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Home Placement and Overview American Spirit

American Spirit

American Spirit continues to guide students through the Skill Development Stage. Students will read about various people and events from American history, with a gradually increasing reading level. At the same time, the emphasis on the mastery of everyday words continues, building a strong foundation for the next stage of spelling.

This level:

  • Features nonfiction stories about people and events from American history
  • Involves the three core activities for Spelling You See:
    • chunking – provides hands-on experience with English’s many irregular letter patterns
    • copywork – requires the brain to pay attention to details in print
    • dictation – gives the student the opportunity to recall the proper letter patterns from memory
  • Gradually increases in reading level, providing opportunities for vocabulary development and allowing students to learn how to spell words in an interesting context
Read more about the Skill Development Stage Buy Now

American Spirit uses Spelling You See’s core activities of marking various letter patterns, copywork, and writing the passages from dictation. Students will read about various people and events from American history. This level is for a student who spells many common words confidently, with an emphasis on the mastery of everyday words and experience with English’s many irregular letter patterns. Remember, the reading passages should be very easy for your student. That is intentional, to allow them to focus on spelling.

 

Placement Guidelines

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Scope and Sequence

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Read the passage below to your student, asking them to follow along.

As a young man, Johnny Appleseed learned how to grow apple trees. When settlers moved into Ohio and Indiana, he planted orchards for them. He also planted orchards of his own and sold trees. Johnny lived simply. He had no house. He walked from place to place. His clothes were ragged. He is remembered for helping many needy people.


Ask
your student to read the passage aloud by themselves.

Dictate the following list of words, one at a time, to your student, asking them to write the words on a piece of paper.

young, learned, apple, settlers, planted, simply, house, walked, clothes, people

If you answer “Yes” to these three questions, your student is ready to begin American Spirit.

  • Can my student write for 10 minutes at a time?
  • Was my student able to read the paragraph aloud without sounding words out or pausing? Note that the paragraph is written at the minimum reading level for American Spirit.
  • Was my student able to spell correctly eight of the ten listed words?

If you answer “No” to any of the questions above, try the readiness guidelines for the previous level, Americana.

Note: A student who struggles with spelling should not be placed higher than American Spirit, regardless of their level of reading proficiency.

  • Lessons 1 and 2: Vowel Chunks
  • Lessons 3 and 4: Consonant Chunks
  • Lessons 5 and 6: Vowel and Consonant Chunks
  • Lessons 7 and 8: Bossy r Chunks
  • Lessons 9 and 10: Vowel, Consonant, and Bossy r Chunks
  • Lessons 11 and 12: Tricky y Guy, Endings, Silent Letters
  • Lesson 13–18: All Letter Patterns
  • Lessons 19-24: Various Combinations
  • Lessons 25-36: All Letter Patterns

Download the Full Lesson Focus PDF

Car

Sample Lesson

Download A Sample Lesson PDF

Parts A-C

  • Read the Passage Together
  • Mark Letter Patterns (Chunking)
  • Student Copies Passage for 10 Minutes and Chunks Their Work

Part D-E

  • Read the Passage Together
  • Mark Letter Patterns (Chunking)
  • 10 Minute Dictation

Sample Lesson

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A Typical Week

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American Spirit
Universal Set

This set includes everything you need:

  • Instructor’s Handbook – Includes an introduction to the philosophy to Spelling You See, the “Getting Started” guide with an overview of the 36 lessons, and helpful information and resources
  • Student Pack – Includes two student workbooks and erasable colored pencils

Purchase the Universal Set

American Spirit
Instructor’s Handbook

  • Includes an introduction to the philosophy to Spelling You See, the “Getting Started” guide with an overview of the 36 lessons, and helpful information and resources.

Purchase the Instructor’s Handbook

American Spirit
Student Pack

  • Includes two student workbooks (workbooks are broken into part one and part 2) and erasable colored pencils.*Student Packs are great for an additional student, teaching multiple students on the same level, students in a class or co-op setting.  Instruction materials not included and are necessary for use of this program.

Purchase the Student Pack

Already purchased American Spirit?
Click below to watch helpful videos from Dr. Karen Holinga and view additional resources.

View online resources
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