What is Spell to Write and Read?

Spell to Write and Read (SWR) is a unique multi sensory phonics program where students spell their way into writing and reading.  It is a proven method of curing and preventing dyslexia.

SWR is not just for the struggling learning.  It also helps average and above average children to excel in reading, writing, and spelling.  Learning with SWR improves both reading comprehension ability and reading speed. A weakness in reading comprehension will affect all subject areas including math.   Reading truly is the key to learning.

Spell to Write and Read, (the overall teacher's manual) to The WiseGuide for Spelling is the culmination of thirty years of work by author Wanda Sanseri.  Mrs. Sanseri is a Christian wife and mother with three home school graduates.  She has taught high school English and studied under Romalda Spalding and others.

SWR is used in public and private schools, in many home schools, and is a favored choice for ESL (English as a Second Language), tutoring for dyslexics,  and adult literacy programs.  Students who have failed with other reading programs find successwith SWR.  A 57 year-old illiterate woman who had spent years and thousands of dollars on different tutors and courses but failed to learn to read, finally found success when tutored with SWR.  While thanking her teacher she said, “I was blind but now I see.” 

Spell to Write and Read is an Orton/Spalding based program that teaches the 70 basic phonograms and 29 spelling rules of the English language.  With these simple tools you can explain 99% of the 1000 most commonly used English words and their derivatives Contrary to the popular belief that the English language is riddled with exceptions and rule breakers you can now have a way to explain our language to your children so that they can understand and succeed.

There are 26 letters in the English language, 45 speech sounds, and 70 basic phonograms that make these speech sounds. 

What is a Phonogram?
A phonogram is a single letter (like /a/) or fixed combination of letters (such as ch or th) that symbolizes the sounds of speech.

The easiest way to introduce the phonograms is the echo method:

Hold up cards, say the sounds and have your kids echo you!  It’s not hard at all!  Play Phonogram Bingo and then give your children a phonogram quiz where they both sayand write the phonogram!

After the children have mastered the first 26 phonograms and can easily say and write them you are ready to go!  You help your children complete a few simple charts and then they start taking words from dictation from the WISE guideSPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">.  Dictation is where the student writes the word sound by sound into their learning log.  This is different from traditional spelling programs where children often copy the list of words from seeing them first.  In Spell to Write and Read the child does not see the word before they write it.

There are special instructions in SWR for a process during the dictation called “finger spelling or finger grams.”  This is where the mom holds up one finger (or two if it is a two-letter phonogram) while the child says each sound in a word.  he child does this before writing the word in his spelling log and is given a perfect picture of how the word will be spelled.  If there is more than one possible phonogram that could spell a sound in the word, the mom tells the child which one to use.  This cements the correct spelling in the child’s mind before he makes an error.

It is hard to understand without seeing this process first hand, but spelling words from dictation has produced the all time best readers and spellers in my home.

The first year learning with SWR my 6 and 7 year old boys improved by two grade levels in spelling and their reading really took off. 

My oldest two boys, who were11 and 14 the first year with SWR jumped up by four and five grade levels in spelling as measured by the spelling diagnostic test. 

History of SWR
Wanda Sanseri, who wrote Spell to Write and Read, studied under Romalda Spalding, author of The Writing Road to Reading (WRR). 

Romalda Spalding learned a great deal working under the direction of Dr. Orton (a renown neurologist specializing in reading difficulties and dyslexia).  Spalding taught the phonograms and spelling rules to a class of dyslexic children. At the same time she taught a class of "regular students" and taught them using the traditional methods of the day, which included sight-reading methods (or whole language).

After a time Spalding saw that her class of dyslexic children had SURPASSED the class of "regular students" in spelling and reading ability. This is when she started to develop what is now called the Spalding method with her capstone work being the book: The Writing Road to Reading.  She wrote this book so that both learning disabled and "regular students" could excel in reading, and this great work is where Spell to Write and Read originates. 

Mrs. Sanseri first studied with Spalding and later taught courses on how to use The Writing Road to Reading (WRTR) by Spalding to other homeschool moms.  She then wrote a companion book called:  Teaching Reading At Home and School (TRHS) to go along with WRR.

Wanda Sanseri has since been expanded the TRHS book to Spell to Write and Read. n addition Mrs. Sanseri wrote the WISE Guide which is an expansion of the Orton/Spalding based method. Mrs. Sanseri went back to the original research of Leonard Ayres the originator of the list Mrs. Spalding used as foundation to her program and identified ways to retain his scientific findings and at the same time reorganize the list for a stronger teaching dynamic. As a result she integrates all language arts more smoothly into her now stand-alone program. She fine-tuned the basic spelling rules and markings that had passed down through Mrs. Spalding in a way that makes the whole program user friendly.  

SWR is Cost Effective

Spell to Write and Read is also a very cost effective program.   The Core Kit costs only $95 and includes the materials you will need to teach spelling, writing, and reading to ALL the children in your family or school.  Most students who begin SWR in kindergarten are able to complete the program (making it all the way to college level spelling) by 5^th or 6^th grade.  The only new item you would need to purchase each year is a learning log (notebook for writing spelling words.)  Some extra items many people purchase to help smooth their way with SWR are the new SWR DVD- You CAN Do It, Cursive First, Phonogram Bingo, Wanda Sanseri’s Recommended Reading List, and the McCall-Crabbs Reading Comprehension Book.  Click here to find out more about the SWR Bundles available to you.

If your child is older but still needs improvement in spelling and reading, the Spelling Diagnostic Test will place them at the proper level in the program so that you can help them improve their spelling and reading ability—which will enhance their ability to learn in all other subjects.  The older learner does not have to start at the very beginning in the program!  They take a spelling diagnostic test that places them at their level in the program.  It's never too late! 

Think how exciting it would be for your child to be able to spell any word correctly that they can think or say!  Spelling is such an important basis for becoming a good writer, yet reports show that the biggest deficiency of 90% of entering college freshman is spelling.  This does not have to be!

Included in the SWR Core Kit ($95) is: Spell to Write and Read, (the overall teacher's manual) to The Wise Guide for Spelling. You will also get the 70 Phonogram Cards, a Phonogram CD, and the Spelling Rule Cards.

To teach your child with this method you will need all the items in the SWR Core Kit AND a Learning Log for both you and your child.  You will understand how to teach this program much better if you build your own teacher learning log and stay ahead of your student.

If you have a child in grades K-2:  I recommend the Primary Learning Log with dotted half lines and preformatted reference pages at the back.  The Black Log is used generally for students ages 3^rd grade and up.  You can format the reference pages yourself at the back of the black log or purchase the SWR Chart Pack with all the reference pages formatted for you and ready to photocopy.

Other optional items such as the reader, Play By the Sea, Cursive First, the McCall- Crabbs, New England Primer, and Alpha List are described in full at the Morning Star Learning store.