This article challenges traditional modes of spelling instruction by offering theoretically based suggestions for effectively assessing and instructing students’ spelling progress. The importance of explicit spelling instruction is presented along with differentiated strategies for students along the developmental spelling continuum and an individualized way to monitor spelling progress for elementary school students. Furthermore, the article seeks to provide teachers with strategies that help students develop an understanding of orthographic patterns and phonemic awareness skills while simultaneously avoiding the traditional “Friday Spelling Test” that so often dominates the elementary spelling curriculum.