Why does The Writing Road to Reading say first graders should write an average of 30 Ayres words a week?
A. Writing the most frequently used words teaches students the English spelling rules and language concepts so they can spell, write, and read an infinite number of words. The more words they analyze and read from their spelling/vocabulary notebook, the more familiar they become with language and spelling rules. By teaching first graders an average of thirty words a week, they can quickly begin reading aloud. Maintaining this average enables first graders to read the first 700 words which “are in the spoken vocabulary of most five and six-year-old children” (text p. 42).
