Saxon Phonics

Due to being virtual this school year, the testing procedures described below may change.  

Saxon Phonics is a wonderful program that methodically and systematically teaches students to read using phonics.  This year your student will have a lesson on phonics almost every day of the school year!  Your child will learn to "code" words to help them read.  They will build a strong foundation that will help them with their comprehension as they grow as readers over the next few years.

The picture below is of the front and back of a Saxon Phonics Test.  This is the basic format for the weekly tests but it does change a little as the weeks go on and it will eventually include a reading comprehension piece.  The tests are given partially whole-group and partially individually as you will see below.  Students are tested weekly on the skills that they learned the previous week.  This test does not require studying at home, but it does require that your child pay attention during our daily phonics lessons:

 SAXON SPELLING TEST

The weekly Saxon Spelling Test that starts around the fourth week of school is not just a regular spelling test!  Please understand that it tests so much more than spelling a word correctly.  It also tests your child on the basic foundations of writing, spelling, letter formation, punctuation, and letter case.  I have included a sample test below that has every word spelled correctly...yet it only has a 50% U!  Yes, this is possible!!  You will notice that the student below (not a current student) has every word spelled correctly but there are errors such as upper and lower case letters where they shouldn't be, lack of punctuation after a sentence, and letters flipped backwards.  During all spelling tests your child will have a letter strip in front of them that shows how to form upper and lower case letters and they can copy directly from the strip!  When a spelling test is given, students are given as much time as needed.  I will say the word out loud, then use the word in a sentence, then I will repeat the word.  On the back of the spelling test students will write dictated sentences.  By the end of the year, this section will be worth far more points than the actual spelling on the front.  On this section students must spell words correctly, use upper and lower case letter correctly, and use punctuation correctly.  THIS REQUIRES PRACTICE AT HOME!  During this portion of the test I will slowly read the sentence out loud.  Then I will have the students hold their fists in the air and we will count the number of words in the sentence.  Then the I will repeat the sentence as many times as needed for all students to finish.  Sometimes this means that the sentence is repeated more than 20 times.  There is NO time limit on this test!  Students have as much time as needed to complete their test.  Here is a sample of how a test is graded: