How The Special Offspring Spelling Program works...

Standard spelling programs provide a weekly spelling list, spelling practice and testing.  Once evaluated, weekly spelling list words are rarely reintroduced, reviewed and evaluated.  Children with known educational delays frequently have reduced short-term and long-term memory skills.  For this student population, which includes children with Down syndrome as well as other developmental delays, information not reviewed and used is dropped from memory.  Special Offspring's Stars of Success spelling books recognize the essential need to provide targeted remediation to address these memory skill needs.  Distributed practice, i.e., pulling forward for re-review of previously mastered words, is programmed into each Stars of Success spelling book level and is integrated into all subsequent Stars of Success spelling levels.  This is an integral and unique feature of the Stars of Success spelling book design.

Each Stars of Success spelling unit contains:

• Word List - designed specifically to target identified memory skill deficiencies
• Sentences for Dictation - created exclusively from previously mastered sight words to address weak auditory memory abilities
• Four Practice Activity Pages - formatted specifically to provide essential memory skill remediation
• Evaluation and Student Progress Forms - developed to provide planning opportunities for reteaching and/or review and practice 

Unlike traditional spelling programs, which present weekly lists of ten to twenty new words, the Stars of Success spelling lessons more appropriately maintains students at a success level with the introduction of no more than five new words per spelling lesson and increases the total number of weekly spelling list words by utilizing distributed practice for the review of all previously mastered spelling words.  Incorporation of distributed practice into curriculum design is imperative to the maintenance of long-term spelling mastery for young and developmentally delayed children.

Sentences for dictation are invaluable in enhancing auditory skills, word usage, sentence development and memory skills.  There is one dictation sentence for each spelling list.  Dictation sentences have been created from sight words mastered in Series One Readers.  Because some children may experience low muscle tone and/or spatial relationship deficiencies, lines for sentence dictation have been provided on the testing forms.  Dictaion sentence creation, length and implementation will be determined by the individual needs of each student. 

The original Stars of Success Spelling Book design commences with weekly word list presentation and practice.  Students are asked to trace on top of each letter which spells the word.  For young children or children experiencing muscle hypotonia (low muscle tone), tracing is an effective technique that allows each student to feel the size and sequence of each letter.  Directions state:

• Read each word.
• Say the letters that spell each word.
• Write the letters that spell each word.
• Read each word.

This direction sequence affords the student an opportunity to experience spelling through multiple senses.  It is essential that students experience spelling through numerous senses in order to provide remediation for known visual and auditory sequencing deficits.

A second practice word is presented with a diminished model (grey tone).  Reduction of model line contrast requires an increase in attention, visual and manual skills.  The lesson culminates under the heading, "Spell, Check, and Correct."  This weekly spelling lesson requirement encourages students to learn self-checking skills, training students to look for, recognize and learn by correcting mistakes.

Unlike traditional spelling programs, visual memory and visual discrimination exercises are included in weekly spelling lessons.  Accommodations for enhancing memory skills through the visualization of word construction are achieved with configuration puzzles.  Word configuration boxes aid students in the visual imprinting of the shape and order of the letters in a word.  This technique significantly improves visual memory.

A variety of visual discrimination activities are also provided, ranging from gross discrimination, i.e., "big" and "at", to finer discriminations with words that are very similar in formation, i.e., "is" and "in".  These exercises require an increase in student attention toward characteristics, thereby decreasing error frequency.

Word Meaning/Word Usage are included in the third set of practice exercises.  Sentences have been generated exclusively from previously mastered Special Offspring Beginning Sight Word Readers sight words.  Completion of this page allows a third opportunity for practice while demonstrating an understanding of word meanings.  It is essential that students be taught how to test each word choice in the sentence when selecting the correct answer.  Word Usage at the bottom of the page allows each student to apply knowledge of a word's spelling and meaning by generating his or her own sentences.  Word usage may be completed orally if handwriting becomes an obstacle to sentence construction.

Prior to spelling evaluation, the last page of spelling practice requires additional practice and greater application of memory skills.  A first diminished model is provided.  Two additional practice sets are required with the absence of models.  The bottom of the page directs the student to:  Read.  Curricular skill integration offers distributed practice for reading skills previously mastered in the Special Offspring Beginning Sight Word Readers.

Stars of Success Spelling Book 1 and Stars of Success Spelling Book 2 follow similar lesson formats.  The significant difference observed in Spelling Book 2 is the programming of distributed practice for all Spelling Book 1 spelling words into each lesson.  In order to maintain spelling success, three to five new spelling words are presented along with four to six previously mastered spelling words from Stars of Success Spelling Book 1.  The implementation of distributed practice from one book to the next targets known short-term and long-term memory deficits.

Word Study exercises are also introduced in Stars of Success Spelling Book 2.  It is essential for emerging phonetic skills, that students begin to see patterns in words and to comprehend that these patterns, as well as their sounds, transfer to other words.  Transfer of learning is a difficult skill for children experiencing developmental delays.  Repetitive exposures to multiple word family patterns in the Special Offspring Beginning Sight Word Reading Series, Stars of Success Spelling Book 2 and then again in Word Family Fun Book 1 offer targeted remediation for a reduced repetoire of language labels and a decreased ability in the transfer of a learned skill.

Each Stars of Success spelling book level has been specifically designed to afford every student an opportunity for spelling success and spelling mastery.  Planned training and practice of identified skills, through consistent spelling lesson design, move typically dependent students to independent, self-confident and capable students.