Evidence-Based Instruction in Reading and Writing

Welcome to Spellamentals!

Prior to implementing the following instructional plan, we recommend reviewing the foundational, evidence-based principles of our program here. They will provide valuable insights into the pedagogy of these lessons.

This page is a work in progress and will feature the foundational, evidence-based principles of our program. Stay tuned for updates!

Spellamentals’ Definitions:

When you see <>, name the grapheme and when you see //, pronounce the phoneme.

 phoneme

- a smallest unit of speech sound 
example: “chat” has 3 phonemes /ch/,/a/,/t/

 grapheme

- a letter or group of letters that represent one phoneme 
example: chat has 3 graphemes <ch>, <a>, <t>

 base

- holds the meaning of a word

 affixes

The term affixes includes both prefixes and suffixes.

- prefixes are attached before bases and often alter/nudge the sense of a base

- suffixes are attached after bases and often change the grammatical structure of a word

voice on

- voice box vibrates when speech sounds are produced

voice off

- voice box does not vibrate when speech sounds are produced

vowels

- vowels are sounds produced during speech with an open and unobstructed mouth

Vowel phonemes can be represented by:

  1. < a>, <e>, <i>, <o>, <u>, and sometimes <y> and are single graphemes

  2. <ay>, <oi>, <aw> are examples of vowel digraphs (two letters that begin with a vowel and represent one phoneme)

  3. <igh>, <ear>, <ugh> are examples of vowel trigraphs (three letters that begin with a vowel and represent one phoneme)

consonants

Consonants are sounds produced during speech when airflow is partially or fully obstructed by the mouth.

nasal consonants

Speech sounds that are made with the lips fully closed and air flows out of the nose.

- represented by the graphemes <m> and <n>