Q:  What steps will ensure that Spelling Mastery work transfers to writing?

A:  It is not possible to guarantee that the mastery students achieve in spelling will transfer to writing.  Therefore, certain steps are necessary to enhance the possibility of transference. The first step is to make sure that students do in fact learn to spell well; otherwise, there is nothing to transfer.  Once students have demonstrated mastery, however, the extent to which that knowledge and skill transfers is largely dependent upon how spelling is handled during writing instruction.  Teachers should neither put too much emphasis on spelling in writing, nor too little.  One technique for achieving this balance is to require students to find and fix a few misspellings in their writing, on their own, as a condition for getting full credit.  The spelling per se isn't graded in this approach, but is treated as important, nonetheless.

Q:  What are morphographs?

A:  The notion of a "morphograph" is based upon the linguistic concept of a "morpheme," which is the smallest unit of meaning in oral language.  A morphograph is the same concept, but applied to the written language.  Essentially, morphographs are prefixes, suffixes, word bases, and non-word bases.  While people are familiar with these concepts, instruction rarely capitalizes on these features that make spelling considerably easier and more logical than it otherwise seems. Studying morphographs also better equips students to decipher unknown words by understanding how and why words are formed.

Q:  When are students given spelling tests?

A:  Spelling Mastery includes optional spelling tests every fifth lesson in Levels A and B, and mandatory test lessons in Levels C-F. These tests are unique among spelling programs in that they are cumulative, that is, any test can include any of the words learned throughout the program.  Moreover, students are not told in advance which words will appear on the tests.  These tests, therefore, are genuinely valid assessments of student progress.

Q:  What words are taught?

A:  Spelling Mastery departs from traditional spelling programs in that the emphasis is upon generalized spelling strategies rather than memorizing weekly word lists. With the focus on mastering strategies, students are then better equipped to spell new words on their own by utilizing strategies rather than recalling memorized words. Spelling Mastery also focuses on mastering high frequency words that do not lend themselves to strategic approaches to spelling.

Q:  How are students motivated?

A:  Spelling is not inherently the most fascinating part of the curriculum for most students. Therefore, the best way to motivate them is to frequently emphasize the success they are having. Through the programs cumulative structure, it is always possible to look back on areas where students once struggled, but now have mastery. Students, as well as teachers, are often amazed at the progress when they take time to notice how far they've come.

Q:  Should a daily point system be used?

A:  Point systems and other motivational systems are not built into Spelling Mastery. It is recommended that the teacher try verbal reinforcements first, with a high ration of praise compared to less positive interactions. This is the easiest system and is often the most successful. However, if this doesn't work, try moving on toward more formal motivational systems.

Q:  How can I teach to criterion?

A:  Immediate corrections are the key to teaching to criterion. Except under unusual circumstances, all students should be brought to a high level of performance on each item in each task, before moving forward.

Q:  What correction procedures should be used?

A:  When a student or class responds incorrectly, the basic correctional procedure is to model the correct response so the students can hear it correctly, then lead the students by answering with them, give the students another chance on their own, and then later in the lesson, give them another opportunity to answer it correctly.

It is often helpful to do these steps more than once, depending on how the students respond. There are also additional prompts if the students are having great difficulty. For example, one additional prompt for an oral spelling error is to write the word on the board.  Another is to overemphasize the part of the word that is giving students the most trouble.  For example, if students keep forgetting the letter "i" in the word "friend," you might model it as:' f '- r -' I -' e - n '- d, putting extra emphasis on the "i.".

See the Spelling Mastery Series Guide for more details on corrections, including variations on the correction outlined above.

Q:  What is a signal?

A:  A signal is a visual or audible cue that initiates a student response. See the FAQ "What are signals and why are they used?"

Q:   What is the importance of corrections?

A:  "Corrections" should simply be viewed as more teaching, prompted by student performance, and implemented immediately. Also, because everything taught in the program is reviewed and practiced cumulatively, immediate corrections prevent errors from being learned and repeated in further lessons.

Q:  What is the primary objective of group responses?

A:  The primary objective of group responses is to efficiently engage all students, simultaneously, in the instruction.

Q:  What are the placement criteria?

A:  The Spelling Mastery teacher's guide has specific details on placement criteria.

NOTE: Do not administer the placement test to students who have completed one or more levels of Spelling Mastery. The placement test is specifically designed for placing new students to the program and will produce confusing results from students who have completed one or more levels of the program.

Q:  How should students be grouped?

A:  It is ideal that students be grouped according to the results of the placement test. This can be accomplished by cross-class grouping or cross-grade grouping. However, limited resources often dictate that first grade students are placed in Level A, second grade students are placed in Level 2, and so on. It is more important, however, to have lower level students placed as closely as possible to the level indicated by their placement tests.

Q:  How is the placement test administered?

A:  Spelling Mastery placements tests are administered to entire groups of students.

Q:  What morphographic principles, rules and pre-skills are taught?

A:  The most fundamental morphemic principal taught is that of simply adding individual morphographs together to spell words: mis + spell = misspell; mis + con + cept + ion = misconception. Spelling Mastery also covers familiar rules such as dropping a final "e" (hope + ing = hoping), doubling a final consonant (hop + ing = hopping), and changing a "y" to an "i" (study + ed = studied). Less frequent morphemic rules are also taught, such as rules for determining whether a word ends with "er" or "or."

Q:  What is included in every level of Spelling Mastery?

A:  Spelling Mastery focuses on phonemic strategies throughout Levels A, B and the first half of C. At the midpoint of Level C, the primary strategy shifts from phonemic to morphemic, and continues through Levels D, E, and F. For a complete description of what is taught in each level, see the program guide.

Q:  How much time is required to teach?

A:  Lessons can vary in length due to variations in performance of any given group of students, however, teachers should schedule between 15 to 20 minutes per day for the lessons.

Q:  What size of class can use Spelling Mastery?

A:  Spelling Mastery is most frequently used with entire classrooms, however it can also be successfully utilized within small groups of lower performing students.

Q:  What specific strategies are used?

A:  The approach to spelling content is to appropriately utilize phonemic, morphemic, and whole-word strategies. The approach to instruction is direct, explicit strategy instruction.

Q:  Who is the series designed for?

A:  The program is for regular education students in grades 1-6, and for older students in need of spelling remediation.