I NEW PATTERN. Introduce the s spelling that has a soft |z| sound, as in is
and has.

II REVIEW the s and ss spellings that say |s|, as in bus and miss.

III REVIEW the z and zz spellings that say |z|, as in zip and jazz. Note: The word quiz ends with a single z. Your student should pronounce the two d’s in Zudd™ with one d sound, |zŭd|.

IV & V REVIEW the s and ss spellings that have either a |s| or |z| sound, as in bus, fuss, and is, and the z and zz spellings with the |z| sound, as in zip and jazz. The letter z is usually pronounced |z|. The tz letter combination has a |ts| sound, as in pretzel, quartz, waltz, and Ritz™. [See Lesson 89]

Strive for Full Confidence in Each New Lesson

If your student hesitates over words, it is a sign that he needs more practice. Reviewing can consist of reading and spelling a whole lesson, one particular Roman numeral list, or a sampling of words from one or more lists. Continue reviewing until his confidence is clearly established.

Don’t Be Afraid to Do a “Start Over”

Even this late in the lessons, there have been times that I have started a student over at Lesson 1. In fact, I have required a few students to go back to the early lessons more than once. Mastery of the early lessons cannot be emphasized enough.

If you believe that your student really isn’t up to successfully tackling future lessons, please do the courageous thing and go back and start over. You decide how far back to go for a re-set and how many sessions are needed to achieve mastery. The times that I have asked students to begin again with Lesson 1 (or 9 or 24 or whatever I think best), I have seen relief in their eyes. Moving too quickly can leave some students feeling stressed. One way to diplomatically broach the subject is to ask your student, “Would you like to go back to Lesson X and get this word pattern really solid?” The answer, almost always, is yes. Again, I emphasize that these early lessons are powerful when mastered—don’t miss this power because you are in a hurry. Patience will pay off for you and your student.