Stetson Spelling Program

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The Stetson Spelling Program (SSP) includes the 3,000 words considered to be the most important for both children and adults because, according to extensive research, they represent approximately 97% of the words written most often by children and adults in their daily writing. The second edition is much more user friendly for teachers and parents because the entire program, including the instructor¹s manual, word lists, screening tests, and forms are contained in a single volume rather than four separate volumes as it was in the first edition. Permission to duplicate and make transparencies of the word lists and forms is included with the purchase of the program. Unique features of the SSP include:

• 3,000 words in 30 units, each unit containing 10 lessons of 10 words each
• 20-word screening tests for each unit
• Four teaching strategies proven successful for both visual and auditory spellers
• Duplicable forms
• Detailed instructor¹s manual

The primary objective of spelling instruction should be to helping students spell correctly those words they already understand and/or use in speaking, listening and writing, but have difficulty spelling correctly. Therefore, many of the exercises found in traditional spelling programs are avoided, such as: looking up definitions; writing words repetitively without feedback or intervention; learning phonic rules that apply to reading but not spelling; filling in the blank or sentence completion activities; and other exercises that are questioned by many spelling experts. The four strategies of the SSP focus specifically on methods used by effective spellers:

• Pretesting before instruction to include immediate feedback and self correction
• Focusing only on words missed on pretests and reteaching words until they are learned
• Improvement of the visual memory for letter clusters and whole words
• Practicing spelling words using manuscript rather than cursive letters
• Development of mnemonics and other tricks to remember irregular spellings

Research on several thousand students who were first taught through traditional spelling textbooks and then switched to the SSP for eight weeks to six months showed average increases of 91% on weekly test scores, 42% on tests of long term memory for spelling, and 56% on standardize tests of written spelling. In addition to the positive quantitative impact on spelling achievement, teachers and students alike reported much greater enthusiasm for and attitude toward spelling instruction. Also, parents reported they found much more positive results when they replaced the typical homework of writing of words three or five times with the self-corrected test strategy outlined in the Letter To Parents that is included in the program.

The detailed instructor¹s manual contains an extensive review of the research on effective spelling instruction, directions for administering and managing the four strategies of the SSP, guidelines for using the program for whole-class instruction as well as peer teaching. Although most teachers begin the program using whole class instruction, they often find this method to be somewhat frustrating because the wide differences in spelling ability is about as wide as the differences in reading ability. Peer teaching allows two students of the same spelling ability to work together. Because the strategies are the same for all, student groups can work at different levels in the program and work at different paces as well. The instructor¹s manual provide detailed guidelines for managing peer teaching in a way that all students can be studying spelling at the same time, but working with words that are most appropriate to their ability levels.

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