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Spelling
Handbook
For information:
Fred W. Duckworth, Jr.
c/o Trinitytutors.com
1560 East Vernon Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90011-3839
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Website: www.trinitytutors.com
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Introduction
Rather than requiring students to memorize a list of 20 words each week (an
activity that ill prepares them for the 250,000 words they must handle to become
competent spellers), TrinityTutors.com offers a more logical approach to spelling
instruction, ensuring that students master the logical, well-structured, alphabetic
code that translates auditory speech into written language.
We also teach kids to consider word knowledge, especially the Greek and Latin
roots, prefixes, and suffixes, which has the added bonus of improving vocabulary
knowledge and usage.
Instead of delivering partial, incidental lessons that narrow, rather than broaden,
one’s understanding of English (for example, stopping after having given only part
of a spelling rule and then calling everything else an exception), we will go
beyond the surface to teach the layers underlying this branch of orthography.
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PRONUNCIATION KEY
ă as in apple
ě as in egg
ĭ as in insect
ŏ as in octopus
ŭ as in umbrella
ā as in day
ē as in bee
ī as in pie
ō as in no
ū as in cute
är as in car
âr as in care
er as in butter
îr as in near
ôr as in core
ûr as in bird
ä as in father
ô as in paw
oi as in coil
ə /uh/ as in about (schwa)
ng sang
ōō boot
ŏŏ book
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Spelling Rule #1
The letter Q
There are 29 spelling rules EXAMPLES:
(identified by Romalda
Spalding) that provide a logical
framework for the presentation quick
of information we need to know
to become good spellers.
quarter
quiz
We start with the letter Q. quote
Rule: queen
The letter q is always quilt
followed by the letter u and
together they say /kw/.
quart
quake
(The u is not considered a quite
vowel here.)
question
squint
square
squash
ALERT!
squirm
(Note that when you see a
letter or letters enclosed
squeal
between two slash marks / / it squeeze
is an indication that you are to
pronounce the SOUND of the
enclosed letter or letters and
NOT their names.)
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Monday’s Routine:
Create a list of from 4 to 20 words that illustrate Rule #1, choosing words
appropriate for your learner's level or ability (or use the ones provided).
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow the
procedure outlined below. Say:
Have your learner repeat all of the words without allowing him or
her to see the list. Then ask:
Now let your child see the list of words and ask:
Finally, direct your learner to study this week’s spelling rule until he
or she knows it by heart. Then have the pupil spell some randomly
chosen words from the list, and as he or she is doing so, be sure to
reinforce the link between the target sound and its corresponding
letter or letter combination.
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NOTE: The initial spelling activity for each day of the week (with the exception of
Friday) is always followed by a more traditional alternative with which some
instructors may feel more comfortable.
After completing the pretest, have your learner read the list of spelling words
back to you.
Note any words that are read with difficulty (students should be able to read
fluently any words that are easy for them to spell mentally) and any
instances in which your child is unable to read his or her own handwriting. Be
sure to directly address such difficulties over the course of the next two or
three days.
Have your child read any multi-syllabic words twice, using pauses the second
time to demonstrate where each word is broken into syllables.
Finally, ask your student to correct and record any words he or she
misspelled on the pre-test (on the right-hand side of the page) using the
answer key that you provide. Your child should also record any words that
were difficult to read. This record will serve as a study guide.
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Name: ________________________________________________
PRE-TEST
MONDAY Spelling DAY 1
Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.
DIRECTIONS:
After completing your pretest, read each spelling word to your teacher.
(You should be able to read fluently any words easily spelled mentally.)
Read multi-syllabic words twice. The second time, pause where each word
is broken into syllables.
Record the words you misspelled on the pre-test, along with any words you
found difficult to read. This will serve as your study guide.
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Tuesday:
Recite each spelling word for your learner, tapping your finger to
emphasize the number of syllables.
(These activities will need to be adapted as you deem appropriate for older
students. For example, an advanced student would likely be able to copy
the list of words on his or her own, writing the number of syllables next to
each word without any assistance.)
After you say (and tap) all of the words, have the student go over each
word individually, saying something along the lines of:
And Finally, instruct your pupil to identify spelling patterns from the
current or past lessons with which he or she should be familiar, asking
questions like:
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Name: _____________________________________________________ Date: ______/______/______
LANGUAGE ARTS
TUESDAY Spelling DAY 2
Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.
DIRECTIONS:
Write the words missed on the spelling pre-test phonetically using the
pronunciation symbols from page four. (Be sure to divide the words into
syllables and use accent marks.)
After you finish, compare your spellings with those in a standard dictionary
or with those in dictionary.com.
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Wednesday:
Make sure that your learner can give this week's spelling rule without any
help or prompting from you or any other sources.
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Name: __________________________________________________________ Date: ______/______/______
LANGUAGE ARTS
WEDNESDAY Spelling DAY 3
Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.
DIRECTIONS:
Write each of the spelling words correctly, though still in syllables, using the
standard spelling rather than pronunciation symbols. This time, be sure to
include any silent letters.
Write the number of syllables next to each word.
Verbally identify for your instructor any spelling patterns and/or conventions
taught during the current and/or past lessons.
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Thursday:
Have the student “decode” the syllables comprising each word, categorizing
them according to the six groupss listed on the next page.
During this activity, make sure that you stress all important sound-symbol
correspondence.
You may choose to introduce the six types of syllables as students encounter
them, or you can provide students with the definitions beforehand, possibly
even providing a less in ahead of time along with examples of each type of
syllable.
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The Six Types of Syllables:
1. Closed Syllable: A closed syllable is a syllable that ends with
one or more consonants. A vowel sound in a closed syllable is
usually short. Code it with a breve above the vowel. (V-C)
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LANGUAGE ARTS
THURSDAY Spelling DAY 4
Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.
DIRECTIONS:
If applicable consider word knowledge and structure, identifying Greek and
Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes, as well as with their corresponding
meanings, on the lines below.
On a separate sheet of paper, use and underline each of the spelling words
in a sentence.
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Friday:
First, clearly state the word. Then use the word in a sentence.
Finally, clearly state the word once more. After that, move on to
the next word.
After the last word is given, read through the entire list just once
more so that your learner can make any last-minute corrections.
Have your learner correct his or her own test using an answer key
and then record any misspelled words in his or her Language Arts
Journal.
And finally, be sure to include extra words that use the current
spelling pattern, but were not covered in the lesson, which is why
you should not assign 20 spelling words at the beginning of the
week. (For example, students who have studied yield should be
able to spell field or shield as well. Students who have studied
fiction should also be able to spell faction or fraction.)
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Spelling
Name: _________________________________________
DIRECTIONS:
In the box provided below right the rule on which you have been focusing this
week.
Then listen carefully as your instructor recites this week's spelling words.
Write each word in the corresponding blank.
Rule: ____________________________________________________________
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Spelling Rule #2
The letter C
The letter c before e, i, or y EXAMPLES:
says /s/, but followed by any
other letter, it says /k/.
cent
city
cycle
cat
cut
cave
cook
center
pencil
receive
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Monday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:
Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.
Alternative Activity:
Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.
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Tuesday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:
Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.
Alternative Activity:
Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.
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Wednesday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:
Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.
Alternative Activity:
Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.
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Thursday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:
Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.
Alternative Activity:
Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.
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Friday:
Administer the final spelling test. (Though 20 lines have
been provided on the test sheet that follows, the actual
number of spelling words assigned any given week is left
totally to your discretion. Besides, if you assign 20 words
you won't have enough lines left to follow the suggestion
given in the last paragraph of this page.) When
administering the test, read each word one-at-a-time.
After the last word is given, read through the entire list just
once more so that your learner can make any last-minute
corrections. Have your learner correct his or her own test
using an answer key and then record any misspelled words
in his or her Language Arts Journal.
Alternative Activity:
Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.
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SPELLING RULES
FRIDAY Spelling UNIT _____
5. The letters i and y usually say /i/ (big, gym), but may
say i (silent, my, type).
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7. There are five kinds of Silent final e's. (In short words
such as me, she, and he, the e says e, but in longer
words where a single e appears at the end, the e is
silent.) Silent Final e's should be thought of as "having
a job."
d. Silent e #4: lit tle cas tle bot tle dab ble fid dle (The
job of the #4 Silent final e is to prevent us from
having a syllable with no vowel.)
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iv. The E is left over from Middle English or a foreign
language where the final E was once pronounced.
(treatise giraffe)"
8. There are five spellings for the sound /er/. Keep this
sentence in mind: Her nurse first works early. In that,
the spellings are in the descending order of usage in
English. The phonogram or may say /er/ when it
follows w (work, worm, worthy). Also keep in mind
that ar and or say /er/ at the end of some words
(dollar, doctor).
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13. The phonogram sh is used at the beginning or end of
a base word (she, dish), at the end of a syllable (fin
ish), but never at the beginning of a syllable after the
first one except for the ending ship (wor ship, friend
ship).
14. The phonograms ti, si, and ci are the spellings most
frequently used to say /sh/ at the beginning of a
second or subsequent syllable in a base word (na tion,
ses sion, fa cial). Most often, consider the root or root
word to help you choose the correct /sh/ spelling to
use. Examples: infect to in fec tious / collect to col lec
tion / potent to po ten tial music to mu si cian / space
to spa cious / finance to fi nan cial soci (companion)
to so cial / ancien (old) to an cient cruc (cross) to cru
cial / speci (kind) to spe cial
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20. The letter s never follows x. The phonogram x
includes an s sound-/ks/.
21. Dismiss L Rule: All, written alone, has two l's, but
when used as a prefix, only one l is written (al so, al
most).
22. Dismiss L Rule (part 2): Till and full, written alone,
have two l's, but when used as a suffix, only one l is
written (un til, beau ti ful).
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29. Words are usually divided between double
consonants.
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