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Ancient Achievements

Ancient Achievements provides continued word practice using core activities of marking letter patterns, copywork, and dictation while gradually increasing the reading level. Students will read about fascinating topics from long ago, such as cave paintings, Viking ships, and the travels of Marco Polo. At the same time, students are introduced to interesting facts about word roots and more advanced word patterns. It is designed as a bridge to the next stage of spelling.

Ancient Achievements is designed as a bridge from the Skill Development Stage to the Word Extension stage of spelling. Students will read about ancient places and events with a gradually-increasing reading level. Students will continue to improve their basic spelling skills while learning interesting new facts about words in preparation for more advanced study of spelling patterns.

This level:

  • Features nonfiction stories about long ago, covering themes such as cave paintings, Viking ships, and Marco Polo
  • Involves the three core activities for Spelling You See:
    • Chunking – provides hands-on experience with English’s many irregular letter patterns
    • Copywork – requires the brain to pay attention to details in print
    • Dictation – gives the student the opportunity to recall the proper letter patterns from memory
  • Includes a new Spotlight activity designed to introduce students to interesting facts about words, call attention to how endings are added to words, and show how learning word relationships can help with spelling
  • Gradually increases in reading level, providing opportunities for vocabulary development and allowing students to learn how to spell words in an interesting context

Is my child ready for Ancient Achievements?

Read the passage below to your student, asking them to follow along. The man’s first name is pronounced Fy-lo (rhymes with high-low).

Philo was very interested in electronics. When he was a teenager, he found a stash of science magazines. He studied them carefully. He learned that scientists were trying to make a new machine. It would use electricity to send and show pictures. He thought about it. He talked with his science teachers. One day he drew a picture on the chalkboard. It showed how a television could work. Philo Farnsworth’s plan was the first idea that worked.

Ask your student to read the passage aloud by themselves.

Dictate the following list of words, one at a time, to your student, asking them to write the words on a piece of paper.

interested, science, magazines, studied, electricity, pictures, thought, teachers, television, idea

If you answer “Yes” to these three questions, your student is ready to begin Ancient Achievements.

  • Can my student write for 10 minutes at a time?
  • Was my student able to read the paragraph aloud without sounding words out or pausing? Note that the paragraph is written at the minimum reading level for Ancient Achievements.
  • Was my student able to spell correctly eight of the ten listed words?

If you answer “No” to any of the questions above, try the readiness guidelines for the previous level, American Spirit.

Lessons contained in Ancient Achievements

  • Lessons 1 and 2: Vowel Chunks
  • Lessons 3 and 4: Consonant Chunks
  • Lesson 5 and 6: Vowel and Consonant Chunks
  • Lesson 7 and 8: Bossy r Chunks
  • Lesson 9 and 10:Vowel, Consonant, and Bossy r Chunks
  • Lesson 11: Tricky y Guy
  • Lesson 12: Endings
  • Lesson 13: Silent Letters
  • Lesson 14-18: All Letter Patterns
  • Lesson 19-24: Various Combinations
  • Lesson 25-36: All Letter Patterns
Ancient Achievements Sample Lesson
SAMPLE LESSON PDF

Lesson 20: Vowel, Consonant, and Bossy r Chunks

A Typical Week:

Days 1-3:

Parts A and B

  • Read the Passage Together
  • Mark Letter Patterns(Chunking)
  • Student Copies Passage for 10 Minutes and Chunks Their Work

Day 4:

Part C

  • Read the Passage Together
  • Mark Letter Patterns (Chunking)
  • Discuss the information found in Spotlight, which is designed to build curiosity about words and prepares students for future level of spelling

Day 5:

Part D and E

  • Read the Passage Together
  • Mark Letter Patterns (Chunking)
  • 10 minute dictation

Ancient Achievements Set

F-Ancient Achievements Universal Set

Includes everything you need to move your students from skill development and prepare for the next two developmental stages of spelling, with 36 lessons of Ancient Achievements:
  • Instructor’s Handbook
    • Introduction to the philosophy of Spelling You See
    • Getting Started guide
  • Student Pack
    • 2 Student Workbooks
    • Erasable colored pencils

$82.50

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Ancient Achievements Individual Items

F-Ancient Achievements Student Pack

The Student Pack includes two student workbooks and a pack of erasable colored pencils. Each of the 36 lessons is divided into five parts, A through E, and includes two facing pages. Each day the student reads the passage and then “chunks” the appropriate letter patterns indicated for that day’s lesson. There are opportunities for copywork and writing from dictation throughout the week. Each lesson also includes a Spotlight that introduces interesting facts about words.

$73.00

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F-Ancient Achievements Instructor’s Handbook

The Instructor’s Handbook contains an introduction to the philosophy behind Spelling You See and the five developmental stages of spelling. The Handbook also contains a “Getting Started” guide and detailed instructions for each lesson, including suggested activities that coordinate with the weekly Spotlight. At the back of the Handbook there is more information about each activity, answers to frequently asked questions, the passages for dictation, and an answer key.

$32.95

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