Spelling by Sound and Structure series

The upper grade levels incorporate substantial knowledge content through etymology and historical language study.

Grade 7-8 includes 'Old English Dialects,' 'First Bible Accounts in English,' 'Old English Place Names,' Latin and Greek roots, and words from other languages, providing rich domain knowledge

The curriculum supports direct instruction with teacher editions providing explicit guidance.

Teacher editions offer 'teaching suggestions,' 'teaching tips,' and 'sentences you might use for giving spelling tests,' supporting explicit instruction approaches

The curriculum demonstrates strong systematic phonics instruction, especially in early grades.

Early grades have 'strong phonetic emphasis,' words are 'grouped by phonetic or structural similarities so children can learn the pertinent rules,' and lessons teach 'speech sounds and the most common spellings'

Vocabulary development is integrated throughout with explicit attention to word meanings and structure.

Lessons work on 'synonyms, antonyms, definitions, picture clues, context clues,' help 'familiarize children with word meanings,' and include dictionary skills instruction across all grade levels

Writing instruction appears minimal, with focus primarily on spelling rather than composition.

Review mentions only 'fill-in-the-blank approach' and suggests students might do 'written work in a separate notebook,' with no mention of structured writing instruction

Word difficulty appears appropriate for grade levels, though this is a spelling-focused rather than reading program.

Review notes 'level of difficulty of the spelling words is about average' and upper grades include 'challenging' content with Latin word elements

Teacher support materials are provided but appear basic compared to comprehensive professional development.

Teacher editions include 'teaching tips,' 'answer keys,' and 'additional teaching suggestions,' but no mention of extensive professional development or training materials

The program includes regular review but limited evidence of systematic retrieval practice.

Review mentions 'review lessons' included in the 34-week structure and 'drill' activities, but no specific mention of spaced review or retrieval practice techniques

This is primarily a spelling-focused curriculum that uses word lists and exercises rather than whole texts.

Review describes workbook pages with fill-in-the-blank approach, word lists grouped by phonetic patterns, and spelling exercises focused on individual words rather than connected text