Fellow Educators, there is a saying “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and he can feed himself for a lifetime.”

We believe that the same is true for spelling. A good speller has mastered many words, but a truly good speller has learnt much more than the correct spelling of a specific word list. A good speller knows the spelling rules and knows when to use them. A good speller knows how to spell.

A good speller knows:

• How to use the alphabet

• How to apply the spelling rules

• How to predict spelling rule exceptions

• How to apply this knowledge to spell new words.

Learning how to spell goes hand-in-hand with knowing why the spelling of a specific word follows a certain rule.

A truly good speller knows:

• • Why the plurals for tomatoes and ponchos follow different rules
• • Why some root words double their final consonant when adding a suffix (e.g. forget/forgetting) but why only some suffixes have this effect (forget/forgetful)
• • Why some root words drop their silent ‘e’ when adding a suffix (e.g. hope/hoping) but why only some suffixes have this effect (e.g. hope/hopeful)
• • Why some root words are never effected by the addition of a suffix (sulk/sulking; soak/soaking)
• • Why are there so many rule exceptions (e.g. good spellers know why not to use a rule such as the “i before e except after c” rule to spell vacancies).

We believe that learning to spell should be fun and adhere to the proven learning theory that learners should “see it, hear it and do it!”

Teaching Spelling requires knowledge of the spelling rules. The School Version of Phonics Alive! 3 The Speller includes a 44 page Appendice that explains Spelling as a refresher course to the Teacher/Parent.

Learning is a lifetime matter

We are never too old to learn. Phonics Alive! 3 The Speller is a fun filled interactive computer program that will enhance the spelling skills of any learner, aged between 8 and 108!

Judith Hall
M.A.(Hons), M.Ed.(Hons), B.Ed., Grad.Dip.Ed.Stud.(Spec.Ed.), Dip.Teach.
Author of Phonics Alive! 3 The Speller