What is ReadSpell?

ReadSpell is a literacy program designed to teach reading and writing as efficiently as possible, without overwhelming either the teacher or student, while representing the facts of the English spelling system as accurately as possible. 

Who is ReadSpell for?

ReadSpell is for students who are not yet reading and spelling at grade level. It provides learning materials and trained teachers who center joy and curiosity while achieving robust literacy outcomes, even and especially for students who have lost confidence in themselves as learners.

ReadSpell is for teachers who want to teach these students. It offers structured materials and training that enable teachers to teach their students effectively, with the right information in the right doses at the right times, without overwhelm, and with full recognition of the demands of the rest of their work. 

ReadSpell is for schools that are committed to ensuring that every student who graduates reads and spells at grade level, and that difficulties in reading and spelling do not compromise his/her confidence, self-esteem, or ability to achieve their full potential in academic, social, emotional and extra-curricular life. 

ReadSpell is for parents or volunteers who would like to teach a child one-to-one to read and spell. It offers structured, step-by-step guidance and helps you succeed even if you have limited background knowledge in teaching or language.  Parents and volunteers are also called as 'teachers' in the program for simplicity. 

Core Components

ReadSpell consists of two components that function together: 

1. Resource Bank (this website): A structured collection of lesson outlines, word lists, open-source text recommendations, worksheets and assessments that can be used directly with students. 

2. Teacher Training (live sessions on Zoom): Training sessions that enable teachers to use the resources correctly and efficiently while honouring the context, constraints and current abilities of their students. 

Each resource included in ReadSpell has been used repeatedly with students, refined over several years and shared only after I was confident that it reliably supports learning. 

Theoretical Foundations and Instructional Approach

ReadSpell is not a phonics program, although it uses a small number of open-source, phonics-aligned resources where appropriate. Unlike typical phonics programs, all ReadSpell materials endeavour to represent the English spelling system as accurately as possible. 

ReadSpell draws heavily from orthographic linguistics, the branch of linguistics that studies writing systems. ReadSpell explicitly teaches the features of the English writing system in ways that support both reading and spelling simultaneously, thereby eliminating the need for a separate spelling program. 

As a result, ReadSpell supports students whose progress has plateaued under phonics programs, and prevents another common outcome of phonics approaches: students who can read up to a certain reading level but cannot write with accuracy or confidence. ReadSpell does not treat writing or spelling as unattainable for any group of learners. 

ReadSpell recognizes that learning to read and write presents different challenges at different stages for different students and teachers. It anticipates brick walls that are inherently part of the teaching-learning process and accounts for them when necessary. 

It does not offer a one-size-fits-all progression and disengage when students struggle. Instead, it honours differences in prior knowledge and ability and supports teachings in being flexible and responsive. The structure allows students to continue progressing while also providing the space and time needed to practise what they have not mastered yet from earlier stages. 

ReadSpell encourages teachers to keep asking: 'Where is the point of struggle, and how can it be resolved?' Perseverance is not optional in ReadSpell; it is built into the program's structure. 

Time, Efficiency, and Flexibility 

Short, frequent lessons are more effective than longer, infrequent ones. Much like physical exercise, consistency matters more than intensity. As a guideline, 30 minutes a day, at least 3 times a week is good; 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week is excellent. 

Flexible lesson structures are available based on teacher experience and preference. 

All correction/grading (except progress-monitoring assessments) are required be completed during class or immediately after class as much as possible. The success of the next lesson depends heavily the teacher's understanding of how well the students understood the current lesson. Immediate feedback is a critical and non-negotiable requirement for ReadSpell. 

School leaders are strongly encouraged to factor-in a minimum of 15-20 minutes of planning and correction time after each lesson. Failing to do so will almost certainly compromise the success of the program. 

ReadSpell recognises a difficult dichotomy struggling students and their teachers face: there is never enough time and teaching-learning moments are often fragmented and hard-won, yet the very thing students need most to catch up with their peers is time. ReadSpell addresses this tension by both 

• making every minute count by ensuring every lesson, task and activity is laser-focused on literacy and

• ensuring that the students are never hurried and are given sufficient time and space for practice, questions, curiosity and consolidation.

Age, Context, and Group Size

ReadSpell is not restricted to any grade level. It can be used with children and adolescents irrespective of their proficiency in spoken English. It is designed with flexibility at its core, allowing the pace of instruction, the amount of content covered in a lesson, the number of practice opportunities required at each stage, and the type and degree of emotional and other support required to vary significantly depending on the learner's age and context.

ReadSpell can be implemented in one-to-one settings, small-group settings, or whole-group settings, depending upon the resources available. With smaller groups it is easier to provide more guided practice opportunities for each student and track individual questions, confusions, and progress. Smaller groups also do not demand exceptional classroom management or organizational skills from the teacher. However, because one-to-one and small-group instruction are privileges not available to all schools, ReadSpell is designed flexibly to work for group sizes ranging from 1 to a reasonable number of 25-30 students. 

Expected Outcomes and Scope 

By the end of of ReadSpell, students can be expected to read and spell at a minimum of approximately grade 4 level. Many students progress much further.

Students with severe disabilities or persistent difficulties may require additional time and specialized support. ReadSpell includes a substantial number of troubleshooting resources to address such situations. In addition, schools may choose to support these students by arranging one-to-one instruction with me or another qualified specialist, or by extending teacher training through additional, more intensive consultation, during which I work with the teacher to address the students' specific needs.   

ReadSpell is not a complete language or literature curriculum. It is intentionally narrowly focused on literacy. Additional teaching and learning using textbooks and other resources will be required in accordance with the school board or educational framework with which you are affiliated. 

Teacher Training and Ongoing Support 

Depending on a teacher's prior knowledge and experience with literacy instruction, an initial 4-10 hours of training is recommended before beginning ReadSpell. This is followed by weekly troubleshooting calls for the first three months, with support tapering gradually thereafter. 

Training covers, among other things: 

1. Foundational knowledge about the English spelling system 

2. The purpose behind every stage, level, lesson, text, practice material and worksheet

3. The logic of the instructional sequence, and when it can be adapted

4. Lesson structure, tracking, and organizational systems 

5. Pedagogy, pacing, feedback and error correction 

6. Do's and Don't's, including identifying and correcting harmful literacy practices 

7. Progress monitoring including pre- and post- assessments

8. Troubleshooting brick-walls, failures, and struggles

This support is essential. Teaching literacy is demanding work, and structured guidance helps prevent and remove obstacles, particularly during the first one or two implementation cycles. After this, teachers are typically able to work independently. 

All teacher training sessions are conducted live rather than recorded. This allows the training to remain current as I continue to learn from my practice, and ensures that sessions are responsive to teachers' questions, difficulties, confusions and curiosities as they arise. 

The Role of the Teacher 

ReadSpell is designed for teachers with limited prior knowledge of literacy instruction and therefore keeps its curriculum, pedagogy, assessments, and expectations as simple as possible, without compromising on linguistic accuracy. 

However, the success of ReadSpell depends entirely on the teacher who uses it. Unless the teacher is diligent, systematic, intelligent, reflective and fully present, ReadSpell, like any other program/curriculum, however well-designed, will fail. 

I believe that teachers, not isolated programs and curricula, hold the key to ensuring the last child in every classroom learns to read and write. Hence, ReadSpell endeavours to not only improve student literacy outcomes, but also build teacher knowledge, confidence and capacity. Centering teachers in this way is one of the primary reasons ReadSpell is able to achieve strong and lasting literacy outcomes.