Your student

• is able to write each separate letter of the alphabet from dictation and can write some words without having to copy them;
• speaks and is able to read on at least a second grade level;
• can speak clearly and accurately pronounce most English words;
• has a basic understanding of phonetic principles (sound-to-spelling correspondences);
• is able to stay "on task" (totally concentrate on the task at hand) for periods of approximately five minutes; and
• asks about words and how they are spelled.

    If your student does not exhibit all the above characteristics, you can follow the suggestions outlined in the Spelling Power manual to help prepare him for the standard Spelling Power procedures. You may also wish to adapt the program for him by following the procedures outlined in the book. Additional suggestions you can use with your student, while he is developing the needed readiness, are found in Chapters Three and Five.

One of the key and outstanding aspects of the Spelling Power program is that each student begins exactly where he needs to begin academically. Then he proceeds at his own optimal pace to develop spelling skills and master the 5,000 most frequently used and misspelled words. A three-step process is used in the Spelling Power program to ensure that each student, who shows readiness, is placed exactly where he needs to begin. The first of these steps is to "survey" your student’s ability using the Survey Test.