This phonics-based spelling curriculum is very doable. It’s not too overwhelming for students, and minimal work for parents. It gets the job done. I appreciate having at least one or two subjects in our day that are easier to accomplish. They help to balance out the more difficult subjects for us, like math and science. For most students, Spelling Workout should be easy to complete and check off the list. I’ve used this curriculum with all five of my children (for more than fifteen years)!
This review includes the following topics:
- What Does Spelling Workout Include?
- Is the Teacher’s Manual Needed?
- What is a Suggested Weekly Schedule?
- How Much Time is Needed Daily?
- Extra Supplies Needed for This Curriculum
- Is This a Good Curriculum for Independent Work?
- Can My Child Start Workbook “A” in Kindergarten?
- Where Should I Start With an Older Student?
- Side Notes About This Curriculum
- Spelling Workout Works!
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What Does This Spelling Curriculum Include?
The Spelling Workout curriculum consists of two components: a “Student Edition” (student workbook) and a “Teacher’s Edition” (teacher’s manual). You can purchase them as a bundled set or individually. The teacher’s manual can be reused, but the student workbook is a consumable. You’ll need a new student workbook for each child. This series has workbooks “A” through “H” with these recommended grade levels:
- Workbook A – Grade 1
- Workbook B – Grade 2
- Workbook C – Grade 3
- Workbook D – Grade 4
- Workbook E – Grade 5
- Workbook F – Grade 6
- Workbook G – Grade 7
- Workbook H – Grade 8
The Student Edition (Workbook)
The Workbook Format
There are no frills with this spelling curriculum. The workbook pages are not very colorful, but this is one of the least expensive curricula we use. There are thirty-six lessons in each student workbook. This is convenient for families following a traditional school-year calendar of thirty-six weeks.
Each lesson has four pages for students to complete (plus the pretest and post-test). I have found this to be very doable for children (and busy parents). It’s one of the advantages of using a workbook-style curriculum.
The appendix includes a dictionary with all the words covered in that particular workbook. There are also a few “spelling notebook” pages at the back of the book. Here, students can list the words they struggled with in each lesson. They will reference these “trouble words” for the review lessons.
The Workbook Daily Lessons
How many list words do students cover each week?
- Workbook A: 6-8 words
- Workbook B: 10 words (except for lesson #35, which has 15)
- Workbook C: 15 or 20 words
- Workbook D-H: 20 words
In each workbook (except the last two), the lesson begins with a reading selection. This includes some of the spelling words for that week. Older students can read these (fairly short) paragraphs independently. A variety of interesting subjects are covered, such as plants, animals, hobbies, musical instruments, historical events, and extracurricular activities.
The second page of the lesson introduces the spelling “tip.” The student applies this rule or pattern as he works through the exercises on pages two through four. There is only a brief explanation of the tip, so it’s important to review it throughout the week.
My kids typically enjoy the exercises. They include riddles, word searches, scrambled words, crossword puzzles, word classification, fill-in-the-blank, and identifying synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and rhyming words. There are also writing prompts and proofreading exercises.
The Workbook Review Lessons
There are review lessons after every five weekly lessons. These focus on the list words that are frequently misspelled. The spelling tips are also reviewed again, from each of the five lessons.
Each review includes an exercise with a standard-test format (fill in the circle next to the misspelled word). This can be helpful for children who will be taking standardized tests.
There are no pretests for the review lessons, but there are post-tests. These post-tests can be challenging. The review lesson post-tests in Book D (and later) each cover fifty words.
The Teacher’s Edition (Manual)
Each week’s lesson can be completed using either a three-day plan or a five-day plan. Details for this are provided in the Teacher’s Edition.
The teacher’s manual also includes a picture of each student page, with the answers filled in. There are teaching notes for the exercises and suggestions for extending the lessons. Dictation sentences are provided for the pretests and post-tests. So you don’t have to come up with these on your own. This is helpful as the words get more challenging.
The Teacher’s Edition also includes extra review exercises, which are not provided in the student workbook. You would need to make copies of these pages if you plan to reuse the teacher’s manual. These review exercises are supplemental and not necessary for completing the curriculum.
In the appendix, you can find a list of definitions and rules that relate to the spelling tips. This is helpful, for example, if you can’t remember the definition of a vowel digraph or how to explain the schwa sound. (Information that’s not on the tip of my tongue. Pun intended.)
Spelling enrichment activities can be found in the back of the book too. These can be applied to any of the lessons and may be good for kinesthetic learners. This spelling curriculum also offers suggestions for meeting the needs of ESL students.
Is the Spelling Workout Teacher’s Manual Needed?
In my opinion, the teacher’s manual (“Teacher’s Edition”) isn’t necessary for the early grades. I started using it with Workbook “C” (in Grade 3). Initially, I mostly referenced it for the pretest and post-test dictation sentences. It’s nice to have those provided for the spelling tests. I used the teacher’s manuals more as we progressed through the workbooks, and the spelling exercises got more difficult. If you have a struggling speller, consider purchasing the teacher’s manual from the get-go. You may find the teaching notes and supplemental suggestions particularly helpful.
Suggested Weekly Schedule (five-day plan)
Monday
- Read the passage that introduces the spelling words.
- Take the pretest.
Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday
- Complete one page of exercises each day.
Friday
- Review the lesson.
- Take the post-test.
How Much Time is Needed Daily (five-day plan)?
- Grade 1 (Workbook A): approximately 10-15 minutes
- Grade 4 (Workbook D): approximately 15-20 minutes
- Grade 6+ (Workbook F): approximately 25-30 minutes
Extra Supplies Needed for This Spelling Curriculum
Besides the Student Edition and Teacher’s Edition, you only need paper for the spelling tests. Then, you’re good to go!
We use this handwriting paper with age-appropriate spacing to encourage good penmanship for spelling tests:
- Grade K handwriting paper (¾ inch wide spacing)
- Grade 1 handwriting paper (⅝ inch spacing)
- Grade 2 handwriting paper (½ inch spacing)
- Grade 3 and 4 handwriting paper (⅜ inch spacing)
These packs of paper (500 sheets) are more than enough for spelling tests, grammar exercises, and letters to Grandma. We use this paper because it is consistent with our Zaner-Bloser handwriting curriculum.
Is This a Good Spelling Curriculum for Independent Work?
By fourth grade, your student might complete many of their spelling exercises independently. You will need to provide more help and oversight for younger students. Regardless of their age, try to spend a few minutes each day reviewing the spelling tip. As your kids make spelling mistakes, apply the spelling rules or patterns.
With Books C through H, my husband prerecords the pretests and post-tests on Zoom (more on that below!) On Mondays and Fridays, I simply open the recorded video on a laptop. (We keep a laptop in our living room, where I can easily supervise.) Then my student completes the tests on her own (yay!).
Can My Child Start Workbook “A” in Kindergarten?
I recommend waiting until first grade to start Workbook “A” – even though your student might work through it quickly. My youngest is a fast learner. But in kindergarten, she wouldn’t have been ready to spell words like “wanted,” “singing,” or “drink.” She was still learning phonics. Additionally, she was still learning the mechanics of penmanship. I didn’t want to set her up for frustration.
When we started Workbook “A” in first grade, my daughter was doing a little reading and a little writing. The spelling exercises were good reinforcement for the phonics program we were using (although different publishers). It was perfect timing. My daughter felt a sense of accomplishment with this curriculum because she was familiar with the concepts being taught. I was glad we hadn’t rushed into a spelling curriculum before learning a year of basic phonics (plus penmanship).
Your student may speed through the first workbook. You can then decide to move on to the next one, or use the extra time for something else. As the workbooks progress, the exercises do take longer. After the first few workbooks, we generally need a full school year to complete each one. But this curriculum isn’t too difficult to get through. It isn’t too little, or too much.
Where Should I Start This Spelling Curriculum With an Older Student?
I have one child who started homeschooling at the beginning of second grade. I wasn’t sure which workbook to start with in this series. If you have the same question, consider looking through some of the workbooks. You can select a Spelling Workout level and then view lesson pages here (at Christianbook.com).
Ask yourself these questions as you consider a particular workbook level:
- Is your student familiar with most of the spelling words? The spelling lists should be familiar vocabulary. My daughter occasionally asks me what a list word means. But for the most part, she’s previously heard or used the words that are in her spelling lists.
- Are the reading passages (on page one of each lesson) at your student’s grade level? With younger students, you may want to read this to them. But they should be able to read the list words (in bold print) without too much difficulty. With older students, they should be capable of reading the passages themselves.
- Would the exercises be challenging, but doable? Could your child understand the spelling rule and how it applies to the words in the spelling list? Your student should be able to complete the exercises without too much frustration.
Still Not Sure Where to Start in the Spelling Workout Series?
If you’re struggling to decide between two levels, consider starting with the easier workbook. Working through it more quickly will give your child a sense of accomplishment. That’s better than causing frustration with material that’s too advanced.
There are some challenges that come with starting a new curriculum at an unexpected time. Remember that homeschooling offers flexibility. That’s one of the many benefits. Give yourself and your student grace as you figure out where to start, or when to make adjustments. If your child was in a traditional classroom setting, he would likely be pushed along. There wouldn’t be an opportunity to stop and evaluate a curriculum that isn’t working. It’s a blessing to have the opportunity to do this for our kids!
Side Notes About This Curriculum
Encourage Application of the Spelling “Tip”
There isn’t a lot of teaching instruction provided with this spelling curriculum. As mentioned previously, it’s best to help your student apply the tip as he works through the assignments. I review the spelling pattern or rule throughout the week, particularly as it applies to mistakes being made. Before my student takes the post-test, we review the spelling tip again. Then I ask my child to explain how they would apply it to a spelling word.
It’s easy to let your student work independently with this curriculum. But the tip can be studied on Monday and then quickly forgotten. Your child will learn more if you help them think through the spelling rule. They need to apply it to the exercises they’re working on. Occasionally, my kids and I even rehearse the spelling rule later in the day, when we see a word to which it applies. Without this reinforcement, the lessons can become busywork.
Do What’s Needed
Some of the suggestions in the Teacher’s Edition go beyond what is necessary for a spelling curriculum. You should feel free to skip those. For example, you don’t need to read chapters from a Frog and Toad book before your student learns to spell “toad.”
Keep in mind that this curriculum is written for a classroom setting. As a homeschool family, you will occasionally see discrepancies. You won’t need to “strengthen the school-home connection” with the “take it home” papers. These suggestions are easy to ignore, and they do not complicate the teaching process.
Also, some exercises instruct students to fill in the circle next to a misspelled word. However, it can be challenging for children to know what the word is supposed to be when it is misspelled. This can cause confusion when a student is trying to learn the correct spelling. This particular exercise may be frustrating for some students. You might need to provide extra guidance by reading the words aloud. Do what works.
Plan for Cursive Font in Spelling Workout
My girls were excited to see cursive in their spelling workbooks. This starts partway through Workbook “B,” when the list words are printed in both manuscript and cursive. If you’re using Zaner-Bloser font for your handwriting curriculum, you’ll especially appreciate that it’s been integrated into the spelling lessons.
Be aware that workbooks B and C have the list words printed in both cursive and manuscript. But Workbook “D” and later only have the list words in cursive. When my child left public school, she hadn’t been introduced to cursive. We had been practicing it for about a month when she started Workout D. That worked out just fine, but I was glad she had started cursive in her handwriting book. (It didn’t take long to learn it with our Zaner-Bloser handwriting curriculum. My daughter loves that she can write in cursive!)
Give Dads (or Others) an Opportunity To Be Awesome!
For many years, my husband has consistently helped with spelling (yay!). He prerecords both the pretest and post-test. Over the years, we’ve progressed from recording them on audio cassette tape (yep!) to recording them as videos on Zoom. He saves the recordings to a flash drive. Then, on Mondays and Fridays, I simply open the video file and get my kiddo started on her test. That frees me up for fifteen minutes or more. This was a huge help when homeschooling three kids, which can be logistically challenging.
My younger kids think it’s cool that they get to use a laptop! They also love it when Dad uses their spelling words in sentences about them. And occasionally, the kids get to make a guest appearance in the videos. (What kid doesn’t love seeing themselves on video!?)
Consider Looking Ahead to the Next Step
The last two workbooks in this curriculum (F and G) introduce etymology – the origin and history of words. So it was a seamless transition from the Spelling Workout curriculum to the Vocabulary from Classic Roots curriculum.
As workbook curricula, their structure is similar, with one lesson per week. Also, the exercises from each curriculum can be completed in about the same amount of time (30 minutes). So I replaced our scheduled Spelling Workout time with Vocabulary from Classic Roots. Again – it was very doable! I really appreciated this vocabulary study and learned a lot from it myself!
Spelling Workout Works!
Of all the curricula I’ve used, this has been one of the easiest to implement! Unless you’re prerecording the spelling tests, this curriculum is truly “open and go.” It’s about as easy as it gets. There is a sense of accomplishment for kids (and parents, too!) as workbooks are completed. This spelling curriculum doesn’t have many bells and whistles, but when used effectively, it gets the job done. We appreciate that in our homeschool day!
Find more of my curriculum reviews here: Elementary Homeschool Curriculum Reviews.
