All About Spelling vs Sequential Spelling
The sharpest difference is format: All About Spelling is Hands-on, Sequential Spelling is Workbook. Two others separate them as well.
At a glance
All About Spelling
Grades 1-12
Owners report it suits
Hands-on learners2eSequential Spelling
Grades 2-12
Owners report it suits
Reluctant learnersMulti-age familiesBoth are reported to suit Struggling learners and Dyslexia.
Skip to who fitsWhere they differ
| Attribute | All About Spelling | Sequential Spelling |
|---|---|---|
Parent involvement
?How much the parent is present and teaching. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
|
|
|
| Approach | Mastery | Spiral |
| Format | Hands-on | Workbook |
| Best for Tags show where owners consistently report a good fit. They are not exclusions. | Struggling learnersHands-on learnersDyslexia2e | Struggling learnersDyslexiaReluctant learnersMulti-age families |
| Method | TraditionalClassicalEclecticOrton-Gillingham | TraditionalEclecticOrton-Gillingham |
| Grades | 1-12 | 2-12 |
Solid tags are unique to that program. Muted tags are carried by both.
Where they match
- Rigorboth on grade
- Prep loadboth open-and-go
- Screen timeboth fully offline
- Independenceboth guided
- Time commitmentboth 15 to 25 min
- Faith contentboth None
- Used asboth Spine
How each one plays by grade
All About Spelling
Grades 1-12
Everyone starts at Level 1 for the foundational rules, even older kids, then moves at their own speed. Level 7 carries through high school with Latin and Greek roots.
Sequential Spelling
Grades 2-12
Everyone starts at Level 1 and accelerates as needed, since levels indicate difficulty, not grade. Each level runs 180 daily lessons, about a school year.
Cost
| Cost item | All About Spelling | Sequential Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.95-69.95/level plus one-time tiles | ~$15-30/level |
| Consumable | Partial | No |
| Per child / year | ~$65-90 first year, ~$50-70/level after | ~$15-30 first child, near $0 for siblings using notebooks |
What parents report
All About Spelling
Consistently praised
- Open and go scripting any parent can teach
- Tiles make spelling rules click for hands-on kids
- Move on when mastered pacing
- Reusable across siblings
- Strong for dyslexic and struggling spellers
Reported as challenges
- Teacher-intensive every single day
- Pricey for one subject with an only child
- Tiles and flashcards take storage and table space
- Doing every review activity balloons the lesson
Sequential Spelling
Consistently praised
- Dead simple to run with no prep
- Word families build confidence spelling big words fast
- No memorizing or studying required
- Cheap and reusable across kids
- Takes the stress out of weekly spelling tests
Reported as challenges
- Frustrating for kids who want to know why a word works
- No explicit rule teaching
- Plain, repetitive daily lists
- Parent dictates every day
Who All About Spelling fits
A structured, multisensory spelling spine for families who'll sit down and teach it daily, and it's the common pick for a struggling or dyslexic speller. Parents who want a hands-off or independent workbook a child does alone should go a different direction.
Read the full All About Spelling entry Check price All About Learning PressWho Sequential Spelling fits
Low-cost, low-prep, and pattern-based, which suits a struggling or dyslexic speller who hates rules and word lists. Kids who want explanations for why words work, or parents wanting a self-teaching program, won't enjoy it.
Read the full Sequential Spelling entry Check price AVKO Educational Research FoundationSome links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes how a curriculum is described or scored.
Still deciding?
All About Spelling compared with
Sequential Spelling compared with
Descriptions aggregate what homeschool parents consistently report across public community sources together with each publisher's own materials. Prices and editions change over time. Both entries last reviewed August 2026.