Tenaj Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 We received our Iowa results yesterday and my ds (who will be a jr. next year) scored way above average in everything except spelling where he was slightly below the 25th percentile. We really haven't been doing "spelling" during the high school years - obviously a mistake! At this point, what do I do? What are some good options to make an attempt to improve this area this year? Or do I just let it go, knowing that he'll have a computer with spell check the rest of his life (my dh's solution)? Thanks for any experiences/advice you have to share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 We do vocabulary instead of spelling in hs, but if you wanted a review course you could do www.splashesfromtheriver.com - and its free.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Have you looked at the Iowa spelling test? It doesn't actually test spelling, but rather, recognition. There are four words, and either one or none are misspelled. Frequently the misspellings are vowels that could go either way (schwa sound or er sound, things like that). I wouldn't start a spelling program with a high school student based on the results of the Iowa. If his spelling is fine in his writing, I'd leave it alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriM Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I didn't do a spelling course per se after 8th grade, but we used Spelling Power from 5th-8th grades or so. I just gave the girls the diagnostic test at the beginning of the school year, and then started with lists that were appropriate for them. They usually gained more than one year's worth of skill per year. :) But I also required a lot of hand-writing each week (no typing) and counted off for spelling consistently in every subject. So, to avoid rewriting, my girls mastered checking their own spelling on their rough drafts before writing final papers. My younger dd really *hated* having spelling count...she rewrote most often. To be fair, that's because her older sister read her final papers 75% of the time, and my older dd should be an editor--her attention to detail and natural spelling/grammar ability is profound. Finally, my younger dd got the clue that having her sister read the ROUGH DRAFT (ya think?) might make more sense. :) Every paper, every subject--count spelling, grammar and handwriting. Then after a certain age, you don't have to teach them as separate subjects--they are embedded naturally. Honestly, though, I don't know that I'd start a spelling supplement based on one test score. Who knows what kinds of tricky words they got him with?!? I still have to pause over knowledge and privilege, for example. But if he's misspelling really common words, then yes, I'd add some drill and vocabulary. I think it's important to master those words, because spell check cannot catch everything. DH returned a paper to a university senior after glancing at the first sentence where he used "collage" for college. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Have you looked at the Iowa spelling test? It doesn't actually test spelling, but rather, recognition. There are four words, and either one or none are misspelled. Frequently the misspellings are vowels that could go either way (schwa sound or er sound, things like that). I wouldn't start a spelling program with a high school student based on the results of the Iowa. If his spelling is fine in his writing, I'd leave it alone. Thank you so much for stating this so clearly. That was what I was confused about, his spelling in his writing is not that bad. Of course, most of his compositions are done on the computer but I just picked up his science lab book and realized that, though some words are misspelled, they are random acts of carelessness, not a pattern of a lack of knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 I didn't do a spelling course per se after 8th grade, but we used Spelling Power from 5th-8th grades or so. I just gave the girls the diagnostic test at the beginning of the school year, and then started with lists that were appropriate for them. They usually gained more than one year's worth of skill per year. :) But I also required a lot of hand-writing each week (no typing) and counted off for spelling consistently in every subject. So, to avoid rewriting, my girls mastered checking their own spelling on their rough drafts before writing final papers. My younger dd really *hated* having spelling count...she rewrote most often. To be fair, that's because her older sister read her final papers 75% of the time, and my older dd should be an editor--her attention to detail and natural spelling/grammar ability is profound. Finally, my younger dd got the clue that having her sister read the ROUGH DRAFT (ya think?) might make more sense. :) Every paper, every subject--count spelling, grammar and handwriting. Then after a certain age, you don't have to teach them as separate subjects--they are embedded naturally. Honestly, though, I don't know that I'd start a spelling supplement based on one test score. Who knows what kinds of tricky words they got him with?!? I still have to pause over knowledge and privilege, for example. But if he's misspelling really common words, then yes, I'd add some drill and vocabulary. I think it's important to master those words, because spell check cannot catch everything. DH returned a paper to a university senior after glancing at the first sentence where he used "collage" for college. Sigh. Thank you so much for your reply, you ladies have put everything back in perspective! I think the reason I do panic over spelling issues is the example you gave of college writing. My dh teaches classes in computer programming at a college in our area and is amazed at some of the spelling errors that come his way. Just a few months ago he was commenting that even the faculty and staff do not seem to be able to correctly use "their", "they're" and "there" in emails and exhorted me to make sure our kidlets knew the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 I didn't do a spelling course per se after 8th grade, but we used Spelling Power from 5th-8th grades or so. I just gave the girls the diagnostic test at the beginning of the school year, and then started with lists that were appropriate for them. They usually gained more than one year's worth of skill per year. :) But I also required a lot of hand-writing each week (no typing) and counted off for spelling consistently in every subject. So, to avoid rewriting, my girls mastered checking their own spelling on their rough drafts before writing final papers. My younger dd really *hated* having spelling count...she rewrote most often. To be fair, that's because her older sister read her final papers 75% of the time, and my older dd should be an editor--her attention to detail and natural spelling/grammar ability is profound. Finally, my younger dd got the clue that having her sister read the ROUGH DRAFT (ya think?) might make more sense. :) Every paper, every subject--count spelling, grammar and handwriting. Then after a certain age, you don't have to teach them as separate subjects--they are embedded naturally. Honestly, though, I don't know that I'd start a spelling supplement based on one test score. Who knows what kinds of tricky words they got him with?!? I still have to pause over knowledge and privilege, for example. But if he's misspelling really common words, then yes, I'd add some drill and vocabulary. I think it's important to master those words, because spell check cannot catch everything. DH returned a paper to a university senior after glancing at the first sentence where he used "collage" for college. Sigh. Thank you so much for your reply, you ladies have put everything back in perspective! I think the reason I do panic over spelling issues is the example you gave of college writing. My dh teaches classes in computer programming at a college in our area and is amazed at some of the spelling errors that come his way. Just a few months ago he was commenting that even the faculty and staff do not seem to be able to correctly use "their", "they're" and "there" in emails and exhorted me to make sure our kidlets knew the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 For both our high school DSs, spelling is combined with vocabulary. For DS who is an average speller, we use "The ABCs and All Their Tricks". We take 1-2 weeks to review 2 vowel patterns and then vocabulary words that use those vowel patterns. To find additional words to fit the vowel pattern, we also use http://www.morewords.com. For example, a spelling/vocabulary list for the -eu- and -ew vowel patterns might look like this (words chosen for spelling practice, to learn new vocabulary, or both): -eu- words 1. eugenics 2. eulogy 3. eunuch 4. feudal 5. lieutenant 6. maneuver 7. neurotic 8. neutron 9. pseudonym 10. sleuth -ew words 11. ewer 12. askew 13. clerihew 14. crewel 15. curfew 16. eschew 17. gewgaw 18. lewdly 19. newel 20. steward Sometimes I have him do spelling/vocabulary by collecting words from his reading and learning a list of 10 words. For DS who struggles with spelling, we do a simplified version of the above to focus on spelling commonly used words, homophones, and commonly misspelled words. In addition, he does Megawords. BEST of luck, whatever you go with! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 If I had a dime for every graduate student of mine who used "defiantly" instead of definitely, I'd be wealthy...<sigh> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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