Roadrunner Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 We will finish LOE with advanced lists in couple of weeks. Where do we go from here? I am looking at Megawords. What else is out there and how do we place into the right level? They spell well. No special issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Did you happen to see Denise Eide's new blog and forum at the LoE site? Here's the link to one of her latest blog posts entitled "What next after Essentials?" http://www.logicofenglish.com/blog/371-what-next-after-essentials It doesn't look like anyone has even posted on that forum yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 We did the Advanced Words and then Megawords I. It was a pretty good fit because it was a solid review of the different types of syllables. I was going to take a break but DD asked for more spelling so we are cycling through How to Teach Spelling and workbook 3. Her independent spelling has improved dramatically but it is still her biggest weakness and frustration so I will probably go back to Megawords 2 after we finish HTTS. We are starting MCT CE this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Did you happen to see Denise Eide's new blog and forum at the LoE site? Here's the link to one of her latest blog posts entitled "What next after Essentials?" http://www.logicofenglish.com/blog/371-what-next-after-essentials It doesn't look like anyone has even posted on that forum yet. Yes, she suggests advanced lists, which we already completed. We did the Advanced Words and then Megawords I. It was a pretty good fit because it was a solid review of the different types of syllables. I was going to take a break but DD asked for more spelling so we are cycling through How to Teach Spelling and workbook 3. Her independent spelling has improved dramatically but it is still her biggest weakness and frustration so I will probably go back to Megawords 2 after we finish HTTS. We are starting MCT CE this summer. How did you deal with massive list of words in the beginning of each chapter in megawords? It seems like an overwhelming list to use as a pretest. I am a bit confused how to work through that program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Check this out: (How To Teach Spelling) http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Spelling-Laura-Toby-Rudginsky/dp/0838818471/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397745321&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+teach+spelling It is totally consistent with the rules and phonograms you learned in LOE, and its usable from 1st-12th grade. Its a TM, not a workbook (there are workbooks available), and it has rule-based word lists, sight word lists, all levelled, and it also has dictation sentences. I think it looks fantastic, and I was able to quickly see where both of my girls would "place" into it based on their normal spelling behavior. Morgan is still in the middle of LOE, which we'll continue with. Shannon completed LOE with the advanced list, and since then I've just been using LOE's levelled word lists (she's on Level 5) and going through 10 words once a week. The thing is, she spells well with list words but still makes a lot of mistakes in her writing. I think that the spelling dictation with sentences is actually a much more accurate way to gauge spelling ability than memorizing a list is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Yes, she suggests advanced lists, which we already completed. How did you deal with massive list of words in the beginning of each chapter in megawords? It seems like an overwhelming list to use as a pretest. I am a bit confused how to work through that program. I had Megawords for about a year before I was really ready to use it so I know what you mean. I modify just about every curricula I touch, and I didn't use those lists as a pretest. The workbook exercises cover a lot of the words. I can't remember if it was all of them or not. I just watched how DD did on the exercises to note words that were more of a struggle. At the end they recommend choosing 15 words from the list for testing, and I chose words that I thought were a struggle for her or words that were likely to be more useful in her writing. I actually let her help me choose some of the words too. It didn't take us very long to go through level 1 but it was a nice solid review of the standard syllabication rules. She's normally workbook-averse, but it went fast enough and had enough variety that it was fine. She wouldn't have been happy if I went on with Megawords 2 right away. I then decided to take a break because I thought she was sick of spelling (ok, I am!) and she asked to keep doing it so that's why I dusted off my How to Teach Spelling book and decided to order workbook 3 to use with it. It really is a good reinforcement of the LoE rules. You could do it without the workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Morgan is still in the middle of LOE, which we'll continue with. Shannon completed LOE with the advanced list, and since then I've just been using LOE's levelled word lists (she's on Level 5) and going through 10 words once a week. The thing is, she spells well with list words but still makes a lot of mistakes in her writing. I think that the spelling dictation with sentences is actually a much more accurate way to gauge spelling ability than memorizing a list is. We have only just now finally seen a real turnaround in DD's spelling in her writing. I honestly thought I'd never see the day despite everything that we've finished. It's finally happening, and it's like all at once she can spell! The thing I really and truly love from our LoE experience is that even if she doesn't remember the rule immediately on her own, if she asks me how to spell something, I can ask if she remembers the rule for doing xyz.. I don't even have to give her the rule, just the gentle prodding and she remembers and can apply it. I'm so relieved to finally be seeing this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 How teacher intensive is How To Teach Spelling? At this point I have two kids in two different MCT levels and two different CAP writing programs, which is as teacher intensive as it comes. Since spelling isn't our struggle, I would love something I can hand over to one and work with another on other programs. Also, do I need to first get the teacher book to figure out which workbook I need? Does Megawords eventually cover all the rules LOE covered? I am going for simple, independent, but not "fill this here and then forget what you did" type of programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 EPS publishes both HTTS and Megawords so they have a different approach. Megawords does not cover the rules like LoE. It's a different approach and really focuses on multisyllabic words. It definitely uses the same rule set, but I think it focuses more on advanced rules and sounds (that I felt were skimped over in LoE). Megawords 1 focuses on syllables. Megawords 2 focuses on prefixes and suffixes; MW 3 on schwa and other endings; MW 4 on advanced suffixes; MW 5 on vowel variations; MW 6 on consonant variations; MW 7 on unaccented vowels; MW 8 on more prefixes. The teacher book for HTTS gives you all you need without the workbook but you can get the workbooks too which basically just focus on words they've determined represent the grade levels: How to Spell 1 (Grade 1)How to Spell 2 (Grades 2–3)How to Spell 3 (Grades 4–6)How to Spell 4 (Grades 7–12) Spelling isn't an independent thing for us. There are dictation aspects of both MW and HTTS that kids really can't do without you. I generally go over the lesson, do the things we have to do together and then DD works on the workbook pages on her own and then we review. Neither are programs I feel you can just hand them. But, if spelling isn't a big concern for you, I might not bother with any of this to be honest. Just focus on MCT vocabulary (which we will be doing too..) I would be quite happy to never do spelling again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyc78 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 @roadrunner, I just ordered HTTS teacher manual and Building Spelling Skills from CLP. BSS is supposed to be very independent. My plan is to read HTTS and then use the knowledge I've gained to help DS anywhere he has trouble in BSS... If I don't like BSS we may switch to HTTS... We are gonna take a break from AAS and see if this works. I think Phonetic Zoo is fairly independent but I think starts at a higher level, grade 3 maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 EPS publishes both HTTS and Megawords so they have a different approach. Megawords does not cover the rules like LoE. It's a different approach and really focuses on multisyllabic words. It definitely uses the same rule set, but I think it focuses more on advanced rules and sounds (that I felt were skimped over in LoE). Megawords 1 focuses on syllables. Megawords 2 focuses on prefixes and suffixes; MW 3 on schwa and other endings; MW 4 on advanced suffixes; MW 5 on vowel variations; MW 6 on consonant variations; MW 7 on unaccented vowels; MW 8 on more prefixes. The teacher book for HTTS gives you all you need without the workbook but you can get the workbooks too which basically just focus on words they've determined represent the grade levels: How to Spell 1 (Grade 1) How to Spell 2 (Grades 2–3) How to Spell 3 (Grades 4–6) How to Spell 4 (Grades 7–12) Spelling isn't an independent thing for us. There are dictation aspects of both MW and HTTS that kids really can't do without you. I generally go over the lesson, do the things we have to do together and then DD works on the workbook pages on her own and then we review. Neither are programs I feel you can just hand them. But, if spelling isn't a big concern for you, I might not bother with any of this to be honest. Just focus on MCT vocabulary (which we will be doing too..) I would be quite happy to never do spelling again. Thank you for the comparison! So what you are saying is that LOE has more overlap with HTTS in terms of how it teaches spelling (rules), while Megawords is more complementary. Since I have LOE on my shelf (I could always go back and review), I am wondering if Megawords is a better option for us. I don't mind some involvement, but hoping that at least some of the work can be done independently. Maybe I can also get HTTS teacher manual as a fallback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I considered Phonetic Zoo but when I saw Lesson 3 was "First Vowel Talks", I knew it wasn't for us. I hadn't spent all this time on rules just to fall back on things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Just went on EPS site and apparently they also publish Spectrum Spelling and Spellwell. I am going to just pretend I didn't see either one. What intrigued me is Megawords is not listed under the spelling section, but under "phonics and word study." I understand it's all connected, but does that mean I will be doing more activities that I care if I go with this option? Maybe I am just overthinking this. HTTS is only $10 used at Amazon. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thank you for the comparison! So what you are saying is that LOE has more overlap with HTTS in terms of how it teaches spelling (rules), while Megawords is more complementary. Since I have LOE on my shelf (I could always go back and review), I am wondering if Megawords is a better option for us. I don't mind some involvement, but hoping that at least some of the work can be done independently. Maybe I can also get HTTS teacher manual as a fallback. Yes, I think that's right! Good summary of my summary. Incidentally, I think Christian Book has the best samples of both if you wanted to see the contents listings and samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Just went on EPS site and apparently they also publish Spectrum Spelling and Spellwell. I am going to just pretend I didn't see either one. What intrigued me is Megawords is not listed under the spelling section, but under "phonics and word study." I understand it's all connected, but does that mean I will be doing more activities that I care if I go with this option? Maybe I am just overthinking this. HTTS is only $10 used at Amazon. :) Yea, I noticed that too about Megawords, and I'm not really sure why... maybe because it really focuses on the syllables rather than the individual phonemes so it is more "word study"? I am still scratching my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I considered Phonetic Zoo but when I saw Lesson 3 was "First Vowel Talks", I knew it wasn't for us. I hadn't spent all this time on rules just to fall back on things like that. If you want a truly independent program, I would look again at Phonetic Zoo. It is not lessons in the same way. You would use the placement test to find out if your student should be in level A, B, or C. There will be a little jingle, but other than that a list of 15 words that use that rule and reinforce it. Think spiral math. The words for that lesson would just be words that follow that rule at whatever spelling level they are at. You would not be teaching the whole entire concept of the first vowel talks again. Here is my review if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thanks--I have read your reviews before and they have been helpful! It's just not the right fit for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Here is my review if it helps. I didn't to realize IEW also published a spelling program. I think it looks very interesting, but it seems teacher intensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PookieMama Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I have a fairly extensive review of HTTS (including page samples) at http://dougcarla.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/how-to-teach-spelling-review/ Carla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Thanks--I have read your reviews before and they have been helpful! It's just not the right fit for us! Sorry, tired brain. I thought you were the OP and still looking for a program. I didn't to realize IEW also published a spelling program. I think it looks very interesting, but it seems teacher intensive. It is not teacher intensive at all. This year in level B, I sometimes have to find him batteries to replace in his CD player, but that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 It is not teacher intensive at all. This year in level B, I sometimes have to find him batteries to replace in his CD player, but that is it. I will look at it closer at their methodology. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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