from early elementary school through college in only 15 focused minutes per day.

Mrs. Adams-Gordon's work is based on years of formal and informal study, practical field testing, and the feedback of thousands of customers. And we can attest, as well: it works!

Mrs. Adams-Gordon tested the pure phonics route and found it lacking. She used the visual "configuration" method and discovered that that's deficient, too. Lists of commonly misspelled words? They are definitely helpful, but most of them are out of date and poorly configured for use by young people in normal, day-to-day contexts.

Spelling Power provides all the tools you need (and a few more!) plus complete instructions.

The "Quick-Start Introduction" will enable you to get right to work, if that's what you want to do. But once you've satisfied yourself that the program is actually "do-able," you may find the 86-page Teacher's Guide a fascinating and invaluable resource to explain what goals Mrs. Adams-Gordon has established and why she has adopted them. She then discusses what methods she uses and why she uses them (she discusses all the research that educational scientists have done in the area of spelling over the last 70 or 80 years).

The program itself includes quick diagnostic survey tests plus more refined placement tests. Both sets of tests, together, help you, in about half an hour, determine exactly where (at what level) you should begin teaching your child. After that, there are prescriptive tests that help you focus on the specific skills with which your son or daughter needs help. Then there are lists of the most commonly misspelled words organized in dictionary order (12,000 words) as well as by difficulty and educational level at which a person may most likely be expected to use them (over 5,000 words). These lists include alternative British as well as American spellings.

Besides these basic resources, there are review, delayed-recall, and end-of-level tests; fascinating and fun learning activities ("discovery" activities) — both drills and games — that are keyed to students' unique learning styles (auditory, kinesthetic, tactile and visual). There are dictionary skills exercises; proofreading instruction and exercises; daily test and daily 10-step study blackline masters from which you can photocopy the sheets you will want to use; a glossary of terms; an index; and more.

As I said, this program is thorough. And it costs less than the price of the instructor's guide alone of many classroom-oriented programs, and barely the cost of four years' worth of consumable student workbooks with any of the other programs that we have found don't really work.

If you prefer not to photocopy your test and study sheets, Mrs. Adams-Gordon has also produced Student Record Books with enough answer forms for one student's survey tests, placement tests, prescriptive tests, delayed recall and end-of-level tests, plus enough daily test and ten-step study sheets to last for 12 full weeks. All of these forms are printed in light blue ink to permit students' handwriting to stand out. If you don't have access to photocopies for less than a nickel a piece, you will almost assuredly appreciate owning one or more of these books.

Besides containing all the forms you'll need, the Student Record Books include a complete set of easy-to-use "Substitute Teacher" instructions (for that day you happen to be unavailable and your husband, mom, or mother-in-law steps in to give you a break). On the inside front cover is a synopsis of the daily testing method; on the inside back cover, a synopsis of the 10-step study method; and on the outside back cover, a student progress chart.

Though these books are certainly not required in order to do the Spelling Power program successfully, if either you or your child tend to lack discipline to follow prescribed procedures, the daily ten-step study sheets really do provide value in that they give you a regular check-off form to follow for each word.

You will want to purchase the Student Record Book that matches your child's writing ability:

  • "Red" Record Book — 8mm spacing between lines (5/8") and a dotted mid-line, for use by Core A-D students.
  • "Blue" Record Book — 6mm spacing between lines (just less than 1/2") and a dotted mid-line, for use by Core C-E students.
  • "Yellow" Record Book — 4mm spacing between lines (just wider than "college rule") and no dotted mid-line, for use by Core E students on up.
Please note: Mrs. Adams-Gordon says that, due to developmental issues, children under 8 years old cannot gain maximum benefit from the program. Indeed, she is reluctant even to suggest its use by students younger than 8. However, she admits that she herself used it with her 7-year-old daughter once her daughter had completed her phonics studies.

Spelling Power is not designed for use by students who have not completed basic phonics instruction — (we cover basic phonics in our Language Arts for Grade K Readers through Language Arts for Grade 2 Readers programs).

Free CD-ROM with 10th Anniversary Edition of Spelling Power

The special 10th Anniversary Edition of Spelling Power comes with a free CD-ROM. It includes a wealth of handy PDF files including:
  • All the forms from the Black-Line Masters section
  • Ready-to-print spelling "rule" charts
  • Discovery activities ready to print and assign to students
  • Ready-to-print crossword puzzles for selected review tests
  • Ready-to-print handwriting sheets that use selected spelling lists
  • And more...
Get your special 10th Anniversary Edition of Spelling Power while quantities last. Back to Article

Note: In the past, discounts, including the 10% Sonlighter's Club discount for purchasing Core or Multi-Subject Packages, could be applied to Spelling Power and Castlemoyle products. For contract reasons, Spelling Power/Castlemoyle products will no longer be discounted and can be purchased at the regular price.

What's new in the 4th Edition of Spelling Power?

  • New eye-catching cover
    • Full color photographs
    • Includes Book, CD-ROM and DVD as package

  • Improved Layout and design
    • Larger type makes it easier to read
    • Better graphics and photos
    • Improved organization helps teachers find resources quickly
    • Redesigned skill-building activity charts ease daily planning

  • Includes 21st Century technology
    • Teacher's Resources CD-ROM
    • Digital tutor for students
    • Searchable word list aids in teaching proofreading skills
    • Quick Start DVD guides parents step-by-step

  • Enhanced Teacher's Resource CD-ROM
    • Every form printable from computer
    • Searchable lists
    • Charts for all 47 Group Rules
    • Printable Activity Task cards
    • Includes Spelling Power Digital Tutor

  • Quick Start DVD Seminar
    • Step-by-step guide to Spelling Power
    • Shows real families using the program
    • Chapter feature for review

  • Spelling Power Digital Tutor
    • Allows custom lists for each child
    • Offers learn, drill and test activities
    • Tracks multiple children's progress
    • Provides printable progress reports

No included items.

Consumable Items

LSP2

Spelling Power Blue Student Record Book

Recommended Resource for Language Arts Level 4. (< 1/2" line spacing) Perfect daily record book for use with Spelling Power. One 12-week book.
Price: $5.95 Add #LSP2 to cart Item #LSP2
LSP1

Spelling Power Red Student Record Book

Recommended Resource for Language Arts Level 3. (8mm line spacing) Perfect daily record book for use with Spelling Power. One 12-week book.
Price: $5.95 Add #LSP1 to cart Item #LSP1
LSP3

Spelling Power Yellow Student Record Book

Recommended Resource for Language Arts Level 4 and up. (college rule) Perfect daily record book for use with Spelling Power. One 12-week book.

This item has been discontinued.

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Customer Reviews:

Average Rating:
Average rating: 3.6
5 Reviews

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5 out of 5 stars by Kevin D on 2012-01-14
We have used at least 4 other spelling programs before Spelling Power including Sequential Spelling, A Reason for Spelling, and Spelling for All Learners. My oldest two (13 and 11) are weak spellers. I have been using SP for about three and a half months now and find that it is working better than anything we have tried so far. Traditional spelling (ARFS) wasn't working because my children could memorize the words for the test and then continue to misspell them in their writing. The activity pages, while fun and helpful for other skills, didn't seem to help them with actual spelling. Sequential Spelling was great for cursive handwriting practice and generally well received by two of my three kids using it at the time but still wasn't carrying over to their writing. A Reason for Spelling was on the right track but didn't give my kids the framework for studying their words effectively. I like that it was self paced but without a clear method to study words, my children were getting frustrated with their misspellings after the first day of study. In all honestly, I never ordered the audio CD companion that may have helped with this program. (I have one child that will continue to misspell a word once she spells it wrong that first time. In fact, at 13 "thay" is still a problem though Spelling Power seems to be fixing that.) Spelling Power has worked the best for my children so far. I have seen some promising improvement. The five minute time limit for testing has been especially helpful for my eleven year old as he gets overwhelmed and frustrated with too much writing, especially since I require he write in cursive only. My thirteen year old can get through one list in five minutes but her spelling was so weak that we had to start about four levels below her grade. (She has already made up one and a half grade levels this year so maybe by the end of the year we will be on track.) The rules have been helpful for them to see all the ways that a sound can be spelled on one list. My son was balking at having to write the rules so we have modified and developed a shorthand for that. He writes the sound " " and lists ways it can be spelled. If he can retell it from his writing, that is good enough for me. Occasionally they misspell a word in a way that doesn't relate to the rule. Maybe the rule was about silent letters and they simply choose the wrong vowel spelling. There is no way that each word can be grouped according to only one rule. We quickly discuss it and they study it; it's really not a big deal. The practice sheets give them a concrete method of study that has really worked. To me, this has been the best part of the program. Bad habits are hard to break so the built in reviews have been great as well. I have seen a tremendous improvement once we reach the reviews. The few words still missed are studied again along with their lists. I have even noticed words in their writing being spelled correctly for the first time, even words such as "neighbor." I also like that I can pull words from their writing and look up what level the words are typically used and add them to the lists. My kids like that it doesn't take very long. We actually only spend 10 minutes a day on it as I had to adapt it to our schedule. I don't have time to schedule the additional activities such as dictionary skills as I am also homeschooling my younger two that require more one-on-one time. We may get there in the future. But the heart of the program seems to be working. I am planning to switch my 9 year old this next week as she is just not retaining her spelling knowledge and applying it to her writing as I would like with her current program. My seven year old is not quite ready for SP. Drawbacks: 1) It feels overwhelming when you first get it. There is a lot to read. 2) If you plan for all three steps which should take 15 minutes/day, you must plan the activities for the last step. The daily test and study session require no prep. and seem to be enough for us, despite the strong recommendations in the book not to skip the application step. Advantages: It works if used correctly. It reviews. It provides rules to help kids understand spelling. It is self-paced and allows for much more improvement in a year than a traditional program. It incorporates and allows you to study words missed in writing. I am using the 3rd edition but it looks like there are some great additional features to the 4th edition. I highly recommend Spelling Power for the weak speller.

5 out of 5 stars by KIM C on 2010-09-10
3rd week and LOVING SP! Yes, there was prep work for me, but easily done in a couple hours and I was ready. I was a bit concerned about stacking too many words to study for my 8yo son within the 5 minutes pre-test, but his slow handwriting took care of that AND I usually stop at 3.5-4 minutes. I like how the rules state almost all the different ways a phonetic sound can be made. I like teaching the kids phonetic symbols (great for dictionary use). I LOVE the methods of learning the mis-spelled words. We tried Sequential Spelling last year and stopped half way. What's the point of spelling when the kids aren't even learning spelling rules? Besides, it seemed so repetitive with some words. I'll give SP some more time and follow up.

1 out of 5 stars by BRENDA F on 2010-04-29
I did not like this program. I did my homework for hours, preparing...We did the placement tests, even bought a set of workbooks... just did not have the energy to continue with the program. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't do that kind of work for every subject, you know? I Bought sequential spelling, and the kids love it. They are having fun now, and spelling is no longer a chore

3 out of 5 stars by Jennifer G on 2009-05-23
I wish I liked SP. I tried to like it. I used it for 2 kids until they completed it, but there were things about it that were really non-intuitive, primarily that the rules governing each list frequently didn't address the errors common to that list. Ex: Spell "Massachusetts". Missed it? Review the rule: States start with a capital letter. But that rule doesn't address the misspelling. Many of the lists have rules that don't apply to what my kids misspelled so I had to come up with rules on my own. The practice method *did* help them learn the words, and the rules *are* helpful, so I gave it three stars despite the weaknesses.

4 out of 5 stars by Shannon S. on 2008-04-01
I love spelling power! It's very effective for us, and takes only a little time to implement each day. I only give it 4 stars because it is NOT something you can open to the first page and off you go. It does take a little bit to wrap your brain around how you're supposed to do the program, and then a little longer to give yourself permission to tweak it a little to best suit you and your student. The effort is worth it, though!