How does Excellence in Spelling work? Introductory videotape Parents will first watch a 28 minute DVD that describes how the mind works to develop spelling skills and shows parents the "how to" of the Phonetic Zoo. Present the rule Using the Phonetic Zoo flashcards, present the first rule to your student. Read the rule out loud from the back of the card and have the child read and spell out loud the three words. Discuss how the animal name illustrates the rule of the lesson. Present a rule card Give your child the small zoo card. This card provides both a reminder of the rule and a motivational tool as children collect cards when they progress through the lessons. Have your student listen to the first lesson Listen Now (220k mp3) Level B, Lesson 31 The child can listen to the introductory comments and the first lesson. Each lesson is less than 10 minutes long. The CD will present each spelling word for the child to spell on paper and will repeat the rule jingle after every third spelling word to secure the rule in the child’s memory. Be sure your child knows how to operate the CD player to pause the lesson if necessary and advance to the appropriate lesson each day. Have your child correct his work The CD will spell the words for your child at the end of the lesson. Your child may also check them against the rule card if that is helpful to him. You may wish to check it as well. Your child should repeat the lesson each day until he achieves 100% correct twice in a row. This could take anywhere from three to twenty days depending on the child and the lesson, but the average should be around five or six. Personal Spelling List Every fifth lesson is a Personal Spelling lesson. The flash cards for these lessons have 15 blank spaces. The words for these spaces should be gathered from errors in written compositions as well as vocabulary or other language arts curriculum. Commonly misspelled words can also be presented here. You can either read these words to your student or record them on a cassette tape for the child to listen to independently. The Phonetic Zoo comes in three levels. Generally, A is for 4-5th grades, B is for 6-7th grades, and C is for 8th on up. First time users purchase the Initial Phonetic Zoo program at the appropriate level for your student. When purchasing the next level, choose the Additional Phonetic Zoo program since you already have the DVD and lesson cards. Starter set includes instructional DVD, lesson cards, zoo cards and 5 audio CD set (one level). Extra student materials available separately (zoo cards and personal spelling cards). Level A - Grades 3-5.

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