Running Spellings for Me Efficiently in Your Classroom

When implementing Spellings for Me in your classroom, it’s essential to understand that the programme consists of three key areas:

Personalised Approach: An individualised spelling list is generated for every student, tailored to their spelling needs. Each student receives 12 words per week over a four-week cycle.

Morphology & Etymology Section: Lessons and word analysis that deepen understanding of word origins and structure.

Phonics & Rules Video Lesson Section: Explains key phonetic concepts and spelling rules in video format.

While all three areas complement each other, the personalised approach requires efficient and consistent classroom management to ensure students progress successfully.

Why Efficiency Matters

To maintain meaningful progression, students must be tested at the end of every four-week cycle. Teachers must ensure all students are tested and receive their new set of learning words, regardless of absences.

If students are not tested and unlocked at regular intervals, their learning cycle stalls, and the overall number of words they master per academic year decreases significantly.

Key Teacher Responsibilities

As a teacher, there are two non-negotiable tasks for running the personalised spelling approach:

Unlocking Student Tests:

Must be done at the end of every four-week cycle.

Takes less than one minute from your dashboard.

Unlock all students simultaneously to keep a consistent cycle.

Printing Learning Words:

After unlocking, print the next set of learning words for each student.

This can be done in bulk:

Go to Performance Insights → Reports → Bulk print learning words.

Structuring the Testing

There are two effective approaches to running testing sessions depending on your device availability:

Option 1: Weekly Cycle Testing (Thursday & Friday Testing)

Test students on the fourth Thursday and Friday of each cycle.

Use 2-4 devices in rotation across the classroom.

Students can test in small groups or individually as devices become free.

Option 2: Dedicated Device Bank Testing (Every Fifth Week)

If devices are only available on specific days (e.g., Mondays and Wednesdays), allocate the fifth week exclusively for testing.

Use that week to assess the previous four weeks and set up the next cycle.

Why This Matters

Without end-of-cycle testing and word unlocking, students cannot continue to progress.

The average number of words learned per student per year cannot exceed 200+ without consistent cycles.

The teacher’s role is critical but minimal: unlocking and printing.

When done correctly, Spellings for Me will run smoothly in your classroom and yield measurable spelling improvements for every student.

Summary:

Stick to the 4-week cycle.

Test all students at the same time.

Unlock and print immediately after testing.

Use available devices strategically.

Remember: student progress depends on your consistency!