Megicce Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hi there! I've been looking into spelling curricula for first grade in the fall and, like others who've posted before me, been trying to find the sweet spot between systematic rule-teaching and minimal teacher time. I have enough hands-on time in other subjects that I need to make spelling as easy as it can be (while still being effective) for the sake of my own sanity! :) So, I think we've settled on Rod & Staff as a program that looks like it will work for us long-term, but it doesn't start until Grade 2! Ack! I looked at the samples, and it does seem like it would be too much for us to just jump in to in 1st grade. If you've used it, would you concur? Any recommendations as to what to use for first grade if we're ultimately probably going to switch? You saw my list of preferences above. Bonus if it is visually appealing...DD likes pretty things, and thst would probably make spelling less of a battle. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I do not teach spelling in first grade. Instead we focus on continued/advanced phonics and reading fluency. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 How is her reading? I like having a child reading well before tackling spelling. And, really, I see no reason to start spelling in 1st grade. I am assuming Rod and Staff will start at the start, so anything you do now will be repeated or mean skipping future stuff. If you need to start now, how about just slowly doing what she can in Rod and Staff 2. Personally, I would just continue reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Rod and staff don't teach reading until 1st which is why they don't start spelling until 2nd, to give kids a year to become fluent. Unless you had an early reader who is finished with phonics I wouldn't do spelling this year. If you did have an early reader who really needs something else, I would just wing it for this year with spelling tests and explaining the phonics of their commonly used misspelled words. If you start a program they will just have to restart next year. On the other hand, just because it says grade 2 doesn't mean you can't use it now. If your child is reading well I don't see any reason why they couldn't handle just starting the grade 2 book in grade 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 If Spelling by Sound and Structure 2 looks out of his reach I'd just spend more time on phonics for first grade. :) Spelling replaced phonics when my kids were reading well enough to not need separate phonics instruction. They didn't do both at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 skip it. Nothing bad will happen if you skip spelling in first grade. Let your kid focus on actual reading and handwriting etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megicce Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Well, so far it seems unanimous! Ok, so reassure me...nothing bad is going to happen if we skip spelling in 1st? DD6 is a prolific book-maker who uses exceptionally...err...creative spelling at the moment, based on the phonics rules she has learned so far and "educated guessing". We are currently learning alternate spellings for the long vowel sounds in OPGTR, so I guess she's a bit ahead by public school standards, but we're not finishing the book before September or anything. It's just, you know, TWTM says to start spelling in 1st, so I'm nervous. (Can you tell she is my oldest? Haha! I'm sure I'll become more relaxed as I HS more....) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aminuteorless Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Meg, I could have written your post. We are in the exact same spot in OPGTR. I am not going to make a decision on this until July or so. It's just so hard to know where DS will be reading wise in five months. If he isn't ready, we will just focus on phonics. You can always start mid-year if her reading takes off. Molly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Well, so far it seems unanimous! Ok, so reassure me...nothing bad is going to happen if we skip spelling in 1st? DD6 is a prolific book-maker who uses exceptionally...err...creative spelling at the moment, based on the phonics rules she has learned so far and "educated guessing". We are currently learning alternate spellings for the long vowel sounds in OPGTR, so I guess she's a bit ahead by public school standards, but we're not finishing the book before September or anything. It's just, you know, TWTM says to start spelling in 1st, so I'm nervous. (Can you tell she is my oldest? Haha! I'm sure I'll become more relaxed as I HS more....) Thanks! If she is writing a lot herself, using phonetic rules and guesses, I think you should definitely just start the R&S spelling a year early. It sounds like she is quite ready for the concepts it would present. You don't have to wait a year just because it is labeled that way, and she does sound quite ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 My 1st grader is using R&S 2 this year. She is a very advanced reader, but her penmanship is at about average 1st grade level. R&S spelling has gone fine for her. It sounds like your duaghter could do it if you want to try. If it is too hard, just save it for 2nd. Alternatively, you could just make your own word lists to practice for 1st grade based on what she misspells in her own writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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