Spelling Works!: Grades 4-8

This book is outstanding. We have recently begun to use this book in our home classroom for our 3rd, 4th and 7th grade students. The kids are excited when I pull it out because they find it fun, especially my 7th grader who has struggled with spelling. I was skeptical that a spelling curriculum that claimed to be for 4th-8th graders would really work for such a diverse age group, but the lessons are straightforward and the presentation of the spelling rules can be understood easily by most children. Best of all, I have seen results already in their written work, because they are understanding and remembering the lessons. While it is expensive for a softcover book, the pages are reproducible and can be used for many students. Still, if I had just one student I would buy this book and consider it a good investment, because I am seeing better results in this short period than I have seen with anything else we have used over the years.

Thought my rising 6th grader was just a poor speller. Bought this book in the hope that she might improve a little this summer before she started middle school. After just four chapters, I am feeling pretty optimistic that she will improve dramatically. She seems to be grasping the rules and really learning HOW to spell! The book moves through the rules of spelling systematically -- one rule per short chapter. She doesn't mind doing a chapter at a time since it doesn't take that long. It has also made it easy for me to help her practice each rule -- I just create our own spelling list for each chapter. I recommend this book highly!

In an excellent follow-up to his book on grammar, the author again constructs clever and witty approaches to this difficult and mysterious area of learning. He makes spelling fun.