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Allographs™ I Parent/Teacher Manual: Linguistic Spelling Program

by Diane McGuinness Ph.D.

88 pages; White coil; catalogue #07-2602; ISBN 1-4251-5778-5; US$20.00, C$20.00, EUR13.66, £10.33

A revolution in reading and spelling instruction. Teaches 176 spelling alternatives for the 40 sounds in English in simple, logical steps. There are 63 partially scripted lessons. Suitable for home/classroom. Support materials essential.

About the Book

Allographs* is a revolutionary spelling/reading program based on the author's analysis of the structure of the English writing system. In a perfect alphabetic writing system, there is one spelling for each sound in the language. Italy, Spain, Finland, and Korea come closest to this ideal. The English writing system is one of the most complex writing systems in the world, with multiple spellings for each of the 40 sounds in our language. Careful analysis reveals that around 90% of words in print are represented by 176 spellings. When these spellings are taught in a systematic way – consistent with the logic of the alphabet code, all students learn to read and spell with relative ease.

Allographs I Manual contains 63 lessons using common English words up to 3 syllables long. It is designed for students with a reading/spelling age of 7 to 8 years. Lessons are partially scripted, and no training is required to teach this effectively. All necessary support materials are available (see below). It is designed to be used in all settings (home, tutoring center, classroom), and works equally well for students with reading and spelling difficulties.

The complete Allographs I program consists of the Manual, the Allographs I Dictionary, and the Allographs I Worksheets/Storybook. All components are essential to teach the program effectively. (See other Allographs entries for details.)

*Allographs: "All the graphs (letters) for each sound in a language."

About the Author

Diane McGuinness is a leading expert on the nature and structure of writing systems and how this applies to teaching reading and spelling. She is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida. She currently lives in England and is Chair of the Trust: Our Right to Read. Professor McGuinness is the author of over 100 research and scholarly papers, and has published 6 books on learning and reading instruction. These include: Why Our Children Can't Read (Simon and Schuster; 1997; Penguin Books, 1998), and Early Reading Instruction (MIT Press, 2004).