From the Back Cover
For all teachers of English/language arts in grades 4 through 12, here is an exciting new multisensory activities program that gives students all of the skills they truly need to learn spelling as well as powerful tools that will help them remember every word they meet!
At the heart of this program is THE POWER SPELLING PLAYBOOK–36 illustrated, reproducible lessons that teach students how to use seven Power Spelling Skills and Memory Tools to organize and learn words and retain spelling for a lifetime. These skills and tools include:
- POWER Clues: creating clues from smaller words (in–it–I–ate), other words forms, and individual letters
- Phonics POWER: learning all the sounds consonants and vowels make alone and together
- POWER Rules: learning spelling rules, from the Compound Word Rule and Prefix Rule to Silent E
- POWER of the Beat: feeling the beat (r–h–y–t–h–m) and syllables (at–ten–dance) in words
- Pronunciation POWER: learning keys for correctly pronouncing words (di–a–mond, li–brar–y)
- POWER of Ancient Roots, Prefixes & Suffixes: seeing how Latin and Greek prefixes, roots, and suffixes work together to build words (astro–naut, pre–cede)
- Visual Word POWER: discovering visual patterns in a palindromes (kayak), reversals, echo words and more
Each of the 36 lessons in the Playbook is so clear and self–explanatory that you can photocopy and distribute it for direct use by your students. A handy Teacher′s Guide gives you insight and stimulating ideas for introducing each lesson to your class, including a Learning Box you can reproduce on the board to emphasize the main points in the lesson.
The lessons are reinforced and enriched by POWER SPELLING GAMES, POWER SPELLING SPECIAL LESSONS, and the POWER SPELLING BOOK OF LISTS. First, you′ll find 36 reproducible games–one for each lesson–with a simple guide to game play. Each game is formatted like a spelling list so that every word can be remembered by using one or more of the Memory Tools learned in the Playbook. Also included are "suggested solutions" for each game.
Next you′ll find four special lessons to add spark to spelling: Do Geese See God? and Other Palindromes, plus Anagrams and Acronyms; Aardvarks, Llamas, and Other Double–Letter Words; a visual grammar lesson; and Discovering What′s Inside the Amazing Dictionary. These are followed by the Book of Lists, a unique collection of over 2,500 example words which is based on the seven Memory Tools and packed with word list that will help students use their hearing, seeing, feeling, and creative memory to detect and understand words.
Better still, POWER SPELLING is completely flexible. It can be used successfully with students of all abilities, individuality, with a tutor, with small groups of students, or with an entire class. Moreover, the 36 lessons with games can serve as a complete, yearlong spelling program in themselves or be used to supplement any spelling curriculum already in place!
About the Author
Linda Skerbec has taught and created dynamic learning materials for over 30 years, as a classroom language arts teacher, a psychologist, tutor, speaker, and consultant. She holds Master’s degree in English Education, Psychology, and Counseling. Her empowering, multisensory books make learning come alive for students, including learning challenged, academically gifted, and "tuned out". Her clarity and use of "memory tools" make learning fun again!
Kris Yenney is a musician, artist, and teacher. She earned her Master’s degree in cello performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and has performed throughout the United States and abroad. Her line drawings of musicians have appeared in magazines and hang in private collections. Kris complements her performing with a studio of private cello students and conducting three youth orchestras.
