Spelling Wisdom Book 1

Product Description

Teach spelling with some of the greatest minds in history!

Learn today’s 6,000 most frequently used words presented in the writings of great men and women of history! Now you can have the confidence that you’re teaching the words your student needs to know, using the Charlotte Mason method of prepared dictation.

• Easy — Teaches spelling and punctuation in just a few minutes each week. (See our simple how to use Spelling Wisdom instructions.)
• Thorough — The Spelling Wisdom series incorporates more than 12,500 words, including the 6,000 most frequently used words in the English language.
• Effective — Uses the tried-and-true method of prepared dictation, which Charlotte Mason endorsed.
• Interesting and inspiring — Presents beautiful and fascinating ideas from great men and women of history that encourage and motivate children as they learn to spell the words.
• Flexible — Allows you to progress at each student’s pace.
• Saves Time — Can be used for copywork as well.

What Is Prepared Dictation?

Here’s a short video explaining more about prepared dictation and how it works.

A Complete Homeschool Spelling Curriculum

The five Spelling Wisdom books’ exercises become progressively longer and contain more difficult words as you work through the series. Each book contains 140 exercises. If you cover two exercises per week, you should be able to finish a Spelling Wisdom book in a little less than two school years.

Placing Your Child

Charlotte Mason began dictation exercises with students around the third or fourth grade. With that schedule in mind, here is a rough model of which books correspond to which grades:

• Book 1: Grades 3 and 4 (Transcription for lessons 1–70; transition to prepared dictation with Lessons 71–140.)

Grade 3 (Exercises 1–70)—Assign the whole passage to be transcribed. Occasionally ask the student to verbally spell two or three words from the passage from memory.

Grade 4 (Exercises 71–140)—Assign up to the whole passage. Dictate one or two sentences.

• Book 2: Grades 5 and 6

Grade 5 (Exercises 1–70)—Assign up to the whole passage. Dictate two or three sentences.

Grade 6 (Exercises 71–140)—Assign up to the whole passage. Dictate three or four sentences.

• Book 3: Grades 7 and 8

Grade 7 (Exercises 1–70)—Assign the whole passage. Dictate up to one paragraph.

Grade 8 (Exercises 71–140)—Assign the whole passage. Dictate up to one paragraph.

• Book 4: Grades 9 and 10

Grade 9 (Exercises 1–70)—Assign the whole passage. Dictate up to two paragraphs.

Grade 10 (Exercises 71–140)—Assign the whole passage. Dictate up to two paragraphs.

• Book 5: Grades 11 and 12

Grade 11 (Exercises 1–70)—Assign the whole passage. Dictate up to three paragraphs.

Grade 12 (Exercises 71–140)—Assign the whole passage. Dictate up to three paragraphs.

Quality Sources

Compiled from dozens of quality sources, including:

• Excerpts from Literary Classics, such as Aesop’s Fables, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Black Beauty, David Copperfield, The Deerslayer, Freckles, Les Miserables, Little Women, Robinson Crusoe, The Secret Garden, The Story of My Life, and The Wind in the Willows.
• Speeches and quotes of famous men, such as Sir Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Washington.
• Charlotte Mason quotes and excerpts from Ourselves.
• Letters written by famous men, such as Beethoven, Seneca, Mozart, and Abraham Lincoln.
• Poems, written by such poets as Stevenson, Wordsworth, Emerson, Longfellow, and Holmes.
• Scripture passages.
• Excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays, plus several Sonnets.

Subjects Included

Exercises thoughtfully selected to support a generous education and broad curriculum, including:

• History
• Literature
• Math
• Science
• Character Development
• Bible
• Poetry
• Geography
• Shakespeare
• Art
• Music
• Language Arts

Add Using Language Well for more language arts lessons

Pair Using Language Well with Spelling Wisdom to add lessons teaching English usage, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and composition through great literature!