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Home Placement and Overview Americana

Americana

Americana continues the Skill Development Stage. Students will read nonfiction stories about American history and culture. The reading level gradually increases, providing opportunities for vocabulary development and allowing students to learn how to spell words in an interesting context.

This level:

  • Features nonfiction stories about American history and culture
  • Involves the three core activities for Spelling You See:
    • chunking – provides hands-on experience with the many irregular letter patterns in English
    • 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

Americana provides opportunities for students to study words in the context of factual passages about events and people in American history. Students mark various letter patterns, copy passages, and practice writing the passages from dictation. This level is for a proficient reader with gradually improving spelling skills.

 

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.

Seahorses are fish, but they are not like other fish. Seahorses swim upright. They have a curved neck. They do not have scales. Their fins are very small, so they swim poorly. A seahorse uses its tail to hold onto sea grasses. A group of seahorses is called a herd — just like a herd of horses!


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.

fish, like, other, swim, neck, small, tail, group, herd, horses

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

  • Can my student write two or three sentences 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 Americana.
  •  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, Wild Tales.

Note: Americana may be appropriate for an older student who reads well at this level but whose spelling skills are not equivalent. Contact a Placement Specialist to discuss the best fit for your student.

  • Lessons 1 and 2: Vowel Chunks
  • Lessons 3 and 4: Consonant Chunks
  • Lesson 5: Bossy r Chunks
  • Lesson 6: Tricky y Guy
  • Lesson 7: Silent Letters
  • Lessons 8 and 9: Vowel Chunks
  • Lessons 10-18: Various Combinations
  • Lesson 19: Vowel Chunks
  • Lesson 20: Consonant Chunks
  • Lesson 21: Vowel and Consonant Chunks
  • Lesson 22: Bossy r Chunks
  • Lessons 23-30: Various Combinations
  • Lessons 31–36: All Letter Patterns

Download the Full Lesson Focus PDF

 

AM

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 (Chunk)
  • 10 Minutes of Dictation

Sample Lesson

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A Typical Week

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Americana
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

Americana
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 Handbook

Americana
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 Americana?
Click below to watch helpful videos from Dr. Karen Holinga and view additional resources.

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