• Just Words provides a curriculum for the accelerated study of word structure through the six syllable types in English and the most common Latin roots. It is a highly explicit, multisensory decoding and spelling program for students in grades 4 – 12 and adults who do not require intensive intervention but do require explicit decoding and spelling instruction due to word-level deficits.

    The Just Words phonics and spelling instruction includes:

     

    • Study of English sound system
    • Phoneme segmentation skills for up to six sounds in a syllable with application for decoding and spelling
    • Syllable structure including six basic syllable types in English and syllable division patterns used for decoding
    • Spelling of common Latin suffix endings when added to unchanging basewords
    • Process for vocabulary study as well as the meaning of common Latin roots
    • Decoding application with phrasing for meaning
    • Automatic reading and spelling of the first 250 most frequently used words from Edward Fry’s List of High-Frequency Words as well as additional high-frequency words
    • Directed, accelerated pacing of Wilson phonics and spelling instruction
    The following is a list of topics covered in each Unit. A unit is intended to take two weeks. There are 14 two-week units plus two weeks of review at the midterm and final assessments and two bonus units that teach Latin roots and affixes. 

     

     Unit 1 

    Includes a brief study of written English; Letter-Keyword-Sounds for short vowels, consonants, and digraphs; sound recognition for short vowels, consonants, and digraphs, phoneme segmentation (3 sounds in a word) for reading and spelling; blending sounds for decoding, and spelling ck at the end of words.

    Unit 2  

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • Consonant blends (for example: st, sk, fl, sw, str, )
    • Digraph blends (for example: shr-, thr-, -nch)
    • Closed syllables
    • Closed syllable exceptions (ind, ost, old, olt, ild)
    • Blending and segmenting syllables with up to 6 sounds.

    Unit 3  

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • Bonus letter spelling rule, ff, ll, ss, and sometimes zz
    • Segmenting and spelling words with bonus letters
    • Welded sounds: all, am, an, ang, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, onk, unk
    • Blending and reading words with welded sounds
    • Segmenting and spelling words with welded sounds

    Unit 4

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • Base words with the suffixes -s, -es, ing, and -ed (pronounced as /ed/, /t/, and /d/ )
    • Homophones to, too, two

    Unit 5
    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • Reading and spelling words with two and three closed syllables
    • Reading and spelling compound words
    • Correctly applying the rules of syllable division to words with two, three and 4 consonants between vowels
    • Correctly spelling ic at the end of multi-syllabic words

    Unit 6

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • instructs students on the following suffixes:  -er, -er/-est, -ful, -less, -ment, -ness, -ish, -en.  
    • It also provides specific instruction and practice on how to add these suffixes to a base word (when to double a final consonant, etc)

    Unit 7

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • introduces the concept of vowel-consonant-e syllables
    • two sounds of s (/s/ and /z/)
    • how to use the spelling option procedure
    • compound words
    • vowel consonant e exception syllable (ive)
    • suffix -ive
    • silent e spelling rule

    Unit 8

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • reading and spelling words with open syllables
    • y says long i when at the end of a one-syllable word
    • Y says long e when at the end of a multi-syllabic word
    • suffixes -y, -ly, -ty

    Unit 9

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • 'r' controlled syllables
    • spelling options for /er/
    • adding suffixes to r-controlled syllables
    • 1-1-1 spelling with r-controlled words

    Unit 10

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • multi-syllabic r-controlled words
    • adding suffixes to multi-syllabic words
    • 1-1-1 doubling rule, part 2, multisyllabic words
    • i.e. partnership, formulate, observing, permitting

    Unit 11

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • vowel teams: ai, ay
    • vowel teams: ee, ea, ey
    • vowel teams: oi, oy
    • forming plurals-words ending in y
    • y spelling rule
    • i.e. obtain, indeed, employment, galaxies

    Unit 12

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • vowel teams: oa, oe, ow
    • vowel teams: ou, ow
    • vowel teams: ue, ew, ou, oo
    • vowel teams: au, aw
    • i.e. bound, cue, fraud, flawless

    Unit 13

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • consonant -le syllable
    • -le with a suffix
    • -tion, -sion
    • i.e. staple, baffle, buckle, option, mission

    Unit 14

    • continues to review all previously taught concepts and adds the following:
    • syllable review
    • schwa sound
    • roots and prefix review
    • base word and suffix review
    • vowel suffix -able
    • spelling rules review.