6yo can read anything but can't spell

[ShareBear]

I'm trying to make curriculum selections for my 6 y.o. for this fall semester which I hope to begin in Sept. (Prior to this we've been "unschooling.") I've got everything figured out (I think) except grammar/spelling/language arts.

 

He's been reading fluently since 4. I'm not sure if I can take credit for teaching him, or if you would call him self-taught. He spent a lot of time playing around on Starfall, and I read to him a lot, and we did go through the first quarter or third of Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. From there he just took off on his own. My point is, there was no systematic phonics instruction. :)

 

Now he can and does read pretty much anything. His favorites are 5th/6th grade level fiction (like Eleanor Estes), and mid/upper elementary level science textbooks. He also enjoys writing on his "blog" (which is actually a Word document). He seems to have a pretty good feel for sentence construction, how to write a compelling story line, etc. but his punctuation and capitalization are pretty random.

 

And...this kid can not spell! At all. He asks for my help with the simplest words. I can't relate to this because for me, reading and spelling went hand-in-hand. If I could read it, I could spell it.

 

So I need to teach this child to spell. Will this involve phonics? I also want him to learn grammar. So, what sort of spelling/grammar/[phonics?] curriculum would you recommend for a young child who is already reading quite well?

[Embassy]

Are you talking about my kids? :tongue_smilie: My kids were like that. Reading and spelling skills were far apart. I'm working through a phonics and spelling program for my younger son. Spelling instruction has made a huge difference. He is now spelling at or slightly above grade level. My older son now has spelling skills a couple years ahead of his grade level.

 

As to what program? I don't think there is a magical program, but Rod and Staff Spelling seems to be a good fit with my kids. It is puzzly and teaches according to sound patterns. I am also using Rod and Staff Phonics for my younger son. I don't love it, but I haven't found a phonics program that I did love. My kids did enjoy Evan Moore's 1st grade grammar and spelling books though.

 

In short, I would do a phonics and phonics-based spelling program to give him that phonetic base. I found it necessary to do both when examining how poor my son's spelling skills were. Once he finishes the 2nd grade Rod and Staff phonics program he will just do phonics-based spelling.

 

At that age for grammar I would just introduce parts of speech through something like Mad Libs and the Grammarland story.

 

Since he likes to write I would have him practice one item at a time in his writing (i.e. capital letter at the beginning of the sentence, period at the end of the sentence, etc.). Go over his writing with him and have him correct for the one thing you are working on. When he is proficient with that skill add another one. If you are looking for a workbook Grade 1 Evan Moore grammar covers those types of things.

[Ann.without.an.e]

My oldest dd was this way. She could read on a very advanced level, but bless her heart...she still struggles to spell some things. She interchanged are and our forever. My middle two, I used BJU English from the very beginning and I don't know if they have a better foundation in phonics or if they are just natural and older dd isn't. My younger dd tested 13th grade equivalent in spelling on her 2nd grade standardized test. Spelling is somewhat natural, but I think a good phonics foundation can help even a child who is not natural in spelling.

[LMD]

My DD is like this. Can read just about anything, but would go to tears if I asked her to spell an easy word. I eased her in to spelling using SpellingCity.com online. We use LLATL for LA (we're in Red atm), the books to read are far below her reading level, but she needs to work through the phonics and grammar. This level of LLATL includes 4 spelling words a week, usually a couple using the phonics we've been reviewing and a sight word or two - I put these words into SpellingCity and she loves it. We're loving LLATL and I feel it's advanced enough while still being gentle (because she's only just 6!).

Another thing I try to do is say the words phonetically too, just because it makes it stick sometimes. ;)

[TracyR]

Boy, I just don't know. My oldest reads well, but is the world's worst speller. I taught her using phonics, but at one point needed to switch her to phonics and whole word reading because she was a visual spatial learner. But I continued to use and integrate phonics, always. My 2nd daughter taught using phonics. She's an excellent speller. My 3rd daughter used phonics , isn't such a great speller but she catches on quickly once you correct her. My 4th, well its unknown how she's going to do. I taught her to read using a whole words approach , she can read but am now teaching her phonics with the Christian Light Learning to Read program.

 

So my broad is quite all over the place. I almost wonder if it just depends on the person. I don't remember ever being taught a shred of phonics growing up, other then the Letter People in kindergarten. Neither does my husband. We both spell really well. So I don't know really what makes a difference.

[LisaKinVA]

For some GT kids... spelling will always be something they work on/think about. (I remember reading that horrible spelling is sometimes a GT trait.).

 

I have used the same phonics/spelling program for all of my children.

 

Thus far, I have one child is a horrible speller. Absolutely horrible. Part of her problem, though, is she isn't really thinking about what she's doing. When I make her stop and THINK about the word, many times she can spell correctly. She can also spell for the test, but that doesn't necessarily translate to her writing.

 

My boys are both natural spellers. I don't even have my oldest doing spelling as a formal subject any longer, and I have my younger doing the same program has his sister, which puts him in a level 3 grades "ahead" (and it's still a breeze.

 

Essentially, I'm teaching my oldest daughter "coping" mechanisims. The same ones I used (and still use). These allowed me to get through high school, college and my career with few issues.

 

Sometimes, you really have to accept an "other" answer ;)

[jenbrdsly]

For some GT kids... spelling will always be something they work on/think about. (I remember reading that horrible spelling is sometimes a GT trait.).

 

Essentially, I'm teaching my oldest daughter "coping" mechanisims. The same ones I used (and still use). These allowed me to get through high school, college and my career with few issues.

 

Sometimes, you really have to accept an "other" answer ;)

 

It's like you wrote this post as a description of ME!!!! This is going to sound crazy, but in going through the Level 1 spelling book with my six year old, he breezed through it no problem, and I was the one who was really learning. The Floss rule (double l, s, and f at the end of one syllable words) was especially enlightening.

 

Looking back, I think my big problem was that I learned spelling by rote. I would have to copy out my spelling lists 25 times each to learn the words as a child. I never did learn systematic spelling rules. It's like if you learned to read, but never knew how to make the "th" sound. Sure you could read and get by, but you would be making crazy mistakes your whole life.

 

We are now on book 2 with my son. I'm hopeful that by the time we get to book 7 I will have taught myself how to spell. Maybe there is still hope for me!

[ShareBear]

Oops, just realized I managed to post this thread twice! How did I do that?

 

The "floss rule" sounds really useful! I never learned spelling rules like that as a child, but since I was a natural speller, it didn't matter. Rules like that would be really helpful for my son, though. Jenbrdsly, maybe I missed it, but which spelling program are you doing with your six-year-old?

 

The only spelling program I remember doing as a child was Wordly Wise. I loved the activities in Wordly Wise, the puzzles and so on, but I don't remember it teaching me any useful spelling tips like the one above.

 

I have a stack of old phonics workbooks that my mom gave me. Most of them I thought looked really boring or annoying, but the Rod and Staff ones didn't look too bad. I only have books E and F, though, and would have to order A through D.

[ElizabethB]

I would work quickly through the resources on my how to tutor page with a spelling focus, have him read and spell a few words of each type while learning the spelling rules, they are link #5 at the end of the page.

 

My spelling got a lot better one I started tutoring with phonics and learned all the rules!

 

Then, I would follow up with a good phonics based, rule based spelling program.

[jenbrdsly]

Oops, just realized I managed to post this thread twice! How did I do that?

 

The "floss rule" sounds really useful! I never learned spelling rules like that as a child, but since I was a natural speller, it didn't matter. Rules like that would be really helpful for my son, though. Jenbrdsly, maybe I missed it, but which spelling program are you doing with your six-year-old?

 

The only spelling program I remember doing as a child was Wordly Wise. I loved the activities in Wordly Wise, the puzzles and so on, but I don't remember it teaching me any useful spelling tips like the one above.

 

I have a stack of old phonics workbooks that my mom gave me. Most of them I thought looked really boring or annoying, but the Rod and Staff ones didn't look too bad. I only have books E and F, though, and would have to order A through D.

 

We are doing All About Spelling. That's funny about Wordly Wise, because that's what I did in middle school! Obviously it didn't help me much.

[Carrie12345]

My 8 and 9yos are fabulous readers, but both are terrible with spelling. All About Spelling is our pick. It's been helping a lot, but I have a feeling they're just not going to be the greatest spellers in the world!

 

My 9yo likes to IM me from another room (or, sometimes, the SAME room :tongue_smilie:). I've noticed a bit of improvement since she began doing that. It's practice without being school-like.

[allyall]

This was both of my boys last year. We did MCP Phonics A and they are doing much better. We're adding in the accompanying spelling book and going to work thru the MCP phonics/spelling series now. We're also adding WWE and FLL for language arts and grammar.

[jenbrdsly]

My 9yo likes to IM me from another room (or, sometimes, the SAME room :tongue_smilie:). I've noticed a bit of improvement since she began doing that. It's practice without being school-like.

 

 

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