With Literate Minds, students receive individual tuition that integrates the teaching of spelling, writing and reading into every lesson using the Spalding Method. In addition to language skill acquisition, students develop their metacognitive abilities through considering the structure of the English language, asking questions and learning to think for themselves. Neural pathways are formed that prepare students to think critically and analytically, fostering the skills and knowledge necessary to become lifelong learners. This, not literacy alone, is the end goal of tuition with Literate Minds.
What is the Spalding Method?
The Spalding Method was created by renowned educator Romalda B. Spalding. Romalda Spalding wanted to empower all children to become fluent, thoughtful readers and writers, and her desire was for all students to achieve their full potential in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
The Spalding Method is a total language arts approach that integrates the teaching of spelling, writing and reading into every lesson. The Spalding Method is a proven, researched and scientifically based program that has helped countless children to spell, write and read for well over sixty years. The Spalding Method is accredited by two international organisations: the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC).
Why is the Spalding Method important?
The Spalding Method is so important because it equips students to learn to love reading with confidence, motivation and comprehension in a safe and nurturing environment. The Spalding Method embodies a child-centred philosophy that prioritises the physical and mental wellbeing of all students. The methodology of every Spalding lesson is centred on explicit, interactive and diagnostic instruction that is sequential, multisensory and integrated across all learning areas.
The Science of Reading is an umbrella term referring to an international body of research that investigates best practice for teaching literacy. Within this empirically supported framework, the National Reading Panel Report (2000) confirmed what the Spalding Method has always recognised and implemented: there are five literacy components that are fundamental to reading. These are phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension . At Literate Minds, these five key areas are incorporated into every lesson in a way that is unique to the Spalding Method.
How does the Spalding Method work?
Throughout every Spalding lesson, a student receives integrated instruction in spelling, writing and reading. Phonemic awareness, systematic phonics and the dictation of high-frequency vocabulary are taught during the spelling part of each lesson. The meaning and usage of this vocabulary is taught in the writing part of each lesson. Students learn to apply their spelling knowledge in both the writing and reading of quality sentences and a variety of text types. Literary appreciation, oral fluency and comprehension strategies are taught in the reading part of each lesson, fostering a love of quality literature.
The Spalding Method is based on the philosophy that every person has the right to be fully literate and aims to achieve the highest level of literacy possible for each individual. This is done through developing skilled readers, critical listeners and accomplished speakers, spellers and writers who are deep, analytical thinkers and thus become lifelong learners. In doing this, the Spalding Method creates highly effective individuals and helps equip them to successfully cope in every aspect of their lives.
To be fully literate is to acquire the skills and the thinking that enable people to analyse and process whatever material they confront. Individuals need the abilities and the neural pathways embedded into their long-term memory to allow for recall when required. Information must reach the processing and reasoning parts of the brain. The Spalding Method builds these attributes in learners and, in doing so, rewires the brain to create critical thinkers and problem solvers.
“The ability, along with the desire, to read well-written books is one, if not the major, goal of Spalding language teaching.”
Spalding, R. B. (2012). The Writing Road to Reading. (6th ed.) p. 20
Are you interested in your child learning to spell, write and read with Literate Minds using the Spalding Method?
Lessons are taught by Bronwyn Buckley.
Click here to find out more about Bronwyn.
Lessons are run in Lilyfield or via Zoom.