My

Spelling
Handbook
For information:
Fred W. Duckworth, Jr.
c/o Trinitytutors.com
1560 East Vernon Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90011-3839

E-mail: admin@trinitytutors.com

Website: www.trinitytutors.com

Copyright © 2008 by Fred Duckworth. All rights reserved. This publication is

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2
 Introduction

Rather than requiring students to memorize a list of 20 words each week (an
activity that ill prepares them for the 250,000 words they must handle to become
competent spellers), TrinityTutors.com offers a more logical approach to spelling
instruction, ensuring that students master the logical, well-structured, alphabetic
code that translates auditory speech into written language.

At TrinityTutors.com, we provide real strategies for encoding words accurately.

Our instruction is methodical, using a five step process that requires students to
attend to phonemes (mouth movements) in order to decipher the phonological
structure of each word while calling to mind the 29 rules and 70 spellings
governing the 44 speech sounds on which the English language is built.

We also teach kids to consider word knowledge, especially the Greek and Latin
roots, prefixes, and suffixes, which has the added bonus of improving vocabulary
knowledge and usage.

Instead of delivering partial, incidental lessons that narrow, rather than broaden,
one’s understanding of English (for example, stopping after having given only part
of a spelling rule and then calling everything else an exception), we will go
beyond the surface to teach the layers underlying this branch of orthography.

3
PRONUNCIATION KEY
ă as in apple
ě as in egg
ĭ as in insect
ŏ as in octopus
ŭ as in umbrella

ā as in day
ē as in bee
ī as in pie
ō as in no
ū as in cute

är as in car
âr as in care
er as in butter
îr as in near
ôr as in core
ûr as in bird

ä as in father
ô as in paw
oi as in coil
ə /uh/ as in about (schwa)

ng sang

ōō boot
ŏŏ book

4
Spelling Rule #1

The letter Q
There are 29 spelling rules EXAMPLES:
(identified by Romalda
Spalding) that provide a logical
framework for the presentation quick
of information we need to know
to become good spellers.
quarter
quiz
We start with the letter Q. quote
Rule: queen
The letter q is always quilt
followed by the letter u and
together they say /kw/.
quart
quake
(The u is not considered a quite
vowel here.)
question

squint
square
squash
ALERT!
squirm
(Note that when you see a
letter or letters enclosed
squeal
between two slash marks / / it squeeze
is an indication that you are to
pronounce the SOUND of the
enclosed letter or letters and
NOT their names.)

5
Monday’s Routine:
Create a list of from 4 to 20 words that illustrate Rule #1, choosing words
appropriate for your learner's level or ability (or use the ones provided).

Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow the
procedure outlined below. Say:

“I’m going to read a list of words and I want you to repeat

each word after me.”

 Have your learner repeat all of the words without allowing him or
her to see the list. Then ask:

“What sound did you hear or feel in all of those words?"

(Wait for a response.) “That’s right. Each word had the /kw/
sound.”

 Now let your child see the list of words and ask:

“Okay then, what letter or letter combination do you see in

all of these words?”

 Make explicitly clear exactly which rule you’re focusing on this

week, and if you use keyword pictures (for example, a picture of a
queen) show it at this time. For example, you might say something
like:

“Yes, this week we’ll be spelling words that contain the

/kw/ sound, spelled: ‘cue-yoo’ as in queen. Our
corresponding rule states that ‘The letter q is always
followed by u, and together they say /kw/.’Now, what sound
are we working on again?”

 Finally, direct your learner to study this week’s spelling rule until he
or she knows it by heart. Then have the pupil spell some randomly
chosen words from the list, and as he or she is doing so, be sure to
reinforce the link between the target sound and its corresponding
letter or letter combination.

“Super! Now I want you to practice verbalizing this

week’s spelling rule until you can say it without any
help. Then I’ll have you use the rule to spell words I
choose randomly from the list.”

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NOTE: The initial spelling activity for each day of the week (with the exception of
Friday) is always followed by a more traditional alternative with which some
instructors may feel more comfortable.

Alternative Activities for Monday:

 Administer a spelling pre-test.

(For your convenience, a spelling pre-test form for up to 14 spelling words

has been provided on the next page. When taking the pretest, students
should only write on the lines appearing on the left-hand side of the page.)

 After completing the pretest, have your learner read the list of spelling words
back to you.

 Note any words that are read with difficulty (students should be able to read
fluently any words that are easy for them to spell mentally) and any
instances in which your child is unable to read his or her own handwriting. Be
sure to directly address such difficulties over the course of the next two or
three days.

 Have your child read any multi-syllabic words twice, using pauses the second
time to demonstrate where each word is broken into syllables.

 Finally, ask your student to correct and record any words he or she
misspelled on the pre-test (on the right-hand side of the page) using the
answer key that you provide. Your child should also record any words that
were difficult to read. This record will serve as a study guide.

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Name: ________________________________________________

PRE-TEST
MONDAY Spelling  DAY 1

Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.

DIRECTIONS:

 After completing your pretest, read each spelling word to your teacher.
(You should be able to read fluently any words easily spelled mentally.)

 Read multi-syllabic words twice. The second time, pause where each word
is broken into syllables.

 Record the words you misspelled on the pre-test, along with any words you
found difficult to read. This will serve as your study guide.

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Tuesday:
 Recite each spelling word for your learner, tapping your finger to
emphasize the number of syllables.

(These activities will need to be adapted as you deem appropriate for older
students. For example, an advanced student would likely be able to copy
the list of words on his or her own, writing the number of syllables next to
each word without any assistance.)

 After you say (and tap) all of the words, have the student go over each
word individually, saying something along the lines of:

“Now I’d like you to read each word individually, pausing

briefly between the syllables and telling me how many
syllables are in each word.”

 Next, direct your learner to identify the position of specific sounds by

asking questions like:

“Which syllable in the word ___________ has the /__ /

sound?”

 And Finally, instruct your pupil to identify spelling patterns from the
current or past lessons with which he or she should be familiar, asking
questions like:

“How do you spell the /__ / sound?”

(An alternative activity for Tuesday appears on the next page.)

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Name: _____________________________________________________ Date: ______/______/______

LANGUAGE ARTS
TUESDAY Spelling  DAY 2

Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.

DIRECTIONS:
 Write the words missed on the spelling pre-test phonetically using the
pronunciation symbols from page four. (Be sure to divide the words into
syllables and use accent marks.)

 If there are any silent letters, caret them in (^).

 After you finish, compare your spellings with those in a standard dictionary
or with those in dictionary.com.

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Page 10
Wednesday:
Make sure that your learner can give this week's spelling rule without any
help or prompting from you or any other sources.

Reinforce a correct answer by saying something like: “That's right! The

letter q is always followed by…”

(An alternative activity for Wednesday appears on the next page.)

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Name: __________________________________________________________ Date: ______/______/______

LANGUAGE ARTS
WEDNESDAY Spelling  DAY 3

Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.

DIRECTIONS:
 Write each of the spelling words correctly, though still in syllables, using the
standard spelling rather than pronunciation symbols. This time, be sure to
include any silent letters.
 Write the number of syllables next to each word.
 Verbally identify for your instructor any spelling patterns and/or conventions
taught during the current and/or past lessons.

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Thursday:
Have the student “decode” the syllables comprising each word, categorizing
them according to the six groupss listed on the next page.

Ask questions like:

“How many vowel sounds are in this word?”

“Are there any digraphs in this word? If so, what are

they?”

“Are there any diphthongs in this word? If so, what are

they?”

“Are there any r-controlled vowels in this word? If so,

what are they?”

During this activity, make sure that you stress all important sound-symbol
correspondence.

Also, ask questions like, “What type of syllable is the first

syllable?" or "Which syllable is a____syllable?”

You may choose to introduce the six types of syllables as students encounter
them, or you can provide students with the definitions beforehand, possibly
even providing a less in ahead of time along with examples of each type of
syllable.

(Definitions are provided on next page.)

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The Six Types of Syllables:
1. Closed Syllable: A closed syllable is a syllable that ends with
one or more consonants. A vowel sound in a closed syllable is
usually short. Code it with a breve above the vowel. (V-C)

2. Open Syllable: An open syllable is a syllable that ends in a

vowel. A single vowel at the end of an open, accented syllable is
long. Code it with a macron above the vowel. (C-V)

3. Vowel-Consonant-E: A vowel-consonant-e syllable occurs in a

one-syllable word (e.g., hide), in the final syllable of a longer
word (e.g., concrete), and in a medial syllable before a suffix that
begins with a consonant (e.g., hopeful) when a silent e after one
consonant causes the preceding vowel to represent its long sound.
Code it with a macron above the long vowel and a slash mark
slanting down from left to right through the silent e. (V-C-e)

4. Vowel Digraph: A vowel digraph syllable occurs when two

adjacent vowels in a single syllable represents a single vowel
sound (e.g., book). Code it with a line below the two vowels. (VV)

5. Vowel-R Combination: A vowel-r combination syllable occurs

when a single vowel is followed by a single r in the same syllable
(e.g., fern, arm). The sound of the vowel may not be short, as
expected, but may instead represent an unexpected sound. Code
it with an arc beneath the two letters. (V-r)

6. Final Stable Syllable: Final stable syllables are non-phonetic

syllables which occur frequently in final position
in English base words and are consistent in their spelling and
pronunciation (e.g., table, bubble). Code it with a half bracket at
the division line between the rest of the word and the final stable
syllable, which always begins with a consonant.

Whaat is a vowel diphthong?

(An alternative activity for Wednesday appears on the next page.)

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LANGUAGE ARTS
THURSDAY Spelling  DAY 4

Focus: Apply phonics skills and the conventions of spelling to spell words
correctly.

DIRECTIONS:
 If applicable consider word knowledge and structure, identifying Greek and
Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes, as well as with their corresponding
meanings, on the lines below.

 On a separate sheet of paper, use and underline each of the spelling words
in a sentence.

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Friday:

Administer the final spelling test. (Though 20 lines have been

provided on the test sheet that follows, the actual number of
spelling words assigned any given week is left totally to your
discretion. Besides, if you assign 20 words you won't have enough
lines left to follow the suggestion given in the last paragraph of
this page.) When administering the test, read each word one-at-
a-time.

First, clearly state the word. Then use the word in a sentence.
Finally, clearly state the word once more. After that, move on to
the next word.

After the last word is given, read through the entire list just once
more so that your learner can make any last-minute corrections.
Have your learner correct his or her own test using an answer key
and then record any misspelled words in his or her Language Arts
Journal.

Make sure your student knows the definition to each spelling

word. Also, encourage any student working at the fourth grade
level and above write each word in his or her best cursive
handwriting.

And finally, be sure to include extra words that use the current
spelling pattern, but were not covered in the lesson, which is why
you should not assign 20 spelling words at the beginning of the
week. (For example, students who have studied yield should be
able to spell field or shield as well. Students who have studied
fiction should also be able to spell faction or fraction.)

An alternative activity for Wednesday appears on the next page . . .

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Spelling
Name: _________________________________________

FRIDAY Spelling  DAY 5

DIRECTIONS:
 In the box provided below right the rule on which you have been focusing this
week.
 Then listen carefully as your instructor recites this week's spelling words.
 Write each word in the corresponding blank.

Rule: ____________________________________________________________
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Spelling Rule #2

The letter C
The letter c before e, i, or y EXAMPLES:
says /s/, but followed by any
other letter, it says /k/.
cent
city
cycle
cat
cut
cave
cook
center
pencil
receive

18
Monday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:

 Ask your learner to repeat the words after you, without

allowing him or her to see the words in writing.

 Ask "What sound do you hear and feel in all of them?"

 Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.

 Make explicitly clear exactly which rule you are focusing

on this week. (If you’re using a keyword picture, show
it at this time.)

 Have your student repeat the target sound once again.

Make sure that you reinforce the link between the
target sound and its corresponding letter or letter
combination.

 Have your learner practice verbalizing this week's

spelling rule until he or she can say it without any
assistance.

 Finally, have the learner use the rule to spell words

chosen from the list.

Alternative Activity:
 Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.

19
Tuesday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:

 Ask your learner to repeat the words after you, without

allowing him or her to see the words in writing.

 Ask "What sound do you hear and feel in all of them?"

 Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.

 Make explicitly clear exactly which rule you are focusing

on this week. (If you’re using a keyword picture, show
it at this time.)

 Have your student repeat the target sound once again.

Make sure that you reinforce the link between the
target sound and its corresponding letter or letter
combination.

 Have your learner practice verbalizing this week's

spelling rule until he or she can say it without any
assistance.

 Finally, have the learner use the rule to spell words

chosen from the list.

Alternative Activity:
 Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.

20
Wednesday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:

 Ask your learner to repeat the words after you, without

allowing him or her to see the words in writing.

 Ask "What sound do you hear and feel in all of them?"

 Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.

 Make explicitly clear exactly which rule you are focusing

on this week. (If you’re using a keyword picture, show
it at this time.)

 Have your student repeat the target sound once again.

Make sure that you reinforce the link between the
target sound and its corresponding letter or letter
combination.

 Have your learner practice verbalizing this week's

spelling rule until he or she can say it without any
assistance.

 Finally, have the learner use the rule to spell words

chosen from the list.

Alternative Activity:
 Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.

21
Thursday:
Create a list of words that illustrate Rule #1, or if you prefer,
use the examples provided on the previous page.
Use words that you feel would be appropriate for your
learner's level or ability.
Once you have collected the words you intend to use, follow
the procedure outlined on page 6 and below:

 Ask your learner to repeat the words after you, without

allowing him or her to see the words in writing.

 Ask "What sound do you hear and feel in all of them?"

 Show your child the list of words and ask what letter or
letter combination is seen in all of them.

 Make explicitly clear exactly which rule you are focusing

on this week. (If you’re using a keyword picture, show
it at this time.)

 Have your student repeat the target sound once again.

Make sure that you reinforce the link between the
target sound and its corresponding letter or letter
combination.

 Have your learner practice verbalizing this week's

spelling rule until he or she can say it without any
assistance.

 Finally, have the learner use the rule to spell words

chosen from the list.

Alternative Activity:
 Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.

22
Friday:
Administer the final spelling test. (Though 20 lines have
been provided on the test sheet that follows, the actual
number of spelling words assigned any given week is left
totally to your discretion. Besides, if you assign 20 words
you won't have enough lines left to follow the suggestion
given in the last paragraph of this page.) When
administering the test, read each word one-at-a-time.

First, clearly state the word. Then use the word in a

sentence. Finally, clearly state the word once more. After
that, move on to the next word.

After the last word is given, read through the entire list just
once more so that your learner can make any last-minute
corrections. Have your learner correct his or her own test
using an answer key and then record any misspelled words
in his or her Language Arts Journal.

Make sure your student knows the definition to each spelling

word. Also, encourage any student working at the fourth
grade level and above write each word in his or her best
cursive handwriting..

Alternative Activity:
 Administer a spelling pretest using the form appearing
on page 8.

23
SPELLING RULES
FRIDAY Spelling  UNIT _____

DIRECTIONS: Apply the same weekly routine to each of the following

rules.

1. The letter q is always followed by u and together they

say /kw/. The u is not considered a vowel here.

2. The letter c before e, i, or y says /s/ (cent, city,

cycle), but followed by any other letter says /k/ (cat,
cot, cut).

3. The letter g before e, i, or y may say /j/ (page, giant,

gym), but followed by any other letters says /g/
(gate, go, gust). The letters e and i following g do not
always make the g say /j/ (get, girl, give).

4. Vowels a, e, o, and u usually say their names/long

sounds (a, e, o, u) at the end of a syllable (na vy, me,
o pen, mu sic). (These are referred to as open
syllables.) This rule helps students know how to divide
unfamiliar vowel-consonant-vowel words and then
pronounce the word correctly. (re port…rather than
rep ort)

5. The letters i and y usually say /i/ (big, gym), but may
say i (silent, my, type).

6. The letter y, not i, is used at the end of an English

word (my).

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 7. There are five kinds of Silent final e's. (In short words
such as me, she, and he, the e says e, but in longer
words where a single e appears at the end, the e is
silent.) Silent Final e's should be thought of as "having
a job."

a. Silent e #1: bake gene time/type code cute (The job

of the #1 Silent e is to make the vowel preceding it
say its name.)

b. Silent e #2: love give blue true (The job of the #2

Silent final e is to prevent us from ending an English
word with a v or a u.)

c. Silent e #3: chance bodice charge allege (The job of

the #3 Silent final e is to soften a c or g.)

d. Silent e #4: lit tle cas tle bot tle dab ble fid dle (The
job of the #4 Silent final e is to prevent us from
having a syllable with no vowel.)

e. Silent e # 5: are nurse raise bye ewe owe cause Mrs.

Spalding referred to the #5 Silent final e as the "No
job e." Mrs. Sanseri refers to the #5 Silent final e as
the "Odd job E" and explains: "Any reason for a silent
E not covered by the first four is lumped into this final
category.

i. 1. The E keeps a word that is not plural from ending in

an 's' Examples: dense (not dens), purse (not purs),
false (not fals)

ii. The E adds length to a short main-idea word. Ex.:

awe, ewe, rye

iii. The E gives a distinction in meaning between

homonyms. Ex.: or/ore for/fore

25
iv. The E is left over from Middle English or a foreign
language where the final E was once pronounced.
(treatise giraffe)"

8. There are five spellings for the sound /er/. Keep this
sentence in mind: Her nurse first works early. In that,
the spellings are in the descending order of usage in
English. The phonogram or may say /er/ when it
follows w (work, worm, worthy). Also keep in mind
that ar and or say /er/ at the end of some words
(dollar, doctor).

9. The 1-1-1 Rule: Words of one syllable (hop), having

one vowel followed by one consonant, need another
final consonant (hop + ped) before adding endings
that begin with a vowel. This rule does not apply to
words with x since x has two sounds /ks/.

10. The 2-1-1 Rule: Words of two syllables (be gin) in

which the second syllable (gin) is accented and has
one vowel followed by one consonant, need another
final consonant (be gin + ning) before adding an
ending that begins with a vowel. If the last syllable is
not accented (en ter, prof it, bud get) do not double
the final consonant before adding the ending.

11. The Drop-e Rule: Words ending with a Silent final e

(come, hope) are written without the e when adding
an ending that begins with a vowel.

12. After c we use ei (receive). If we say a, we use ei

(vein). In the list of exceptions, we use ei. Exceptions:
Neither foreign sovereign seized counterfeit forfeited
leisure. Plus: either weird protein heifer In all other
words, the phonogram ie is used. (In school we were
taught, "I before E, except after C, unless it says A as
in neighbor and weigh.")

26
13. The phonogram sh is used at the beginning or end of
a base word (she, dish), at the end of a syllable (fin
ish), but never at the beginning of a syllable after the
first one except for the ending ship (wor ship, friend
ship).

14. The phonograms ti, si, and ci are the spellings most
frequently used to say /sh/ at the beginning of a
second or subsequent syllable in a base word (na tion,
ses sion, fa cial). Most often, consider the root or root
word to help you choose the correct /sh/ spelling to
use. Examples: infect to in fec tious / collect to col lec
tion / potent to po ten tial music to mu si cian / space
to spa cious / finance to fi nan cial soci (companion)
to so cial / ancien (old) to an cient cruc (cross) to cru
cial / speci (kind) to spe cial

15. The phonogram si is used to say /sh/ when the

syllable before it ends in an s (ses sion) or when the
base word has an s where the base word changes
(tense, ten sion). discuss to dis cus sion / compress to
com pres sion / admis to ad mis sion

16. The phonogram si may also say /zh/ as in vi sion, di vi

sion, oc ca sion, ex plo sion.

17. We often double l, f, and s following a single vowel at

the end of a one-syllable word (will, off, miss).
Sometimes rule 17 applies to two-syllable words like
recess.

18. We often use ay to say a at the end of a base word,

never a alone. (bay, day, decay)

19. Vowels i and o may say long i and long o if followed

by two consonants (find, old).

27
20. The letter s never follows x. The phonogram x
includes an s sound-/ks/.

21. Dismiss L Rule: All, written alone, has two l's, but
when used as a prefix, only one l is written (al so, al
most).

22. Dismiss L Rule (part 2): Till and full, written alone,
have two l's, but when used as a suffix, only one l is
written (un til, beau ti ful).

23. The phonogram dge may be used only after a single

vowel that says its short sound (badge, edge, bridge,
lodge, budge).

24. Change Y to I Rule: When adding an ending to a word

that ends with a consonant and y, use i instead of y
unless the ending is ing or might split a phonogram.
city/cit ies beauty/beau ti ful play/player funny/fun ni
est multiply/mul ti ply ing rely/re li able cry/cried
deny/denied

25. The phonogram ck may be used only after a single

vowel that says its short sound (back, neck, lick, rock,
duck).

26. Words that are the names or titles of people, places,

books, days, or months are capitalized.

27. Words beginning with the sound z are always spelled

with z, never with s.

28. The phonogram ed has three sounds. If a base word

ends in the sound /d/ or /t/, adding ed makes another
syllable that says /ed/ (sid ed, part ed). If the base
word ends in a voiced consonant sound, the ending ed
says /d/ (lived). If the base word ends in an unvoiced
consonant sound, the ending ed says /t/ (jumped).

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29. Words are usually divided between double
consonants.

For speaking and reading, only the consonant in the

accented syllable is pronounced; the consonant in the
unaccented syllable is silent (lit tle to lit le).

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