![]() The authors of The Well-Trained Mind also believe that reading and spelling should not be taught together. Like us, they believe that “ you should always spend as much time on one level as you need and progress to the next level only when your child has mastered the first level, whether that comes before or after the ‘normal’ age.“ Most of the curricula they recommend aren’t divided into grade levels. The Well-Trained Mind shares some general thoughts about what makes a reading or spelling program “fit” the classical approach. In the newly revised fourth edition of The Well-Trained Mind, they recommend both All About Reading and All About Spelling to their readers. Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer, co-authors of The Well-Trained Mind, are well-respected authorities on the classical approach. With this self-guided process, students take what they’ve learned into the rhetoric stage. Dictation and word analysis activities encourage students to apply what they are learning and help move information into long-term memory.Īt the end of Level 7, students develop their own plan for a lifetime of spelling success. In a precise step-by-step manner, instruction continues through the dialectic stage. By the end of the program (Level 7), students are able to spell at the high school level.Īll About Spelling begins in the grammar stage after students are able to read at a basic level. Phonograms are introduced as the most basic unit, and instruction gradually builds to the more complex system that makes up English spelling. Now let’s look at how All About Spelling fits into the classical model.Īll About Spelling also takes the parts-to-whole approach. Levels 3 and 4, in particular, give kids the opportunity to reason and analyze through comprehension activities.Īfter completing Level 4, students have the technical skills to read just about anything that is within their vocabulary and comprehension level. The program isn’t “dumbed down,” and students can progress at a level that is comfortable for them. The program uses direct instruction, so your child is told exactly what he needs to know, with no fluff and no guessing.Īll About Reading is also useful in the dialectic stage for kids who previously struggled with reading and need remedial help. This is the stage where kids “learn to read,” so later they can “read to learn.” This systematic phonics program takes a “parts-to-whole” approach-children learn the parts of words (phonograms and affixes) and how those parts work together to make words. So the next question is this: How Do AAR and AAS Fit into the Classical Approach? First let’s take a look at All About Reading.Īll About Reading fits perfectly into the grammar stage (approximately K-4th grade). ![]() And finally, during the rhetoric stage, kids focus on applying what they know through communication and expression.At this stage, kids focus on developing a logical understanding of the “why” behind what they know. ![]() Next comes the dialectic (or logic) stage.During this stage, kids focus on absorbing the facts and rules-the “who,” the “what,” and the “where.” The grammar stage begins by laying a foundation.What Is the Classical Approach?Ĭlassical education encourages learning in three stages known as the trivium. No matter where you are on your classical homeschool journey, you don’t have to wonder about how to teach reading and spelling, because I’ve got some great news for you.Ĭlassical homeschoolers LOVE All About Reading and All About Spelling! I can’t wait to share what we’ve heard from some of our classical friends, but first let’s take a quick look at an important question. Are you part of a Classical Conversations community, or do you follow the classical model as outlined in The Well-Trained Mind?ĭo you have a child enrolled in a classical school or co-op? Or maybe you’re just beginning to explore the idea of using the classical approach in your homeschool.
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