Spelling is the key to literacy.

1. Words consist of sounds.

2. Each letter in our alphabet represents a distinct sound.

3. To spell, students must hear spoken sounds and "see" them as printed letters.

4. To read, students must see printed letters and "hear" them as spoken sounds.

5. Spelling requires students to listen and to think carefully about alphabetic sounds.

6. Spelling is best because it limits the tendency to guess.

7. Spelling makes students bright because it teaches them to read and write by sound instead of sight.