Writing Road to Reading: The Spalding Method for Teaching Speech, Spelling, Writing, and Reading

by Romalda Bishop Spalding

Nearly a decade in the making, the long-awaited sixth edition of the classic Spalding primer helps children develop their reading skills through a multi-sensory approach so natural and stimulating that reading itself is never taught outright—it simply begins. Teachers, tutors, and parents will find the latest edition of Writing Road to Reading a powerful tool for its phonics-based, total language arts program. Writing Road to Reading lets children learn to put sounds together, form meaningful words, write meaningful sentences, and develop their creative minds, allowing them to progress quickly toward absorbing—and enjoying—the great works of children’s literature. Dr. Susan Moore, editor of Education Monitor , praises Spalding Educational International’s approach, saying "because the Method is multi-sensory . . . it works for everyone. . . . No other approach to early literacy has this record of success."

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, Reference, Writing, Homeschool, School

471 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1980

Reviews

[Natalie Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in teaching a child to learn to read, the Spalding method is incredible! This book explains the why & how to teach. I have started it with my 4 year old & have already seen improvements. She loves it! I do wish the book included a guided outline of what to teach each day or for each lesson. I had to read through all the theory to search for the implementation. If any of you are interested in using this method for your own child, I can share the implementation I put together.

[Celeste Batchelor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more about teaching phonics. I used this method with my kids one summer when they were 14, 11, and 9 to help them understand phonics and spelling better. It worked really well, even with my unwilling teen. :0) I noticed immediate improvement in reading and spelling for all of my kids. I wish I had used this method when my children were small, but I'm glad I have it now to fill in the holes in my children's education.

I also purchased the flash cards and word building cards.

[Megan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

My app crashed and I lost a whole review I was writing. So here's a shorter one.

I won't use this method unless I have a "problem child". It's too complex and layered, too structured for my personality and our family. I like the idea of phonograms and may adapt it into whatever other method I choose. I like the structure of "hear, say, write" for writing practice.

It does seem a little bit opposite of Know and Tell, and I'm much more drawn to the Know and Tell approach. Interesting to address the same problem from sort of opposite ends.

I am amused (but unsurprised) to find that she believes in the basic goodness of man. But then, she has taught more children than I have, for sure.

The end.

[Janel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a workshop on the Spalding METHOD TO HELP MY kindergarteners with his homework. why didn't we learn this stuff in schookt?!?! It teaches children how to properly write letters in the direction in which you read, and also in a way that automatically connects the letters when writing cursive. there is always a reason given to explain why words are spelled they way they are so children spend less time memorizing the spelling of a word. there is evidence that proves cursive reinforces synaptic connections making children smarter. this is genius, and should be taught to every child.

[di · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the exception of a few bogus ideas (like 'y' says short /i/ at the end of words, like baby), I really liked this system of introducing phonics to young readers. I liked the lack of cutesy-ness. It's a sophisticated approach. I also liked the integrated approach--reading, writing, spelling, language arts--it's all there together. Very effective. I used it as a summer tutor, & was pleased with the results. I plan to use it when my children are old enough to start homeschooling.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty dry textbook based on a lot of rules. BUT, the golden gem of this book is that it teaches "phonics" as seventy phonograms. So, it's not just "b says buh" but "ay says ay" and "ph says fff". I think the phonogram approach is much much better than simply teaching that each letter of the alphabet has a sound.

[Gab · Rating 4 out of 5]

My former boss introduced me to this method of teaching spelling. I enjoyed learning the spelling rules so much from her that I thought it was worth buying the book and reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone working with children who would like a 'whole language' way to help kids learn. I'm not a trained teacher, but I could understand the book and I have seen the results in practice.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this when I taught at a private school. We were also fortunate enough to have been sent to a seminar on how to use/best practices. This had excellent results for us. I prefer this method over the "sight" word method more commonly used today in public schools.

[Becky Laswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly detailed. Not something to pick up and help the kids learn over summer. This is an all-in reading and writing instruction manual. Method seems way too complex.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting method to tackle students struggling with spelling, writing and reading.

[Heather]

so, this book sounded great in theory...but I didn't implement it...just followed our natural instincts and my sons lead & he is reading...

I bought this book now to see if I can implement it around here as my 6 yo son does not like the fact that his 4 yo sister reads more than him...as phonics and language seem to come more naturally to her, as she naturally *gets* phonics, etc. So...hence the Spalding method.

Here are some reasons I like this approach: (for any of you asking why?)

It is derived on an intensive study on how children learn. Reading does not come naturally like language, and walking, it must be learned. Human brains are prewired for categorizing sensory inputs. When you spell you activate your rule knowledge sequentially, when you read you activate it wholistically, you see a whole group of letters at once. We want them to know that certain sounds follow &/or are influenced by others, sequentially & are often grouped with other letters.

This program teaches a set of 70 letter-phenome units called phonograms. This is a proven method of teaching reading dyslexics. The phonograms are correct by modern standards, in that the letters represent minimal speech units, not blends. Then children learn words by spelling, learning 29 second order rules. Given the 70 phenomes & 29 rules, you can spell 80% of English words & a higher & of the most frequent ones. The words are written in notebooks , along with some of the rules. This becomes a record of the child's accomplishments & serves as a practice, motivational & reference item at the same time. A simple graphic marking system is learned. Visual patterns are remembered, not the sequence of sounds. So sounding out habits will not interfere with wholistic word perception, because words don't have to be sounded out. (which is perfect b/c my son does not wish to sound out words) Structural analysis is learned during spelling. Once 150 words are in notebook, reading begins. Reading is not taught. It just begins. They can most likely start right in with good children's literature and can start right in thinking and reasoning about content. From the beginning, the emphasis is not on word attack so the focus can be on ideas, etc.

I'll let you know how it goes...wish me luck ;)

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been so helpful to me. It is probably THE standard for teaching phonics. Last spring I had to do a serious reevaluation of my method of teaching reading to my then struggling first grader. She was not even close to reading on grade level and was still struggling with simple three letter words. I had been using Explode the Code workbooks along with the Bob books and other easy readers. It just wasn't clicking for her. (My other three children were reading far above grade level by this point in first grade, so this was a new challenge for me.) Spalding's book is not easy to read and absorb in my opinion. I had to read it three times before I felt like a had a really good grasp of how the method worked. Since implementing Spalding's techniques, my struggling first grader is now a second grader reading real books on the second grade level. She has made amazing progress in just a few months' time. I expect it won't be long before she is reading above grade level. I highly recommend this book. I would have given it 5 stars if the information had been presented in a way that was easier to convert into actual lesson plans.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing Road to Reading is an excellent phonics program. Catch is you have to read the Introduction! Yes, that part that you sometimes skip in a book, you need to read it. It explains the Spalding method and it makes a lot of sense.

I used this book with three of my children and then tried to duck out of the work with my next. It was spelling disaster for him and so I went back to the Writing Road to Reading and started over with phonics and spelling and the results were the same as before- fantastic.

This book has all the spelling rules I missed when I was in school like "one" doesn't make any spelling sense until you learn that it comes from the word "lone" and when the "l" is dropped you are left with "one". Or "two" again, not phonetic but we probably once said the "w" in "two" like we still do in "twin", "twice", "twain" which all refer to two things.

The spelling list is here in great detail and as a bonus in the back of the book is a great reading list through grade six.

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to read The Writing Road to Reading because it describes how understanding basic phonemes and spelling rules can help kids spell the most common words in English and also help them to spell unusual words. The method also purports to teach children to read and to appreciate literature, but we already have those under control so I mostly skimmed until I got to the spelling parts. There is quite a lot of information on classroom teaching methods as well if you find that interesting.

(Note: This is a very involved method--friends who use it report spending the bulk of their school day on Spalding--and plenty of it would be redundant if you already do a lot of reading aloud or use a literature-based curriculum. Pasting in this review several years later, I would put in a plug for All About Spelling, which is based on spelling/phonetic rules but is very simple to use and has worked excellently with my three elementary-aged children.)

{Read the rest of my review at A Spirited Mind}

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a great deal about the Spalding Method and about English phonics and spelling rules in general from this book, but it is not a lesson plan book in my opinion. I think a great deal more work would be required to implement it. (Thankfully there are similar programs like the Orton-Gillingham based "All About Reading" that do the work for you.) However, it is definitely a reference worth having in your library if you're helping a child or an adult learn to read.

[Deidre]

Probably would have been great if my daughter had responded to it. She was not like the format at all! However, I think it helped to prepare her for "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". She knew the sounds because of Writing Road to Reading. I liked the idea of the book but if the kid is not responding well, it is not going to work.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book cover actually represents the 4th edition of Spalding's book which is the one I have just finished reading so that I could implement it right away.

Already seeing huge and quick changes when it comes to reading and spelling understanding with my children. So grateful to the advice of other homeschool moms who have recommended this method!

[Joseph]

Writing Road to Reading is a great program for teaching children reading and writing skills. I would recommend using the parts needed for instruction, such as the spelling sections and skim over the more technical parts. A great resource!

[MaryReadsRomance · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original Spalding land mark work using Orton Gillingham phonograms to teach reading for children with dyslexia and learning differences. Works for every child. Newer takes include Spell to Read and Write and the Logic of English... but this is the foundational work,

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so it's a text book. No pleasure reading here. But I am excited to use this method in my classroom - despite the insane amount of work.

[McKenzie]

what to rate it? i have no idea. the context is fabulous! but i have never read a drier text book in my life. i also wish there was a manual that gave lessons, made it more user friendly.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a text book, so 3 stars is my max. It seems to be a solid program. It has good teaching elements that have research behind them. I am excited to begin using it in my classroom.

[Andrea]

Too complicated.

[Brianon Sheffield · Rating 4 out of 5]

too wordy and dry. but also... the ideas in it are what I've been wanting to teach my kids but didn't know how. I'm excited to try teaching it this year!

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who want a proven step-by-step system for teaching reading, in my opinion this is it!

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb resource for the home library

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guess what Karen has undertaken.

[Kowanda Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book I read to review things I teach.