Is it important to learn spelling rules?

[Strawberry Queen]

My dd is 7 and a natural speller. She's doing SWO C which is working very well. My problem is that the wtm advises to memorize rules of problem words, but she doesn't have any, okay maybe 2 or 3, but she's just a really good speller. Do I make her memorize them, or just keep going until she hits some that are harder?

 

BTW, she's at about lesson 12 or so(of 36).

[Mom2boys]

Speaking from my own experience as a natural speller, I never learned the spelling rules, and it has not hindered me in any way. I was accepted at the college of my choice, and later earned a masters degree too. Just teach her how to use a dictionary, and spell check.:)

[Alana in Canada]

"I before e" is always helpful!

 

I too never learned spelling--what really helped me was learning Latin and greek roots and how words were related to each other. I read that in 8th grade and it was fascinating.

[Tracey in TX]

Spelling rules are essential for children with spelling challenges, and dyslexia. I wouldn't dream of teaching the rules to 4 of my children, but the one with dyslexia needs it for both reading and spelling.

[Laura Corin]

The only one my natural speller has ever needed is i before e..... He won the local spelling bee two years running.

 

Laura

[FloridaMomTo5]

My dd9 is a fast learner and is not dyslexic, however I am going to switch from AVKO Sequential spelling to one with more concentration on the "why's" of spelling and not just the "memorizing" of words. She gets frustrated when there are words that she does not know how to spell. When she learned to read she excelled at a huge rate when I told her the rules of reading. Each rule seemed to give her more understanding. For this reason I think that the spelling rules will give her more convidence in her ability to write/spell.

 

Beth in Ohio

[KarenNC]

I agree that the "i before e" one is the only one I have ever really used. My daughter is pretty much the same, so we aren't stressing the rules. We just finished the last of the Explode the Code books about a month ago and we have gone to Spelling Power for her. We both like it because you only work on the words you don't know how to spell.

 

I guess I am a pretty visual learner, because I usually judge a word on whether it "looks right". The only drawback to this for me came because I have always read a lot of British authors, so British spelling crept into my schoolwork. It looked right :).

[8filltheheart]

The rules really apply more to deciphering sounds to read vs increasing spelling ability. Some of the basic rules are applicable the majority of the time, but the more difficult level words don't fit neatly into any "rule" box and rules can actually create more problems than help (ask me how I know!! I taught my oldest strictly WRTR until I realized that every word was being spelled phonetically according to rules and logically he was correct, but spelling-wise he was OOHHHHH soooooo very, very wrong!! ;) )

[Colleen in NS]

My dd is 7 and a natural speller. She's doing SWO C which is working very well. My problem is that the wtm advises to memorize rules of problem words, but she doesn't have any, okay maybe 2 or 3, but she's just a really good speller. Do I make her memorize them, or just keep going until she hits some that are harder?

 

BTW, she's at about lesson 12 or so(of 36).

 

I've always been a natural speller. Entered and won spelling bees, aced spelling tests, etc.. About 8 years ago, I began learning the spelling/reading patterns (phonogram sounds and rules) taught in WRTR. My ability to decode words in my reading greatly improved - I no longer gloss over words I haven't seen before or memorized as a kid. Now, as I sound out a new word for the first time, my mind is analyzing the pattern and absorbing the proper spelling. My understanding is that kids who don't pick up spelling as easily will struggle harder (even with the rules/patterns) to absorb the proper spelling as they analyze a word. But I think that a "natural speller" will benefit from memorizing the rules and patterns - I think it comes in handy later.

 

Ds is a natural speller, but memorized the rules and patterns, and I still review with him periodically. I know the skills he learned will come in handy for him as he reads higher level books (new words!) and writes more complex papers (he'll have to find the correct spelling of a word he is unsure of, and analyze the pattern so he remembers the spelling) later on. Sure, there is spellcheck - but to me, it's another mental skill to add to the toolbox that is used in clear thinking/writing/communicating.

[Julie in GA]

as she either studies foreign languages, or vocabulary. It's fascinated me that most of the words we consider "rule breakers" are just different because they have a different language of origin. For example, words from the French language are going to use "ch" for a "sh" sound. Words from the Greek use "ch" as a "k" sound.

 

I think that kind of stuff is really helpful, and I've heard many a spelling bee contestant ask for the etymology of a word before committing to the spelling of it.

 

I have always been a natural speller, but have struggled with new words that I've encountered as an adult (except for French words -- because I took French in high school). I think might be because I didn't learn the rules growing up.

[Strawberry Queen]

Okay, so now I'm considering the memorizing the rules. The thing is that she does a lesson in 15min., does a test at a later date and gets them right. We're averaging 2 lessons a week, so maybe memorizing would make things a bit more challenging. I'll have to consider it.

 

I guess the reason I am considering not memorizing the rules, is that I am a natural speller, and I have had no problems with spelling, even as an undergrad. Spelling wasn't a hindrance in my essay writing, where I know I had problems with only a basic knowledge of grammar. (my dad says that "oh, this is a ___ clause" and all of us kids look at him with a blank expression. I guess he had a more rigorous education, even though they had very few books (he took latin at 12):))

Thanks for your input. I'll just put it on the back burner for now until I solidify other school thoughts.

[PeterPan]

If you think the curriculum is a waste of her time, why not just go through and write out the rules onto a cheat sheet? Then when she needs them, discuss them. SWR has a set of rules cards for under $10 or they'd be in WRTR, which would be at your library. I think Riggs has them on their website for free, don't they?

[SandraDumas]

It depends on dc, but most of us will be better spellers if we read A LOT, and also DO SPELLING every year, every day, with spelling tests etc.

 

I am a great speller and I never learned one rule. We just did a simple list-study-practice-test method in catholic schools.

 

But Phonics are definitely important for spelling IMO.

[Alice]

I am a terrible speller. I live and die by spell check. I read very early and my Mom used phonics to teach me...but I have never been able to spell. I never remember learning any rules..as I was reading this thread I was trying to think of one other than "i before e" and couldn't. :)

 

So, I'd say for me it would have been great to learn some rules. But for your daughter it sounds like she could spend the time on other things. I can think of other things that came naturally to me that I never learned or needed rules for.

[Julie in GA]

if you don't want your dd to actually memorize the rules, is just having a rules reference handy. Then, whenever she misspells a word, or expresses curiousity about its spelling, you could just explain the rule.

 

I use SWR, rather loosely, and what I like about it is that every word has the corresponding rule(s) listed next to it. I don't require memorization of the rules, just familiarity with and understanding of them. Of course, certain ones are encountered so often that they get memorized naturally.

 

As a cheap solution, you could purchase the SWR rule cards and the Alpha List. Then whenever you need to look something up, it's right there for you.