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Please help. My child can't spell or write!


susankenny
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Hi Susan,

 

As a mom of two struggling writers and spellers, let me encourage you--it's going to be ok! Your child will get there, and there are lots of materials out there that can help you. What has helped my kids is All About Spelling. Take a look at that and see what you think. What I like:

 

1-it's an Orton Gillingham based method--great for kids who have dyslexia or other struggles with writing or spelling

2-it's multi-sensory, which helps kids remember better

3-it uses letter tiles which is helpful for reluctant writers, and allows you to build their writing skills as they are ready--you get to set the pace for that.

4-it has an incremental writing progression. The first level has them write words and simple phrases. The second level has 6 dictation phrases and 6 sentences per step. The third has 12 dictation phrases, and then incorporates the "Writing Station" where kids get to make up their own sentences. So, although this isn't a writing program, I have found that it has increased my kids' writing abilities gradually.

5-the review is completely customizable--you can do as much or as little as your child needs to master the material.

 

I blogged more about it here.

 

For writing--I did lots of oral writing at this stage, for both language arts and for math. This lets them work on the skills for these, without having to think about how to form letters and spell words at the same time. I just wrote or typed exactly what they said. Gradually you can have your dd write shorter answers herself--if she struggles, you can write it and have her copy it. As my kids got older, I had them copy paragraphs and longer pieces into their own hand, and gradually transitioned them to more independent writing. Sometimes now we sit down together and brainstorm--I jot down their ideas. Then they take those and flesh it out & write it. Over time they have been able to own more and more of the process.

 

Copywork and dictation are great ways to work on writing skills--they build up stamina, and you can teach grammar, mechanics, and spelling through them and reinforce any other lesson you are doing. Plus it's less intimidating for younger kids to write that than to have to come up with their own writing, and it's a good bridge to writing later on.

 

I hope this helps some! Hang in there! Merry :-)

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Hello,

 

My child is 8 and in 2nd grade. She writes & spells below the level she should be at. It is really stressing me out! Can someone recommend what I should do to help her!? I really need advice, support, & curriculum suggestions.

 

Thank you,

Susan

 

Susan,

 

What Merry said. I personally like the structure of using Writing With Ease for copywork and narration (working towards writing), but there are many ways to reach the end goal. I also love All About Spelling that Merry recommend.

 

Don't stress, with one on one work she can quickly advance much faster than in a classroom. I don't start these program till 2nd grade purposely, yet my kids do fine on the CAT 5 at the end of 3rd grade.

 

Heather

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I had a couple who were below level at that age, one quite significantly.

Really, it can be very stressful, and more so when we are comparing our kids to other kids and ourselves to other home school moms.

 

I have learned this in 15 years of home schooling: have a goal in mind, and just keep going from the level where they are now. Plug away, little by little, a bit at at time. You will make progress over time. This may take a lot of trial and error in finding materials that work for both of you. If you decide you need to have her evaluated, then do so. You know her better than anyone else.

 

If you and she are making progress, then great! Even if the progress is slow.

That is why we home school! We shouldn't feel the need to fit in to some arbitrary standard (that is really set by schools).

I'm talking to myself here, I am having to learn this all over again, and I tell you, it is freeing.

 

This is a journey.

 

Blessings to you as you proceed!

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I agree with Merry too! :D

 

My son could not even spell "and" or "dog" at the beginning of 2nd. We started AAS mid-way of his 2nd grade year. When he was tested at the end of 3rd he scored right at grade level, which I thought was amazing!

 

For writing, I had him do copy work and kept increasing the length of passages and decreasing the amount of time he had to do it in. He was taking an hour to copy a sentence five times at the beginning of 3rd. He is an excellent and fast writer now, at the end of 4th.

 

Keep at, there is still plenty of time!

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((((Hugs)))) It can be very stressful for us parent/teachers when we feel like our children aren't where we think they should be by a certain age. Please don't stress she will get there and most likely it will happen quickly.

 

I am going to recommend the same things the previous ladies have recommended. All About Spelling level one and Writing with Ease level one.

 

Some suggestions you might find helpful.

 

In the beginning having her write her phonograms, spelling words, phrases, etc..... on a small lined white board with colorful dry erase markers can be helpful and fun for her.

Maybe she does some of her phonograms and words written, some orally and some with the tiles.

 

Eventually you will transition from the white board to paper with appropriate size lines.

 

She will get a small amount of paper writing with the WWE.

 

 

This combination seems to make small and significant progress with writing and spelling fairly quickly.

 

 

I know children who don't like to write can cause us a lot of stress and I know it is stressful for the child as well. However I can't stress enough how important it is to modify (whatever curriculum you choose) as necessary, but do small amounts of writing and spelling consistently each day.

 

 

Hope you find this information helpful.

 

Bless you!

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Just a bit of comfort for you. DS(12) was terrible at spelling and not great at reading (even thought we followed WTM to a "T" from pre-school on) until the end of 2nd grade. One morning I walked past an open doorway and had to back up and do a double-take. Was that my son...reading a book? ON HIS OWN? Since it was at the end of the year the improvement wasn't reflected on his Stanford Test scores, but by the end of 3rd grade his spelling score had shot up to one of his highest instead the absolute lowest. The only thing that changed significantly in that time is that he was reading more. We used (and still use) Spelling Workout. He's a visual learner and since he had a firm foundation in phonics and systematic spelling instruction, I think he just needed time to put it all together.

 

You should try to eliminate any underlying issues if you can, and do choose a spelling program you like, but it might just be a maturity thing.

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I would add in a daily journal. Like reading, writing gets better with practice.

 

:iagree:I also like the idea of a journal. The advice I was given (and, Merry, I think it was you over on the SL boards:001_huh: that mentioned this a while back - thank you!) is that the journal is not something to be graded in anyway. It's purpose is to encourage a creative outlet and a love of writing, to just put thoughts on paper. Spelling, punctuation, etc is not a thing to be corrected in this journal. Offer writing prompts if needed or desired, but this is dc's own. Doing this, even for just a year, really helped my ds with getting his thoughts down. He went from complaining about writing a sentence, to writing his own stories. This year, he's so excited because he participated in National Novel Writer's Month and is working to complete editing on his first "novel" (5000 words and counting!).

 

He reads a lot so his spelling is improving, but that is one area which we have sorely neglected. He now wants to learn how to spell things correctly so I just ordered Phonetic Zoo (IEW) so we can put a concerted effort toward it.

 

Sometimes, things just have to happen "at the right time." :)

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Hi,

 

Thank you all so very much! I know I should not compare my little girl to other children, but it's hard sometimes. Her spelling and writing skills lack behind her peers & it's so hard to not blame myself. She's 8 & it seems she should be further along than she is, you know what i mean? I will definitely look into all of the suggestions above. I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

 

Thank you!:grouphug:

 

Susan

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Does she learn best by rule or pattern?

 

Webster's Speller and Sequential Spelling teach by pattern.

 

Good rule based programs are plentiful, a lot of people really like AAS, the most efficient one in my opinion is Spelling Plus, it also has an accompanying dictation book for children who need to write the word in a sentence to truly learn it.

 

If she learns best when she figures out something herself, I like Tricks of the Trade, it's a notebook where children figure out where to put their own misspelled words based on why they misspelled it and what type of word it is.

 

You can also try my free online phonics lessons, they have a lot of spelling rules in them. I also have some good free and cheap spelling links here, she's probably a bit too young for my online spelling lessons, my phonics lessons cover the same spelling rules but at a slower pace.

 

I also have some spelling rules on my how to tutor page.

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Hi,

 

Thank you all so very much! I know I should not compare my little girl to other children, but it's hard sometimes. Her spelling and writing skills lack behind her peers & it's so hard to not blame myself. She's 8 & it seems she should be further along than she is, you know what i mean? I will definitely look into all of the suggestions above. I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

 

Thank you!:grouphug:

 

Susan

 

Susan,

I know exactly how you feel. I'm in the same boat. My dd turned 8 in Nov and is a struggling reader and speller. We've been working on reading for a long, long time it seems (since she was 5) She's wanted to read for so long and it's been a huge mountain for her. We're currently starting Saxon phonics because other programs just haven't worked and she loves her Saxon math. We're also using All About Spelling and I'm amazed at her progress. We started about 1 month ago and she's already on Step 16 of level 1. She loves it and it make sense to her.

 

I agree with all that Merry suggested and wish you luck in your journey. It can be a tough road, but keep hope, it will come.

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Hello,

 

My child is 8 and in 2nd grade. She writes & spells below the level she should be at. It is really stressing me out! Can someone recommend what I should do to help her!? I really need advice, support, & curriculum suggestions.

 

Thank you,

Susan

 

Susan,

 

I want to encourage you with a story from this week. One of my dc was a really horrible speller and followed an older sibling who was such a natural speller. When dc was about your dd's age, I despaired that mine would ever learn to spell -- the spelling was especially creative in writing projects.(I'm trying to protect the identity of said child so bear with my lack of pronouns. :001_smile:).

 

Fast foward to this week: this child won the high school spelling bee. Even said child announced some surprise. :001_smile:

 

It's a testimony, not so much to any one curriculum we used, but to the daily encouragement and correction that we did. I used Spelling Power for several years, followed by a year of Calvert. I pointed out common spelling rules, spelling patterns, exaggerated my pronunciation of weirdly spelled words (bee-a-u-tiful)(we still do this) and encouraged independent reading by scouring for good books and forming a book club. This child matured, learned how to visualize words and acquired excellent study habits that have helped to overcome early spelling weakness.

 

So, find a spelling curriculum that you like to teach and that you will be able to use everyday. Help your dd become "word aware" and to develop visualization of words. If you are consisternt, and give your dd the years to mature in her reading and language skills, my bet is that you will see huge improvement.

 

HTH,

Lisa

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... $20 says she will be right up there with everyone else by the time she's 18. (Kind of like the 2 year old potty trained kids who just "got it" vs. the 4 year old ones that had more trouble.) It will all work out in the end. (No, this is not a real bet, just sayin')

 

And another yeah for the journal idea. But also recommend not correcting, that can cause frustration for a younger child (specifically below 4th grade). Great programs listed above, Spelling Power is another grreat one to consider. I would recommend reading up on each of them and deciding which one fits your style best. Then go from there. Off the record, I was a horrble speller in school, worse by far than everyone in my class! Now, everyone comes to me when they need to spell a word (not that I get them ALL right), but I'm not that 2nd grade horrid speller I use to be, and neither will your daughter!

 

Happy homeschooling. Enjoy it! Things will work out!

Edited by One Busy Mom of 5
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Check out Apples and Pears spelling from http://www.prometheantrust.org/soundfoundationsbooks.htm It is a bit pricey and it comes from England (very fast shipping though) but it has been WONDERFUL for my kids. NO spelling lists to learn and forget. They use a variety of activities to teach spelling and then use the words over and over again. As you move along the kids are writing sentences from dictation, etc.

 

If she is also struggling with reading they have some nice programs but my favorite is the I See Sam books from http://www.3rsplus.com or http://www.iseesam.com

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Hi,

 

Thank you all so very much! I know I should not compare my little girl to other children, but it's hard sometimes. Her spelling and writing skills lack behind her peers & it's so hard to not blame myself. She's 8 & it seems she should be further along than she is, you know what i mean? I will definitely look into all of the suggestions above. I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

 

Thank you!:grouphug:

 

Susan

 

In addition to echoing the Writing With Ease recommendation, I would suggest you download Susan Wise Bauer's Writing With a Plan Elementary Grades mp3 from the Peace Hill Press store.

 

As far as journal writing goes, I think you should leave plenty of fun notebooks and pens and pencils around for your child to use if they want, but I do not this should be assigned as part of school. Forced journal and/or creative writing can really frustrate a child and make them really dislike writing.

Edited by JudoMom
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I dont think anyone mentioned these 2 programs, based on Writing Road to Reading--written for HSlers specifically. PhRd2S&R is way pricey but has a set of teaching DVDs included. www.thephonicsroad.com Ph4R&S is much more affordable (less than half the price), without the DVDs tho. www.lakemerepublishing.com now sells it, along with remedial stuff i believe.

Both are VERY teacher intensive, but the way to go IMO. None of my kids had problems but I would use these again, regardless. I would use this approach to teach an adult, including a non-English speaker, to read and spell English also.

YES, it is just THAT good IMO.

I used Spelling Power after also. We continued to mark the words they needed to practice as in Ph4R&S.

CAVEAT: I did NOT use this approach to teach early reading. I used Alphaphonics (again, I would do this again and with ANY age, including a non-native spaker, but thats just me). I didnt teach handwriting this way either. We just used handwriting books. Decoding (reading) & Encoding (spelling) are interdependent skills but handwriting is more an art IMO. A kid could read like the dickens but not be able to write well. Why hold him back from reading/spelling progression till he gets a fine motor skill?

If you need, you can get letter magnets for him to make his own words, sentences, stories. Or use foam letters (sold by the bucket), or magnetic words even. (I had one dd who needed these words for her stories--she talked in paragraphs by age ONE, that kind of a kid LOL)

You could even have them type, but personally, I reserve that for once they write fairly well by hand....3rd or 4th grade.

Long enough ramble now, im going :) OHHH one more thing...have her checked for eye or processing problems?? But I would wait a few more yrs b4 taking that route...

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  • 3 years later...

Hello,

 

My child is 8 and in 2nd grade. She writes & spells below the level she should be at. It is really stressing me out! Can someone recommend what I should do to help her!? I really need advice, support, & curriculum suggestions.

 

Thank you,

Susan

 

It would be helpful if we knew what you're doing with her now, or what you have done in the past. :-)

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Apples and Pears spelling (linked by someone else above) has worked wonders here with my weak speller. He started at 9 and has made amazing progress. We had used a rule based program the previous two years. It was a good one, and worked well for my more natural speller. This child learned all of it. But the rules didn't help him pick the correct spelling when there was no rule to follow (ie fruit or froot? both are phonetic and follow the rules). I'm using it with both kids, my struggler and more natural speller. There is a US map to click on their site. That link will let you order via a US representative. So it is printed and shipped here. My shipping was quick.

 

I just want you to know there are other options. Apples and Pears seems to work really well with struggling spellers.

 

Writing. Consider the book No More I'm Done (available from amazon). The lessons are engaging and effective. I'm merging it with The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever (also Amazon). But I think, if I had it to do again and knew of these resources younger, I would have done No More I'm Done in 2nd grade and followed with The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever in 3rd into 4th. CAP Writing and Rhetoric, Fables would be a nice follow up perhaps. I'm merging it with what we're doing now, but we're in 4th grade--so further behind than you. I really like it for 3rd/4th grade. But I think the stylistic instruction in No More I'm Done will really add to the quality of writing in other programs you use in the future. We used WWE through 3rd grade and also added Essentials in Writing in 3rd grade before I found these resources.

 

 

 

 

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My dd currently nine struggled with spelling because she spells phonetically... she started reading very young... So I started her with AAS at 8 and a half.... I started her in Level 1 to lay the foundation... i explained that she will likely master a lesson in a day but we are still doing them all and she is okay with that... we do 2-3 lessons a week and she does master them that quick...writing is daunting but its also not a human inate ability it is learned and should be entered into slowly... and at their speed... at least that is what they are teaching me in college...I had mine write in a journal that I never looked at...what ever she wanted to.. every day (school day) for fifteen minutes for a year... not for me to check or anything... just so she could enjoy writing... at the end of the year she wanted me to look at... so i did... sometimes she wrote stories... sometimes she just wrote the letters of the alphabet... now she writes for fun... that was just last year... this year we are doing some dictation and every once in a while drawing a picture and a narration regarding something she has learned... she even writes letters to friends... hope this helps

Hello,

My child is 8 and in 2nd grade. She writes & spells below the level she should be at. It is really stressing me out! Can someone recommend what I should do to help her!? I really need advice, support, & curriculum suggestions.

Thank you,
Susan

 

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