BatmansWife Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 ...pretty please. I've had these two books, as well as the Homophone book, since September and I still haven't started it yet! It seems like every spelling program I have tried lately (How to Teach Spelling, The Spell of Words, etc)...it's like rocket science to even figure out how to use it the right way. Why can't it just say....day 1 do this, this and this. Why are there pages and pages to read in the beginning to even figure out how to do it? Why is there no indication when to use the dictation sentences (at least in the other spelling books I tried, not sure about Spelling Plus)? :banghead: I know that I'm making this out to be much harder than it probably really is....I just have this mental block now, I think, about these spelling programs. So...how do you use Spelling Plus? Even the pages with the weekly spelling list, with the teacher notes on the side, I'm confused about. Do you give a copy of the page to the child...do they copy the words to the right of it on the lines? Or do you just recite each word and have them spell it cold turkey without looking at this list? What's the actual weekly process? How do you incorporate the Dictation and the Homophone books? I want to get going on these books but I'm feeling lost. :willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 i sold the spelling book & we just use the dictation book now (since the words are in it). day 1 - pretest of the words (usually there are 15 i think). review mistakes, discuss rules, any questions? etc. day 2 - write each word 3x in cursive day 3 - write a sentence with each missed word from the day before (write in cursive) day 4 - spelling games (you can use spelling city, play a dice game, or make up your own. i also like the ideas on page 5 of here) day 5 - dictation sentences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 i sold the spelling book & we just use the dictation book now (since the words are in it). day 1 - pretest of the words (usually there are 15 i think). review mistakes, discuss rules, any questions? etc. day 2 - write each word 3x in cursive day 3 - write a sentence with each missed word from the day before (write in cursive) day 4 - spelling games (you can use spelling city, play a dice game, or make up your own. i also like the ideas on page 5 of here) day 5 - dictation sentences Wow! You've made this so easy to understand. Why wasn't the book written like this...all this could be on one page instead of 40 plus pages of explanations. This is definitely doable for me....and I could start this today! Thank you so much for breaking this into these steps. The dice game and the other ideas are wonderful too. If anyone else has a different approach to Spelling Plus, I am still :bigear: . ETA: Hmmm...unless it would make more sense to start on a Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 i made a mistake. on day 3, they write sentences with words missed from day 1 (not the previous day). i'm not sure what the actual schedule is for spelling plus. i read a post a few years back from another mom that broke it down day by day like this. i really liked the concept and adapted it to our needs. it works well for my kids & it really helps me gauge their weaknesses and strengths in spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 i made a mistake. on day 3, they write sentences with words missed from day 1 (not the previous day). i'm not sure what the actual schedule is for spelling plus. i read a post a few years back from another mom that broke it down day by day like this. i really liked the concept and adapted it to our needs. it works well for my kids & it really helps me gauge their weaknesses and strengths in spelling. OK...that change makes more sense. I was looking at that list of ideas you linked....it might be a neat idea to print these, maybe cut them up in strips, and have them draw a slip of paper with the spelling activity on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 OK...that change makes more sense. I was looking at that list of ideas you linked....it might be a neat idea to print these, maybe cut them up in strips, and have them draw a slip of paper with the spelling activity on it. oh, yes! i'm stealing your idea! i love it! a game basket would be a big hit here!!! ETA - if you find more game ideas, please PM me!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 i am going to print these out & do one a day on tuesday - thursday. monday will be the pretest & i will have them write the missed words correctly then. friday will be dictation. i'll put these sentences in a box & they can pick one. i think it will be a big hit! so thank you!!! for word search or flash cards, i'll make our own. Write your spelling words in alphabetical order Find synonyms for your spelling words if possible Find antonyms for your spelling words if possible Write & illustrate a short paper or book using all of your spelling words Break your spelling words up into syllables Spell your words out loud while doing jumping jacks Spell your words out loud while singing them to your favorite tune Do a word search with your spelling words (your mom can make it) Write each spelling word using a different color each time Write your words in cursive 3 times Write your spelling words with paint & a paintbrush Write your spelling words on the chalkboard Read your spelling words aloud in as many silly voices as you can think of Write your spelling words on flashcards. Choose one without looking & have your mom describe the word while you try to guess it. If you get it correct, spell it! Do this several times Play on Spelling City with your spelling words Choose 5 spelling words and write them in a column on a piece of paper. Underneath each word, try to create new words using the letters from the spelling word Count the letters in each spelling word. Write the words in order from least to greatest in length Write the definition of your spelling words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I use the books on a three week rotation. Week one- spelling Monday we pretest The rest of the week, we rewrite missed words and discuss rules Week two - dictation 2 sentences a day to match the list from the.previous week Week three - homophones 3 days, one page a.day I did not start with homophones until we reached the third grade lists in spelling and dictation. I accelerated my son by doing 2-3 lessons a week until he started missing words. We have covered k-2nd lists in 1 year and syaryed third grade lists this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I've started using the dictation book to supplement WRTR 4th and have been wondering if there is any point in buying the main curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 i am going to print these out & do one a day on tuesday - thursday. monday will be the pretest & i will have them write the missed words correctly then. friday will be dictation. i'll put these sentences in a box & they can pick one. i think it will be a big hit! so thank you!!! for word search or flash cards, i'll make our own. Write your spelling words in alphabetical order Find synonyms for your spelling words if possible Find antonyms for your spelling words if possible Write & illustrate a short paper or book using all of your spelling words Break your spelling words up into syllables Spell your words out loud while doing jumping jacks Spell your words out loud while singing them to your favorite tune Do a word search with your spelling words (your mom can make it) Write each spelling word using a different color each time Write your words in cursive 3 times Write your spelling words with paint & a paintbrush Write your spelling words on the chalkboard Read your spelling words aloud in as many silly voices as you can think of Write your spelling words on flashcards. Choose one without looking & have your mom describe the word while you try to guess it. If you get it correct, spell it! Do this several times Play on Spelling City with your spelling words Choose 5 spelling words and write them in a column on a piece of paper. Underneath each word, try to create new words using the letters from the spelling word Count the letters in each spelling word. Write the words in order from least to greatest in length Write the definition of your spelling words I was making up a list too, and then came back here and saw your list. :lol: I have a lot of the ones you listed (from that list you linked). Here are some more (some I made up, most I found online): Write your spelling words in alphabetical order or reverse ABC order....you choose Write your spelling words and draw a picture of them Spell your words with tiles (use tiles from either scrabble, pears in pairs, or bananagrams. If using scrabble tiles, count the score) Bounce a ball and spell your words to the rhythm Use a stick to scratch your spelling words in the dirt (outside) or in salt (inside) Use a whiteboard, a chalkboard, or a handheld mirror (with wipeoff markers) to spell your words Think of a silly story that uses all of your spelling words Use rocks, twigs, and leaves to form your spelling words on the ground outside Go on a word hunt in your spelling words. Can you find any smaller words within your words? Use tiles or a whiteboard and try to make crosswords with your spelling words Use rubber stamp letters and an ink pad to stamp your words Write your spelling words and draw boxes around them Type your spelling words on the computer Make an acrostic with you spelling words Hold two different colored pens or markers in your hand and write your spelling words Make a words search puzzle on graph paper using all your spelling words Write the alphabet on a piece of paper. Under A, write $1.00. Under B, write $2.00, and so on. Figure up the dollar amount of each of your Spelling words (I'll probably print a chart up ahead of time). Which is the most expensive word? The least expensive? Or use this chart that I found online: A 4¢, B 5¢, C 2¢, D 3¢, E 4¢, F 6¢, G 9¢, H 1¢, I 7¢, J 10¢, K 8¢, L 2¢, M 5¢, N 6¢, O 8¢, P 7¢, Q 0¢, R 2¢, S 5¢, T 1¢, U 10¢, V 25¢, W 3¢, X 11¢, Y 6¢, Z 50¢ Cut letters out of magazines and newspapers to spell your words Make Spelling Pyramids. Write the first letter. On the next line, write the first and second letters. On the third line, write the first, second, and third letters, and so on Fraction Spelling. Fold a sheet of writing paper to create three columns (Word, Vowels, Consonants). Write the week's spelling words in the first column. In the second column, write in fraction form the number of vowels in each word. Then write the number of consonants, in fraction form, in the third column. Example... Word: Summer Vowels: 2/6 Consonants: 4/6 In the example above, the word summer has six letters. Two of those letters, or 2/6 of the letters, are vowels, and four of the letters, or 4/6, are consonants. Or student can draw a pie, each spelling word pie is divided into however many letters in the word. For the word summer, the pie would be divided into 6 pieces. In the pieces of the pie, write the letters in sequence, one letter per section of the pie. Then color each vowel slice with a red crayon and each consonant slice with blue. Write your letters in glue on heavy paper. Sprinkle Jello over the words. Your Spelling has never smelled so good! Use alphabet cereal or pasta letters to spell your words Write a poem using your words Write your words in fancy letters Here are some more ideas. These are cute cards for spelling in silly voices. And, I thought this text message spelling was a cute idea (copy and laminate, using wipe off markers write spelling words on the screen and then pretend to text by pressing the buttons to spell the words). ETA: Just found this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 I use the books on a three week rotation. Week one- spelling Monday we pretest The rest of the week, we rewrite missed words and discuss rules Week two - dictation 2 sentences a day to match the list from the.previous week Week three - homophones 3 days, one page a.day I did not start with homophones until we reached the third grade lists in spelling and dictation. I accelerated my son by doing 2-3 lessons a week until he started missing words. We have covered k-2nd lists in 1 year and syaryed third grade lists this year. This is an interesting schedule too. I like both of the schedules posted. I'll have to think this over and see if I can kind of combine the two into something that would work for us. Thank you! I've started using the dictation book to supplement WRTR 4th and have been wondering if there is any point in buying the main curriculum. Well, according to mytwomonkeys, she doesn't even use the main book Spelling Plus anymore. It's really just a list of the words. If the words are already in the Dictation book, then you probably wouldn't really need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 The Spelling book does have a list of words to expand the spelling lists provided. The words are divided into families. I find that useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 The Spelling book does have a list of words to expand the spelling lists provided. The words are divided into families. I find that useful. Yes, you are right. In looking it over again I realize that there is more in there than just the weekly spelling lists. There are other helpful things, including the teacher spelling tips on the weekly lists. I like the lists in the front marked A, B, C, etc. that shows the words by grade level too. It's actually a pretty nice book and I'm excited to start making use of it. So...I guess I'm not much help in knowing if you should get it or not Hunter. Maybe mytwomonkeys can tell you why she sold it and just kept the Dictation book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 In the sample I saw the word families or whatever they are called. I use some similar lists in How to Tutor and The ABC's and All Their Tricks for cursive handwriting practice. I figured any tips and tricks for the words would be handy, too. It's not at the top of my list, but I was thinking it might be handy. It looked to me that combining Spelling Plus and WRTR looked an awful lot like LOE. What I'm doing is working, so I'm less likely to spend money on something that is not a sure thing or vital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 i don't use the book. i'm sure it's fine, i just didn't really utilize it. when we moved, i was purging, selling, etc. and that was one that i could live without - so i got rid of it. it isn't a book i would say is unnecessary, just unnecessary for us. aprilmay, your list is great! i am cutting and pasting & adding it to my list. if you find more ideas or other suggestions in teaching spelling, please share with me! :) today went well for my daughter & she liked it a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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