🌟  Instruction follows the Phono-Graphix method for teaching reading and spelling which was developed with students with Dyslexia in mind. The Phono-Graphix method is very similar to Orton-Gillingham and is based on the science of reading.

👀  In this trial week of my fourth-grade spelling program, students will experience my teaching style, content delivery, assignment expectations, and the difficulty of the class content. This class will help you and your student decide to enroll in my full-program flex class. In the full program, you can expect to see the same predictable format and assignments week after week so what you see in this trial class is what you will get in the full program, just with different word lists.

 📓  Students will be assigned a spelling list of 25 words. Video instruction will present an explanation of the patterns in the words and spelling rules as they apply. Instructional videos will include proper usage of the spelling words, as well as age-appropriate definitions. 

📅 This class was created with a suggested weekly learning schedule with the first lesson on Monday, lesson two on Wednesday, and lesson three on Friday. The videos are labeled to reflect which lesson to do on which day. 

📹  Monday instructional video: Introduction of the word list. I will model how the student should sort their list to best learn the spellings. Word usage and age-appropriate definitions will be presented. Student-Teacher interaction following this video lesson includes sharing the sorted list and creative sentences with the teacher for feedback.

📹. Wednesday instructional video: "Spelling for the Visual Learner." In this video, I will model how to add color and shapes to the spelling words to identify where all the sounds are in the words and how each sound is spelled. (Colored pencils or fine-tipped markers are highly recommended when following this lesson!). This video session also addresses study skills so students learn how to study effectively for their spelling tests. Many of these skills carry over to other academic classes as well. Student-Teacher interaction following this video lesson includes students posting their creative work using shapes and colors that make the spellings more memorable for their unique style.  

📹  Friday instructional video: I will briefly provide instruction on words that students frequently struggle with so they remember those spellings on the test and beyond.  After a refresher on those frequently misspelled words from the list, a spelling test is given. Students are expected to follow the video to write the spelling words as they are called. I use the spelling words in sentences to clarify ambiguity concerning homophones. Students will write the spelling words and follow along with me to check their work for accuracy. Students are encouraged to send their tests in either a private message to me or post to the classroom page. 

✍🏻 Teacher-created worksheets will be available for additional weekly practice. A minimum of two homework submissions per week are recommended.   A video-prompted spelling test will be posted each Friday so students can measure their level of success. 

✍ Spelling list content for this trial class focuses on the sound /ow/ like in, “ground, however, and bounce”

📖  Instruction follows the Phono-Graphix method for teaching reading and spelling which is very similar to the Orton Gillingham method. This method is Dyslexia friendly and based on the Science of Reading. 
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Here are sample words from the lists in the full version of the 4th-Grade Spelling Class:

Week 1:  Focus on the sound /ow/ like in, “ground, however, and bounce” 

Week 2: Words with the sound /er/ like in certain, nourish, piranha

Week 3: Words with the special ending pronounced /shun/ spelled with -ssion, and -tion, like in situation, discussion, expression, and question

Week 4: Words with Long E endings like, “jealousy, journey, and prairie”

Week 5: Words with the sound /oo/ like in nutrient, and Long U, like in utensil

Week 6: Words with Long A spellings: -eigh, -ei, -ai, -ay (freight, reins, trains, and display)

Week 7:  Irregular plurals like “criteria, antennae, species, loaves”

Week 8: Long E with seven different spellings (medium, machine, cream)

Week 9: Long O with six different spellings (thrown, yolk, groan)

Week 10: Silent letters (wreck, glisten, aisle, condemn, comb)

Week 11: Endings with -ion (union, situation, version, expression)

Week 12: Endings with -le or -al

Week 13: Words with ‘er’ endings (lobster, announcer, employer)

Week 14: Words with -en or -on endings (pardon, driven, written, falcon)

Week 15: Words with 'qu' (aquarium, quotation, quantity)

Week 16: Words with 'ph' (emphasize, symphony, pharmacy)

Week 17: Words with the sound /er/ like in rehearse, surrender, and currency

Week 18: Words with the special ending /cher/ spelled with -ture (moisture, miniature, feature)

Week 19: Words with the special ending pronounced /shus/ spelled with -cious, -tious, -scious

Week 20: Greek roots -bio, -dia, -auto, -baro, -para, -peri (biography, dialogue, automotive, barometric)

Week 21: Multi-syllable management with frequently misspelled words and special endings (ferocious, awkward, astounding)