I would like my school to implement Guided Spelling, and I would like to be able to implement it with fidelity. How should Guided Spelling be implemented? What level education does the teacher need? How often should Guided Spelling be taught? For how long each Guided Spelling session? What else should I take into consideration when implementing Guided Spelling?
Thank you.
Hi, if your school has recently purchased Guided Spelling and would like to view an introductory on-line course that includes sessions about the components of the program, program goals, and teaching tips please contact:
Thuy Do via email at Thuy_Do@devstu.org or call her at 1-800-666-7270 ext. 283.
In addition, the answers to your questions follow:
Q: How should Guided Spelling be implemented?
A: Guided Spelling is a whole-class spelling program for grades 1-5. It is written to be taught whole-group, but can be used with small groups if needed.
Q: What level education does the teacher need?
A: Any classroom teacher can teach Guided Spelling regardless of his or her years of experience or level of education.
Q: How often should Guided Spelling be taught?
A: Guided Spelling is a 30 week program that is taught 5 days a week.
Q: For how long each Guided Spelling session?
A: In Grade 1, the Guided Spelling lessons take an average of 20 minutes, in Grades 2-6 the lessons take an average of 15 minutes.
Q: What else should I take into consideration when implementing Guided Spelling?
A: When teaching this program it's important to remember that it is a strategy based program rather than memory based. The words being taught are introduced because they are familiar to the students and they are words that the student use frequently in their reading and writing. The goal is that they use the spelling strategies they learn with the familiar words and apply those strategies to unfamiliar words they use when writing independently.
Establishing the routines presented in the first few weeks of the program is very important. These routines lay the ground work for the entire year of instruction.
It is also important that the program be taught in the order it is written. It may be tempting to skip around or ahead, but because of the introduction of routines and concepts the program should be taught in order.
I hope these answers help you and your teachers with the implementation of Guided Spelling. Please feel free to contact us if you have further questions.
