AVKO's Individualized Spelling & SpellingCity:
A Free Diagnostic Spelling Resource

AVKO Curriculum for: Reading | Spelling | Typing & Handwriting | Reference Materials

Recommended Non-AVKO Materials: Math & Science | Children's Literature & Grammar

See also: AVKO Curriculum Planning

AVKO and SpellingCity.com have teamed up to provide AVKO's members with an amazing new resource for teaching spelling in an efficient, fun, and multi-media way.  AVKO's Individualized Spelling is a book of pre-tests that allow you to create a completely customized spelling curriculum for your student, saving time and energy while learning only those word families he does not already know.  These spelling lists can be used by themselves as incrementally more difficult spelling lists, or they can be used in the way described below.  This method of teaching spelling is especially helpful to adults looking to improve their spelling, those looking to enter or re-enter the workforce, or those looking to begin or restart their college education.  This method will allow learners to teach themselves as well, without the need of a tutor, which can otherwise be frustrating and embarrassing. 

For Whom Is AVKO's Individualized Spelling on SpellingCity.com Not Appropriate?

• Children and adults who need to increase their spelling ability drastically.
• Those with learning disabilities or those who need individual (one on one) or supervised instruction.
• Those students whose teachers need the convenience of a pre-packaged program. 

If you fit into any of these above categories, use Sequential Spelling.

Directions for Creating Individualized Lists Using Our Free Resources & AVKO Membership:

Use AVKO's The Patterns of English Spelling (make the spelling lists from the information gained by these diagnostic tests.  Become an AVKO member to access this essential reference tool for free as a downloadable e-book.

1. Go to AVKO's Individualized Spelling spelling lists on SpellingCity.com
2. Take one of the Quick Survey Test forms to determine at which level your student should start in Individualized Spelling. 
   1. The first word that was missed will determine the level at which your student will start.  1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, 4 = D, 5 = E, 6 = F, 7 = G, 8 = H, 9 = I.
   2. If your student misses the first word, he should use AVKO's Sequential Spelling 1.
3. Administer the tests in that level through the end of the book, noting which words are missed. 
   1. Administer as many tests as desired / as tolerated by the student. 
   2. Continue until all tests from that point onward are administered (not all tests need be administered immediately -- 3-4 missed words can generate 3-4 days' worth of spelling tests, depending on the number of examples of a word family the student needs and if they need additional practice with the endings of words (-s, -ing, -ed, etc.)
4. Create the Sequential Spelling-like tests with the help of The Patterns of English Spelling (free as an e-book with membership)
   1. Use our article on creating your own Sequential Spelling tests for more information on how to go about designing the lists.
   2. See also our article on customizing your spelling program for more ideas and information regarding how to set up your lessons.
   3. See also The Reading Teacher's List of Over 5,500 Basic Spelling Words (free as an e-book with membership) for more information on the words that are essential to English fluency.
5. Administer your newly-designed, completely customized spelling curriculum
   1. You may wish to upload your newly-customized lists into SpellingCity.com to take advantage of its pre-recorded word pronunciations, contextual sentences, automatically-generated word games and worksheets based on the word lists, and other multimedia features. 
   2. You may wish to administer these lists to your students yourself.  In that case, a Student Response Book is recommended.

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