If you are like most speakers of English, you’ve been taught to spell a word by “sounding it out.” But you probably also know that this strategy only works a small handful of times. Between silent letters, letters that can make more than one sound, and words that sound exactly the same but are spelled differently…..the number of obstacles in the way of “sounding out” words makes this strategy inefficient at best and frustrating at worst. If rote memorization of lists of spelling words, copying sentences, and applying spelling “rules” that have dozens of exceptions just isn't working for your learner, it may be time for a different approach. Most spelling programs leave students with serious misunderstandings about how spelling really works. 

   This class will reveal that English spelling is actually highly ordered and logical, once you have unlocked some of its secrets. Students will learn to break words apart into bases, prefixes, and suffixes, and use those parts to make informed decisions about how to spell and understand what words mean. Students will learn to think like “word scientists,” making a hypothesis about spelling patterns, testing their theories, and discovering rules of spelling that actually work. This class will boost not only their spelling skills, but expand their vocabulary as well. It’s an exploration of etymology and morphology that will transform the way they think about words and the way English spelling functions. 

   Each class lesson stands alone and students can join at any time. However, I would recommend students plan to join for a longer term as they will get more out of it and have a deeper understanding of the concepts and approach to spelling that this class will present. Every week in the class could look different; in some lessons, we'll be looking at particular sounds in English, other weeks at particular groups of words such as compound words or words that come from Greek, other times we'll be looking at conventions such as spelling changes that happen when adding suffixes. 

   I sometimes hear from parents that they feel the class was "too easy" and "my learner already knows how to spell those words." I see this class as more about the "why" of spelling rather than the "how." My goal in each lesson is not to present learners with a list of words to practice and memorize, as some other approaches to spelling might do. Rather, this class is about getting to the bottom of the English spelling system and how it actually works, learning 𝘸𝘩𝘺 words are spelled the way they are. I promise we will learn something new every week about the design of the English spelling system!  


Week of Sept. 2: Learning about graphemes
Week of Sept. 9: The Alphabet - some facts you never knew!
Week of Sept. 16: A look at the <igh> grapheme
Week of Sept. 23: That mysterious "schwa"
Week of Sept. 30: A look at etymological markers
Week of Oct. 7: Positional conventions for spelling
Week of Oct. 14:  FALL BREAK
Week of Oct. 21: Word Building with bases
Week of Oct. 28: A visit to the graveyard of forgotten words
Week of Nov. 4: Doubling a final consonant
Week of Nov. 11: "Skunked" Words - what are they?
Week of Nov. 18: Different types of bases; free and bound
Week of Nov. 25: The suffixes <ery> <ary> and <ory>
Week of Dec. 2: Eggcorns and Mondegreens - what are they?
Week of Dec. 9: 5 Questions for understanding a spelling
Week of Dec. 16: The etymology of some Christmas-y words
Week of Dec. 23:   WINTER BREAK
Week of Dec. 30:   WINTER BREAK

**2025!!**
Week of Jan. 6: A look at etymological markers
Week of Jan. 13: Choosing <k> or <ck>
Week of Jan. 20: Choosing <ch> or <tch>
Week of Jan. 27: Four ways to spell the /n/ phoneme
Week of Feb 3: Long and short sounds of the <ea> grapheme
Week of Feb 10: Bound bases
Week of Feb 17: NO CLASS
Week of Feb 24: A close look at three familiar words: dissect, disease, disaster
Week of March 3: (Tuesday section will not meet) Word Building
Week of March 10: The spelling of numbers
Week of March 17: Choosing between <ge> and <dge>
Week of March 24: A close look at plurals
Week of March 31: Words of Greek origin
Week of April 7: Content words and Function words
Week of April 14: NO CLASS
Week of April 21: The <wh> grapheme
Week of April 28: The spelling of the days of the week
Week of May 5: A close look at compound words
Week of May 12: Reasons for silent <e> Part 1
Week of May 19: Reasons for silent <e> Part 2
Week of May 26: NO CLASS
Week of June 2: Choosing between <er> and <or>
Week of June 9: Graphemes for the long /u/ sound
Week of June 16: <le> <el> and <al>
Week of June 23: A close look at eponyms and toponyms
Week of June 30: The letter <h>
Week of July 7: The <igh> grapheme
Week of July 14: A close look at prefixes

This class will run through the week of July 14, 2025. One section may continue through the rest of July and August depending on demand. 


***Please note, I offer other classes in Stuctured Word Inquiry as well.  There is a 12-l̲e̲s̲s̲o̲n̲ class that makes a great introduction to this approach to spelling, and offers live lessons with the teacher. Follow this link to see scheduled sections and enroll!
https://outschool.com/classes/introduction-to-structured-word-inquiry-dyCAN9V7?usid=nD85Y1ms&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

####There is also a Self-Paced v̲e̲r̲s̲i̲o̲n̲ of the class with pre-recorded lessons that students can watch on their own time and posted homework to complete. I always give feedback to all posted work. 
https://outschool.com/classes/sp-course-introduction-to-structured-word-inquiry-xIijJB7W?usid=nD85Y1ms&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

I am also available to work 1:1 with your child to support their development in spelling, reading and vocabulary using the Structured Word Inquiry approach. I have options to meet with your learner in a live 1:1 class format, or asynchronously via a flex class option. Links to those classes can be found here: 

𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝟏:𝟏 𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠:
https://outschool.com/classes/11-reading-and-spelling-support-through-structured-word-inquiry-48DdKAA3?usid=nD85Y1ms&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

𝐀𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝟏:𝟏 𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠:
https://outschool.com/classes/flex-11-reading-and-spelling-support-through-structured-word-inquiry-2rP2Q2E8?usid=nD85Y1ms&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
If you are interested in reading more about the Structured Word Inquiry approach to teaching spelling, this article is a good start:
https://psyarxiv.com/aktzw/