Parent support for your spelling and word-skill curriculum is important to its success. Answering parents’ questions and showing them how to participate increases their support and, consequently, the strength of your program. Here are ideas for answering parents’ frequently asked questions:

1. Why did you change to a new spelling program?
Tell parents the reason for the change. Although rationales for a new spelling program differ, a reasonable response includes the importance of students spelling well in writing, not just on a test. Explain how the new program emphasizes spelling well in writing and learning essential word skills. This is a more research-based approach than relying on memorization of words just for a test. A brief overview of the selection process for the new program may be important to parents, too.

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2. How is the new program different?
The blackline master letter, Introducing Spelling, tells parents briefly how this program differs from a weekly list approach. Notice your reminder to send this blackline master letter home at the top of the page that opens Unit 1 in your Sourcebook.

Another idea is to invite parents to school to see the 15-minute CD-ROM overview, Introduction to Parents, a component of the Tutor Me Training® Program for teachers. For more information, visit www.epsbooks.com/sitton. You may also request permission to post the Parent CD-ROM to your school’s Web site by calling 888-WE-SPELL or e-mailing sittonspelling@epsbooks.com.

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3. When will we get a list of words for the test?
Confirm that the Core Words list (a blackline master in your Sourcebook) will be sent home. It alphabetically lists all the words that are tested throughout the school year. The list includes all Core Words that occur at the current grade, as well as every Core Word that occurred at earlier grades. These are words targeted for practice and mastery, a research-based list of the most frequently occurring words in English writing.

Hasten to add that many of these words are ones that students already know, yet some may be words that are misspelled or misused on random routine at-school checks. Any word a child has not yet mastered is sent home on the Words to Learn sheet to be targeted for practice. The words listed on the Words to Learn sheet are called the spelling words. Spelling words are sent home every few days, not on any specific day, and will be retested at random on subsequent tests.

Give examples. Clarify that the “there” homophones appear on the Core Word list beginning in second grade, but mastery is not expected until subsequent grades—nonetheless, these homophones are practiced so that mastery can eventually occur. Also, note that many of the Core Words are ones students have already mastered or parents may be critical of words that appear too easy for their child.

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4. How can we help our child prepare for the spelling test?
Parents understand the concept of “cramming” for a test. Make clear that cramming is not real learning. In this program, the goal is for children to learn words forever, not just for a test. The tests are “safety nets” to ensure that children are learning the critical words they need to know to able writers. Add that children get many chances to learn the Core Words—they are systematically retested, always unannounced. This ensures that children develop true mastery of these words rather than merely cramming for a test, and forgetting the spellings later.

Explain to parents that if the same words recur on their child’s take-home Words to Learn sheets, this means that their child has not yet learned them, and that words will be learned over time with practice at home and at school. To prepare their child for future tests that automatically retest all words, they should be certain to work with their child to learn the words listed on the Words to Learn sheets that come home routinely. Remind parents to save these sheets and to review the spellings with their child over time.

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5. How can we help our child learn the spelling words?
Tell parents that because short-term memorization is replaced in the new program with “forever learning,” there is a new emphasis on instruction of essential spelling and word skills to help their child develop insights about words (taught in your Sourcebook’s Build Skills and Word Experiences sections). For example, if children miss the word countries by spelling countrys, they are taught to recall that when a noun ends in a consonant followed by y, the plural is made by changing the y to i and adding es. Yet if a noun ends in a vowel followed by the letter y, they just add s. On the other hand, the word valley ends in ey, so children learn to form the plural of words like this with the simple addition of an s at the end of the word.

It’s important for parents to know that students do not memorize these rules, but discover the insights through activities that cause them to collect and analyze scores of words. Often children work together to make these word discoveries, then discuss and explain what they learned. Research tells us that this is a better way to learn than memorizing rules or spellings.

Activities to reinforce essential spelling and words skills are sent home for parent-child learning partnerships on sheets called Take-Home Tasks (on a blackline master in every unit in your Sourcebook). Alert parents that time spent on Take-Home Tasks helps their child understand why words are spelled the way they are.

Point out to parents that when their child brings home a list of spelling words on a Words to Learn sheet, they could ask their child to explain the important parts of each word in light of the word discoveries they’re learning. For example, a parent could ask, “What is important to remember about your spelling word, countries? Is this word spelled the way you would expect it to be spelled? Why?” Questions like these help children recall the skills and insights they’re learning about spelling in general and help them to apply the information to a specific word. In this case, children are guided to remember that country ends in a consonant and a y, a signal that the plural is not spelled countrys, but countries.

Here’s another idea—on the back of each Words to Learn sheet, copy the blackline master, Ideas for Word Study, for more ideas for parent-child spelling study.

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6. Why is my child struggling with spelling now when my child did well with the old spelling program?
Explain to parents the difference between learning words just for a test and learning words “forever” to become a better, more able writer. Provide reassurance that children will learn the Core Words over time and emphasize that parents can be helpful by being positive and encouraging, providing time for word study, and celebrating progress!

Children who transition into this program from a program in which they memorized words just for a test often never really learned the words on a long term basis. When words from previous grades are retested, children do not remember them. Students must not be penalized for being students in a program that did not reward long-term spelling mastery, or teach them word skills to develop necessary spelling insights. As a result, children’s grades should reflect their transition into this program. During this transition, it is important to be sensitive to students’ initial spelling challenges when grades and spelling feedback are given.

Many teachers use the practical test modifications suggested in their Sourcebook (Students with Spelling Challenges) until their struggling students gain spelling competence. Check the Sourcebook Table of Contents for this section. Then look for the sidenote question: How can students challenged by spelling participate in the Word Test? Also, explore other ideas in this Sourcebook section to better navigate spelling acquisition for students who have difficulty.

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7. Why does my child have different spelling words than other children in the same class?
Parents know that children have different needs so it should make sense to them that this applies to spelling. Point out that “one size does not fit all” in your classroom. Their child’s spelling words are the ones you’ve determined that their child does not yet know how to spell.

For some parents, you might wish to use the word differentiation. They may have heard this educational term and are eager to learn more about it. Your use of the word helps them to confirm that your new spelling and word-skill program reflects best practices and current pedagogy.

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8. How does this program ensure that my child will learn to spell well in writing?
Point out to parents that in addition to extensive practice of essential words over time and ongoing instruction of practical spelling and word skills, their child will be expected to demonstrate good spelling in everyday writing. This expectation may be implemented sometime after the program is underway. Prepare parents for this upcoming attribute of the program (read about Priority Words in your Sourcebook and implement this feature after you are comfortable teaching a unit, perhaps about four units into the program if the program is new).

Once Priority Words are implemented, explain the expectation to parents and its benefits to their child. Emphasize that the classroom is a rehearsal for real-world use of skills—spelling in everyday writing. The Priority Word component ensures that the acquisition of spelling is authentic.

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9. Are there components to the program that we could use at home to complement work done in the classroom?
Assure parents that a supportive and positive attitude, as well as an honest interest in their child’s program and the progress that he or she is making, is the best way to begin. Remind parents to show their enthusiasm by talking to their child about spelling, asking questions, and smiling! This goes a long way. In upcoming Appleseed issues, we’ll explore other avenues for parents to supplement the school program, but for now put these requests on hold. First give the program a chance to get underway!

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