The Writing Road to Reading (WRTR) questions

[SunnyAM]

My son is 10 and spent K-2 in public school where he did not meet district reading standards but made straight A's.  I've recently listened to the Sold a Story podcast, and both of us realized he was taught the queueing method. These past 2 years homeschooling we've worked through Explode the Code books which has helped in reading fluency, but his spelling is still very poor.  I wanted to start the WRTR with him this year.  I've gone through older posts and would like any feedback if this schedule looks correct and appropriate for a 4 day school week.  

 

 

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
OPR (pg. 39) ·       Review 20-30 phon. ·       5-8 minutes	OPR ·       Review 20-30 phon. ·       5-8 minutes	OPR ·       Review 20-30 phon. ·       5-8 minutes	OPR ·       Review 20-30 phon. ·       5-8 minutes
WPR (pg.41-42) ·       Review 30 phon. ·       5-10 min	WPR ·       Review 30 phon. ·       5-10 min	WPR ·       Review 30 phon. ·       5-10 min	WPR ·       Review 30 phon. ·       5-10 min
SPL ·       Test any words from last week with repeated errors ·       Dictate 10 new   Start once child can:  - say/write 70 phonograms -  mastered the first 45 phonograms -  written rule pages 1 and 7 in cursive - was pretested   (Rule pages 2-6 are taught & written prior to dictation of the word to which it applies )	SPL ·       Test previous day’s ·       Dictate 10 new	SPL ·       Test previous day’s ·       Dictate 10 new	SPL ·       Test current week’s 30 words

 

[Gil]

Assuming that
"OPR" is Oral Phonogram Review
"WPR" is Written Phonogram Review

So what is "SPL"? Is it just an abbreviation for spelling?

[SunnyAM]

Yes, sorry about the abbreviations. SPL is spelling

[Foofaraw]

If I were you, I would do the Apples and Pears spelling program by Sound Foundations. Don’t do a lesson a day, but work your way up to half a lesson a day. All the morpheme focus, interleaved word dictation and sentence dictation has made sentence level writing across the curriculum (and real life) much easier for my daughter.

[SilverMoon]

We didn't keep a formal schedule when we did WRTR, but used more of a "loop" method and let the kid's ability set the speed. He's dysgraphic and wouldn't have kept up with the schedules in the book anyway. 

I did a really fast pass through it with a 7th or 8th grader too. After he'd learned the cards and copied the rule pages we just plowed through the word list, only going back to repeat words he got wrong. 

(WRTR was really good for that dysgraphic kid but he really wore out from how intensive it is. He uses Megawords now and it's been a great fit for him.)

 

[The Governess]

Yes, this looks fine to me. I taught WRTR in a classroom and this is very similar to the schedule I used. I always did 30 phonograms for the OPR and kept the WPR to 20. I dictated 10 spelling words a day for 3 days (no testing) and then on days 4 and 5 tested all 30. On day 4 we reviewed the rules for any missed words.

[Ellie]

Well, yes, although I would review all phonograms, written and orally, not just a select few. Also, be sure your dictation follows teaching and analyzing each word before it is tested. So, on Monday you would teach 10 new words (which includes analyzing and marking); Tuesday those 10 words would be a spelling test; then you would teach 10 new words; Wednesday you would remediate any words that were misspelled on Tuesday's test, test the 20 words already taught; teach 10 new words; Thursday you would remediate any words misspelled on Wednesday's test, test the previous 30 words. Then you could have your dc write simple sentences with a few of the spelling words.

Spalding is very effective **if taught properly.** And the way you teach it properly is to follow the manual (Writing Road to Reading) as closely as possible. Which edition of the manual do you have? (WRTR is the manual; Spalding is the Method.)

[SunnyAM]

16 hours ago, Foofaraw said:

If I were you, I would do the Apples and Pears spelling program by Sound Foundations. Don’t do a lesson a day, but work your way up to half a lesson a day. All the morpheme focus, interleaved word dictation and sentence dictation has made sentence level writing across the curriculum (and real life) much easier for my daughter.

Thank you for reminding me about this program. I actually have Apples and Pears B-D (my daughter used A and a little of B).  I want to try WRTR first, and then we can always switch to Apples and Pears for sentence dictation or harder words.  I think my son does well with drilling, and I think could benefit from WRTR.

[SunnyAM]

10 hours ago, Ellie said:

Well, yes, although I would review all phonograms, written and orally, not just a select few. Also, be sure your dictation follows teaching and analyzing each word before it is tested. So, on Monday you would teach 10 new words (which includes analyzing and marking); Tuesday those 10 words would be a spelling test; then you would teach 10 new words; Wednesday you would remediate any words that were misspelled on Tuesday's test, test the 20 words already taught; teach 10 new words; Thursday you would remediate any words misspelled on Wednesday's test, test the previous 30 words. Then you could have your dc write simple sentences with a few of the spelling words.

Spalding is very effective **if taught properly.** And the way you teach it properly is to follow the manual (Writing Road to Reading) as closely as possible. Which edition of the manual do you have? (WRTR is the manual; Spalding is the Method.)

@Ellie

I have the 5th edition. Yes, I will be analyzing and marking new words.  I needed a chart as a quick reference and then my WRTR is flagged with the pages the procedures, rules, etc.

"Well, yes, although I would review all phonograms, written and orally, not just a select few." 

 Are you saying that I need to review all 70 phonograms orally and written every day or that I should be alternating them so all are covered during the course of the week? My plan was to alternate them. My edition said to orally review 20-30 phonograms (p. 39) and no more than 30 for written review (p. 40).

Thanks for the spelling testing schedule clarification. I appreciate it!

 

 

[Ellie]

5 hours ago, SunnyAM said:

@Ellie

I have the 5th edition. Yes, I will be analyzing and marking new words.  I needed a chart as a quick reference and then my WRTR is flagged with the pages the procedures, rules, etc.

"Well, yes, although I would review all phonograms, written and orally, not just a select few." 

 Are you saying that I need to review all 70 phonograms orally and written every day or that I should be alternating them so all are covered during the course of the week? My plan was to alternate them. My edition said to orally review 20-30 phonograms (p. 39) and no more than 30 for written review (p. 40).

Thanks for the spelling testing schedule clarification. I appreciate it!

IMHO, the fifth and sixth editions don't present the Method is accurately as the previous editions, my favorite being the fourth. The last two editions reference the teacher guides way too much. And no, I don't recommend the teacher guides. They don't actually present any information, and they have no use for homeschoolers. When they were first published, Spalding Education International (SEI) sent copies of them to me to review, knowing that I work with homeschoolers, and I told them what I thought (not impressed at all, especially not with how the fifth and sixth editions of the manual have been edited).

I would review phonograms until your dc knows them backwards and forwards. You can begin to drop phonograms that your dc always says and writes correctly.

I have a list of "crutches" that might be helpful, such as "ck: used after a single vowel that doesn't say its name," which is how you teach it. "K" has one sound, /k/, so you teach that one sound and it isn't confused with any other letter. "C" has two sounds, /k/ and /s/, so it won't be confused with any other phonogram/sound. "ck", however, needs a crutch, so you teach, "/k/, used after a single vowel that doesn't say its name." When you dictate it, you say "/k/', and your dc must know to ask which one, and then you give the crutch. Same with the ers (er of her, ir of first, ur of nurse, or of works, ear of early), and a few others.

[Dmmetler]

When I taught using WRTR in TX, many, many years ago (almost 30) we used the phonogram cards from Alice Nine (Johnny Can spell), which had the memory cues on the back. I don't know if they'd be worth getting for just one child, but they definitely made it easier with a room of 1st graders. 

[PeterPan]

On 7/31/2023 at 4:49 PM, Ellie said:

review phonograms until your dc knows them backwards and forwards

Bingo. And you don't have to be super in the box about it either. He could *type* his phonograms, write them on a whiteboard, text them from his phone, draw them in sand, write them with sidewalk chalk outside, etc. Writing them does build motor memory, but there's also motor memory with typing too. You might even shake it up, given his age, and do the words at the beginning of the week written on whiteboard/paper and by the end have him typing them. 

Backwards and forwards means sound to written and written to sound. 

My dd's spelling issues became very prominent around that age, in spite of lots of hard work, and it turned out she had poor *visual memory* due to developmental vision problems. We did vision therapy and her visual memory improved, which allowed her spelling to improve. 

Are you doing dictation? WRTR has you doing word level dictation and leaves you without models for sentence and paragraph dictation. I STRONGLY encourage you to put the spelling in context by doing dictation. You can dictate new words during the week but do dictation using previous words. It gives you layer/review and helps them use their spelling in context.

The other thing I did for my dd that worked well was to teach her to self-monitor whether she knew the spelling or not. Asking for help should be REWARDED or made EASY if you want them to do it more, kwim? They can have access to spelling dictionaries, tech (Alexa, Siri), whatever you want. Put a bowl of m&ms in front of you while doing dictation and every time your dc doesn't know the spelling and admits it they get a treat. Dictation should not be a test but a collaborative process where you give them enough information that they can get the word correct the very first time. We want them seeing it correctly to build that visual memory.

 

[SunnyAM]

On 8/9/2023 at 1:56 PM, PeterPan said:

Bingo. And you don't have to be super in the box about it either. He could *type* his phonograms, write them on a whiteboard, text them from his phone, draw them in sand, write them with sidewalk chalk outside, etc. Writing them does build motor memory, but there's also motor memory with typing too. You might even shake it up, given his age, and do the words at the beginning of the week written on whiteboard/paper and by the end have him typing them. 

Backwards and forwards means sound to written and written to sound. 

My dd's spelling issues became very prominent around that age, in spite of lots of hard work, and it turned out she had poor *visual memory* due to developmental vision problems. We did vision therapy and her visual memory improved, which allowed her spelling to improve. 

Are you doing dictation? WRTR has you doing word level dictation and leaves you without models for sentence and paragraph dictation. I STRONGLY encourage you to put the spelling in context by doing dictation. You can dictate new words during the week but do dictation using previous words. It gives you layer/review and helps them use their spelling in context.

The other thing I did for my dd that worked well was to teach her to self-monitor whether she knew the spelling or not. Asking for help should be REWARDED or made EASY if you want them to do it more, kwim? They can have access to spelling dictionaries, tech (Alexa, Siri), whatever you want. Put a bowl of m&ms in front of you while doing dictation and every time your dc doesn't know the spelling and admits it they get a treat. Dictation should not be a test but a collaborative process where you give them enough information that they can get the word correct the very first time. We want them seeing it correctly to build that visual memory.

 

Thank you.  This is great information. My child would probably love to mix it up and type the phonograms and also earn some M&M's. Yes, we plan to do dictation as well.  Although I've heard of vision therapy, I do not know much about it. Should I seek out an ophthalmologist or an optometrist to be evaluated for this? I believe my son could have poor visual memory or at least we could rule it out.

[Ellie]

On 8/9/2023 at 1:56 PM, PeterPan said:

Are you doing dictation? WRTR has you doing word level dictation and leaves you without models for sentence and paragraph dictation. I STRONGLY encourage you to put the spelling in context by doing dictation. You can dictate new words during the week but do dictation using previous words. It gives you layer/review and helps them use their spelling in context.

The other thing I did for my dd that worked well was to teach her to self-monitor whether she knew the spelling or not. Asking for help should be REWARDED or made EASY if you want them to do it more, kwim? They can have access to spelling dictionaries, tech (Alexa, Siri), whatever you want. Put a bowl of m&ms in front of you while doing dictation and every time your dc doesn't know the spelling and admits it they get a treat. Dictation should not be a test but a collaborative process where you give them enough information that they can get the word correct the very first time. We want them seeing it correctly to build that visual memory.

 

The manual recommends reviewing previously taught words, beginning in February. Also, first-grade children are encouraged to begin writing their own sentences when they complete the spelling words through Section H. When a child doesn't know a word, you ask him to spell as much as he can and then help him reason through in inaccuracies. 

For myself, I didn't find having a lack of model for sentence dictation to be a problem. It would not have occurred to me to dictate a whole paragraph. o_0

[PeterPan]

On 8/12/2023 at 4:57 PM, SunnyAM said:

Thank you.  This is great information. My child would probably love to mix it up and type the phonograms and also earn some M&M's. Yes, we plan to do dictation as well.  Although I've heard of vision therapy, I do not know much about it. Should I seek out an ophthalmologist or an optometrist to be evaluated for this? I believe my son could have poor visual memory or at least we could rule it out.

Opthamologists are surgeons. Developmental optometrists do developmental optometry. COVD is the org to find them.

On 8/12/2023 at 6:45 PM, Ellie said:

The manual recommends

This is why I explained to her how *I* did dictation. We can consider Spalding's instructions in the context of the intended audience (gen ed students) and modify to fit our student's needs.