AVKO Sequential

Spelling 4 for
Home Study Learning

                        serve             service

                    reserve          reservation

                  preserve        preservation

                  conserve       conservation

                    deserve         deserving

by

Don McCabe

AVKO Educational Research Foundation

Cat. # W304H     Price was:14.95 Now only $12.95      8½ x 11    ISBN:   1-56400-304-3

• Provides 180 sequenced spelling tests.  

• Words are sequenced vertically during a single lesson as in::
   

  Words are sequenced horizontally during a five day week as in:

• Students correct their own spellings immediately after each word is given.  
  

• Students quickly begin to learn all the troublesome blends and structural endings.

• Each lesson has cross references to The Patterns of English Spelling and to Word Families in Sentence Context.

• Homophones are presented when they occur.  They are marked with an asterisk (*) and put in bold with a note at the bottom such as:  Alas, it was a lass and not a lad that won the tournament.  When we passed through Chicago, it was way past midnight. 

• "Insane" words or "outlaws" such as could and couldn't are slipped into the program and presented many, many times so that mastery is achieved.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Why don't the words used follow grade levels?  The word depression is an 11th grade word in our school's regular spelling text.   What is it doing in Sequential Spelling 1?
  
  ANSWER:  Regular spelling texts, as a general rule, pick grade levels for words according to when the specific words first begin to occur in the regular subject matter curriculum.  This would seem to make sense, but it does bring about some rather odd sequences.  Since the word ice may not occur in the curriculum until the 4th grade when it appears in a science book, its introduction is delayed until that time.   Note that in one spelling series the word nice occurs in the 1st grade, twice in the 2nd grade, price in the 5th, and rice in the 6th.  AVKO believes in teaching all the ice words in the same unit.  
  
  Regarding the word depression,  AVKO teaches it only after the -ess and -ession sounds have been taught in 51 and 8 different words respectively.  Note the relationship between these patterns as shown by words such as confess and confession.
  
• Why does Sequential Spelling contain so many words such as the word stile that are outside the vocabulary of normal children?
  
  We don't believe it hurts anyone, even a parent, to learn a new word.  But that is not why we use the word stile.  We use the word stile as an added practice in sounding out spellings of words having the initial /st/ sound and practice in spelling the ending rime -ile.  It also gives the student a pleasant surprise and ego boost when he discovers he can spell a word that he believes he has never heard nor seen before just because he knows how to spell the sounds.  It also gives you a chance to point out how the letters i and y often interchange and that style and stile are homophones.
  
• Should I count off for sloppy spelling?
   
  Since your children get to correct their own spelling, they should be expected to write clearly and legibly.  In fact, we recommend that these sequential spelling tests be used for handwriting practice because the patterns, being repetitive, can be a help in developing legible handwriting.  We further recommend that if your students print, that they use D'Nealian® manuscript, Getty-Dubay Italic or AVKO's own manuscript (See Let's Write Right). But whatever system of handwriting you may be using, we believe that writing must be legible.  So yes, by all means, take off for sloppy handwriting.  The only exceptions would be for those who have a physical disability and insufficient small motor skills to write legibly.
  
  

• Where should I start?  My child is in the 5th grade.  Do I start with Sequential Spelling 5?
  
  No.  Unless your children have been exposed to Sequential Spelling before, you should start them with Sequential Spelling 1 or maybe Sequential Spelling 2.
   

• Do I give my students the words to study?
  
  Only if you feel you must.  We have found that students prefer not having to study and that when they correctly spell words that they haven't studied, their self-confidence about spelling begins to zoom. 
   

• How do I give grades?
  
  If you must give grades based upon performance, there are pretests and posttests for every 60 day period.  AVKO prefers that grades NOT be given.  We prefer that children learn that learning to spell is what is important, not the grades on tests.  One A does not a good speller make.  One E does not a bad speller make.
   

• How many books do I need for my children?
  
  Just one.  AVKO would love it if you bought one for every student.  But that's not necessary.  One student record book for each child would be very, very convenient and we do recommend that.  However, by using one student response book as a model, you can create your own model for your children to make from spiral notebooks.
   

• Can I give more than one test a day or repeat the same test later in the day?
  
  Why not?  You're the teacher.  You know your children better than we do.  The important thing is to have fun with the tests.  Help your children overcome their fears of making mistakes.  They'll love you even more for it.  The important thing to remember is that there must be sufficient time between lessons to allow the "forgetting" process to begin.  Three lessons a day is really the maximum.

Return to Sequential Spelling 1-7 for Home School

All donations are greatly appreciated.  If you would like to support our mission which is to raise the level of literacy to the point where the words, illiteracy, phonemic awareness, learning disabilities, dysgraphia, family literacy, adult literacy, and illegible handwriting will no longer have relevance, please mail your tax-deductible check (in U.S. dollars) to The AVKO Foundation, 3084 Willard Road, Suite W, Birch Run, MI 48415-9404.  The AVKO Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a 501(C)3 publicly supported organization working with teachers, parents, tutors, and home schooling parents, publishing materials developed by its research, and providing free daily tutoring at its local reading clinic.

If you have comments about this website or questions concerning spelling, phonics, learning disabilities, homeschooling, etc., you may always e-mail DonMcCabe@aol.com.  We appreciate any comments that will help us make this website even more useful. 

Call:  Toll Free 1-866-285-6612
Fax:  (810) 686-1101
E-mail: Webmaster: avkoemail@aol.com 
or  Write:  
Don McCabe, Research Director

AVKO Spelling & Dyslexia Research Foundation
3084 Willard Road, Suite W
Birch Run, MI 48415-9404