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Wild Tales 2022 Updates

In January 2022, we introduced several updates to the Wild Tales level. These updates incorporate suggestions from users to enhance instruction and learning. In this article, you’ll find answers to many of the questions you may have. If you need additional help, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Instructor’s Handbook has been reorganized to include:

• Expanded activity explanations
• Quick-start guide
• Lesson-by-lesson instruction
• Weekly lesson quick-reference graphics illustrating each day’s activities with reminders of time limits 
• A highlighted section of new material or unusual things to focus
• Solutions for chunking and the passage for dictation

The Student Workbooks have been updated to include:

• Updated animal passages in lessons 1–7
• Realistic illustrations

The online resources have been updated with:

• Updated activity support videos
• New videos that cover mistakes and weekly lesson flow
• PDF providing compatibility for old Instructor’s Handbook and new Student Workbooks

Learn more about these updates

Why did we start with Wild Tales?

Wild Tales serves as a starting point for many students who are entering the program. That means it serves a broad range of ages—from students who are progressing from the previous level to older students who are struggling with spelling and benefit from starting at the beginning of the skill development stage. The original illustrations did not do justice to the well-researched animal passages. The first seven lessons, which were a continuation of the nursery rhyme theme in Jack and Jill, made the content seem as if it were for a younger audience. We did not want the content to be an obstacle for students who could benefit from starting at Wild Tales.

Will the other levels also be updated?

Yes. Subsequent levels (Levels D–G) will be released as they are completed, in accordance with our publishing schedule.

Will I need to restart Wild Tales if I’ve already started?

No; just continue with the next lesson. The old and updated programs are compatible. We suggest thoroughly reading the introductory material in the new Instructor’s Handbook, as it provides a complete overview of the “how?” and “why?” of each activity. We also recommend watching the videos provided on our website for demonstrations of activities and answers to common questions.

I have an older version of the Instructor Handbook; do I need the new one? Will it work with the updated Student Pack?

We recommend purchasing the updated Instructor’s Handbook at the same time as you purchase new Student Workbooks. Our Universal Sets include everything you will need.

However, an old Instructor’s Handbook can be used with new Student Workbooks. A small additional effort will be necessary. You will need to download the “First Seven Lessons” guide from the website so you have the passages and solutions for the new animal passages that have replaced the original nursery rhyme lessons in those lessons. Beginning with Lesson 8, passages and solutions should match student materials, although some differences may be found in lessons 17, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 33 depending on the copyright date of your Instructor’s Handbook. Many instructors find it is worth investing in the updated Instructor’s Handbook to eliminate the guesswork.

How do we move from the new version to the old version in the next level?

At this time, Americana and subsequent levels continue to have the old format. If you have completed Wild Tales using the updated version, you will be well-positioned for success because of the expanded explanations of the core activities Spelling You See. These core activities (reading, listening, chunking, copywork, and dictation) are the same used in the next levels. The experience with the original format of other levels will not be significantly different for you or your student than that of the updated Wild Tales.

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