To register your interest, please click here! 

dallandandrea@gmail.com 

To register your interest in this course, please click here! 

This course is designed as an introduction to the basics of Structured Word Inquiry for adults; either those who want to begin to incorporate SWI into their own work with young learners (teachers, 1:1 tutors, homeschooling parents, etc.) or those who may want to learn more for their own interest, or because they have always struggled to understand and master English spelling. 

Structured Word Inquiry is literacy instruction which operates on the premise that the English spelling system is highly ordered and logical. So much so, in fact, that it can be approached scientifically through hypothesis, experimentation and conclusion. Rather than relying only on the sounds in words to aid in spelling (phonology), SWI teaches spelling as it really functions; an intersection of phonology along with etymology (the history of a word) and morphology (the building of words from parts; prefixes, bases and suffixes.) In working with your learner, I will deepen their understanding of the order of the English spelling system by helping to replace the misconception that words can be spelled by “sounding them out.” Any speaker of English knows this approach on its own does not work given how many silent letters there are in English words, thousands of homophones (words that are spelled differently although they sound the same, etc.) If your child has been trying and failing for years to master spelling and decoding of words, the SWI approach may be just the thing that can finally help them to make sense of the English language. 

    To give an example of how this would work, if we think about the word < action >, many learners who are taught to spell by “sounding out” would probably spell this word more like < akshun > . However, when we break the word apart and realize that the base is < act >   with the < ion > suffix on it, it helps us to arrive at the correct spelling and to keep the < t >  in the new word even though it's making a different sound than it did in the base. The spelling is explained by the morphemes, not by the sounds. This is just one example of how this approach can help to explain why words are spelled the way they are, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense when we try "sounding them out."

  Learning the SWI approach will aid not only with spelling skills, but with critical decoding and vocabulary skills as well, as understanding the connections between words can help learners determine word origins and meaning.

 My aim for this class is that adults will feel equipped to get started in working on SWI with their own learners, or feel a greater understanding of the English language that will improve their own lives, even after years of frustration. I can help! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions:  dallandandrea@gmail.com 

To register your interested, please click here! 

Structured Word Inquiry is an excellent strategy for learners with dyslexia as it removes the need to guess at a spelling, memorize lists of rules or rely on visual memory. Students study words in in the context of their word families; those words with whom they share a common base and therefore connections in spelling and meaning. Rather than being taught "tips and tricks" that overload working memory, students are taught to analyze words and that spelling is a system of logic and order.

Contact me to find out more! dallandandrea@gmail.com