WriterMommy Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I have always liked rule-based spelling and phonics, but I've had a hard time finding a curriculum I love. I've read that several people here love Sequential Spelling, but I was turned off by it's opposition to rules. Can someone argue for or against it? To me, drop the e when you add ing makes a lot of sense, but it seems not everyone feels that way. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 It just worked for us to rescue two very struggling spellers both of which have a touch of dysgraphia and whose father has dyslexia. It's so easy to use, they like it, there's not a big financial investment and the difference can be seen almost immediately. However, it goes without saying that if I had taught them from the beginning with a rules based O-G program, I doubt they would have been struggling spellers to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I never say a rules based spelling program I liked. For my very limited search they seemed to be no connect to the rule being taught and the words being taught. So the rule might be "i before e except after c" and the list will have ten words, two which follow that rule, one that breaks it, and eight random words unrelated to the word. I found Sequential and it made sense to me. I think Eldest might do better with a rule based program, but he does fine with Sequential. It makes sense to me, and I don't want to go searching for seomthing different and change programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I haven't used Sequential Spelling. We use Apples and Pears, which is a morpheme based approach. We are nearly through the 3rd (of 4) levels. I have looked through 4, though not extensively. From what I can tell, Apples and Pears teaches just three rules (doubling rule, the drop the silent e rule, and changing y to i). I used a rule based spelling program for quite a while (2 levels of phonics road for spelling, with phonogram based reading instruction prior to that). Rules didn't help my weak speller spell well. The issue was that there was no rule for which (phonetically correct) phonogram to select (oo or ui for fruit?). The other issue was that many of the rules taught have too many exceptions to be useful without a strong visual memory for when it does and doesn't work in a particular word. The Apples and Pears approach has been fantastic for us, with just those 3 rules. I can think of very few times I've wanted to pull out a rule from our old program to explain why a word was spelled in a particular way, and none of those times were musts in terms of future spelling. Edited to add: I did a search re: sequential spelling and Apples and Pears. It doesn't look like it's the same approach! http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/375952-sequential-spelling-or-apples-and-pears/ But I stand by my experience that a rules based approach to spelling isn't the right choice for all kids. Rules worked fine for my other child. One difference between the two is that the one who did well with PR has a good visual memory for how a word should look, while his twin didn't. There may be more to it than that, but someone on this board wrote that "you can't rule your way into correct spelling" and I concur. You can't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I've tried AAS, LoE and Sequential Spelling and in that order too. AAS was a complete flop here, and I thought my daughter hated it because of all the fiddly bits...cards, tiles, more cards. LoE had a similar rules based approach, but had fun games tossed in. She really enjoyed that part. In both cases, she actually learned very little. Sequential Spelling is the one that finally worked for us. I think AAS and LoE are great approaches, and I'm sure they work great for lots of kids (I know I learned a lot about why things are spelled the way they are) but my daughter is a whole to parts learner and Sequential Spelling really speaks to that. Before you decide, think about how your child learns best. Then, contact me if you want to buy my AAS, or LoE. Teasing, but only sort of! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WriterMommy Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 The rules based approach has worked for him. He's a good speller so far. I'm just having to make up my own lists each week. I'd like a real curriculum, I just haven't seen one I loved. I like Rod and Staff phonics but their spelling is weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homemama Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 You might want to check out Spelling Power. With SP, you only have to buy one book for all your spelling. It is rule based, but the kids move through the levels at their own speed. You can choose what activities to use and there are no worksheets! You can find it at Rainbow Resource or CBD. homemama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 We use Sequnetial Spelling and I add in the rules as we go. It actually works out really well as long as you (the list provider) know the rules. The lists will usually have a rule they are illustrating, much like the drop the e when adding a suffix which begins with a vowel. You will have ten words in a row which all illustrate the rule - it just isn't said out loud. With my son, we go through about half and I ask him, "What's up? What is happening here?" He can normally give me a fairly blurry explanation of the rule which we then clarify with more succinct wording. Then we do the next five words, and I can see if he can apply the rule. So the rules are in there, they are just masked with application. I don't know if that helps. I find that my son does much better with Sequntial Spelling when we do this. Before I would stop, it took much longer for him to completely extract the rule with clarity. Now, he can make great leaps and has really benefited from the prefix/base/suffix approach. I must say it saved me. I was a dreadful speller before and I really understand words now. I was given the rules based, morphograph curriculum and could never seem to understand when to apply them correctly. Sequnetial Spelling is just 100% application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 We use Sequnetial Spelling and I add in the rules as we go. It actually works out really well as long as you (the list provider) know the rules. The lists will usually have a rule they are illustrating, much like the drop the e when adding a suffix which begins with a vowel. You will have ten words in a row which all illustrate the rule - it just isn't said out loud. With my son, we go through about half and I ask him, "What's up? What is happening here?" He can normally give me a fairly blurry explanation of the rule which we then clarify with more succinct wording. Then we do the next five words, and I can see if he can apply the rule. So the rules are in there, they are just masked with application. I don't know if that helps. I find that my son does much better with Sequntial Spelling when we do this. Before I would stop, it took much longer for him to completely extract the rule with clarity. Now, he can make great leaps and has really benefited from the prefix/base/suffix approach. I must say it saved me. I was a dreadful speller before and I really understand words now. I was given the rules based, morphograph curriculum and could never seem to understand when to apply them correctly. Sequnetial Spelling is just 100% application. I do this too. Of course, it helps if you know and understand the rules yourself. For that I recommend Uncovering the Logic of English by Denise Eide. Spelling for grown ups. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Totally checking that out of the library! ...I think that sentence might have squarely doomed me to nerdy-homeschool-mom status... Thanks ZaraBellesMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Think about how your child learns. Sequential can work well for students who look for and recognize patterns and for those who enjoy discovery-oriented approaches. There's a logic to it that made sense to me to a point. However, it didn't work well for my oldest, because he hates discovery-oriented approaches (I connected the dots on that one after realizing how our experience with Sequential was similar to our experience with other discovery-oriented programs!). In his young mind, they were withholding information and setting students up to fail. Having to change answers to get them correct did not equate a perfect paper to him--it meant he got a lot wrong because they didn't teach him. When he didn't see the patterns, I tried to point them out--and found myself explaining some simple rules--and he'd always say, "well, why didn't they just tell me that in the first place?" In our case, AAS worked because it was direct and incremental. However, it's not only rules-based--it combines the best of several tools. Good spellers tend to use a variety of effective strategies--phonics, rules-based, visual , and morphemic. AAS teaches them step by step and then leads students to learn how to analyze words and decide for themselves which strategy to use. HTH as you think through what kind of student your child is, how he or she learns, and what might work out best. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 You should be able to tell if words in a SS lesson fall into a particular spelling rule. Then you can have a handy book like Spelling Essentials to look the rule up and talk about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Totally checking that out of the library! ...I think that sentence might have squarely doomed me to nerdy-homeschool-mom status... Thanks ZaraBellesMom Welcome to the club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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