School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

Getting Started with

Sitton Spelling and Word Skills

A Q&A of Tips & Tricks to Facilitate Implementation

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Grade 3

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

How does Sitton Spelling and Word Skills differ from a traditional spelling program?

• No weekly spelling list

• Focuses on spelling across the curriculum, not just for the Friday test

• Provides resources for instruction for state indicators

• Emphasis on learning high frequency words

• No traditional assessments

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

How do I begin organizing for instruction?

• View Tutor Me CDs for your grade level.

• Keep a spelling notebook of frequently misspelled words for each child.

• Don’t plan to teach all concepts/components within each unit.

• Focus on Building Basic Concepts over Express Exercises

• See Teaching Notes on p. 331-376.

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

What are the components of a typical unit?• Word Preview• Choose concepts bases on assessed skills, student

needs, and the curriculum map.• Dear Parent activity• Assessment• Exercise Express as needed

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

Basics & Electives [as listed in the Sitton manual]

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

What is the focus of the “Build Skills and Word Experiences” part of the lesson?

• Learning spelling concepts through the use of Word Work or Word Study activities

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

What is the Word Preview?

• This is a visual warm-up activity of five core words.

• Develops ability to picture words in a sequential letters. This skill is important in spelling and proofreading.

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

What is the focus of the “Assess Words and Skills” part of the lesson?

• Identify high-frequency words students have not mastered.

• Students identify and record words they need to study. Recorded words can be used as a reference in their writing.

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

How do I effectively use the posters?• Use them as anchor charts• Follow the program suggestions

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

What materials need to be prepared in advance of the lesson?

• Any necessary handouts• charts• posters

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

Should I create a spelling list in addition to the cloze, skill, and dictation tests in the program?

• No

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

How I determine spelling grades?

• Assessments• Priority word checks

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

What information should I share with parents?

• Plan to share at Open House:– No spelling lists for Friday tests– No set spelling test day– Expect Dear Parent letter periodically

School City of Mishawaka Spring 2007

How do I subscribe to the Sitton newsletter?

Go to http://www.sittonspelling.com/ and click on the E-Newsletter link at the bottom of the page. You will come to this page where you may access the archived newsletters, as well as subscribe to future editions.