Megawords?

[KIN]

Can anyone review Megawords for me? I'm thinking of using Megawords with my 4th grader next year. We currently use SWR, but I don't think I can use it with 3 students next year.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Here ya go:

 

We completed Megawords 1, 2, and 3 in 5th grade, Megawords 4 and 5 in 6th grade, and are now using Megawords 6 in 7th grade. Each book took 2-3 months to complete. We generally do 4-5 pages a week. He tested out of a lot of the reading, so we skipped a bunch in the early books.

 

Megawords 1 focuses on the different types of syllables and syllabication rules. Different types of syllables include:

- closed syllables have a short vowel sound and end in a consonant (ex. sub)

- open syllables end in a vowel, usually long (ex. re)

- silent-e syllables have a vowel followed by a consonant followed by an e which makes the preceding vowel long (ex. mune)

- etc.

 

Different syllabication rules show how to divide up words:

- VC/CV divide between the consonants (ex. puppet)

- V/CV divide after a long vowel (ex. human)

- VC/V divide divide after a closed vowel (ex. rapid)

- Etc

 

Megawords 2 focuses on prefixes and suffixes. It points out the meaning, many from Latin, of prefixes and even gives the Latin for some root words so that the students can figure out the meaning of different words (ex. transport = across+carry). It teaches the rules for adding suffixes (no change, double a consonant, drop the e, and y rule).

 

Megawords 3 focuses on the schwa sound, which is a vowel sound that sounds like the letter u in up. It can be made by any vowel. Ex. final, silent, animal.

 

Megawords 4 focuses on advanced suffixes.

 

Megawords 5 focuses on vowel variations.

 

The books work on a list of words that are grouped together in some way. There are around 15 pages for each list that cover reading, spelling, and vocabulary. There is a variety of activities to help the student learn how to break up and read or spell or determine the meaning of the words in the list.

 

At the start of the book, the parent gives a pre-test which helps to determine which lists need attention for reading and/or spelling. This is nice because you can focus on the pages that your child needs work on and you can skip the pages that your child has already mastered. At the end of each list, you can test your child to determine if they have mastered the material or not. At the end of the book, the pre-test can be used as a post-test.

 

I have been happy with the Megawords series and plan to continue with it. I like the pre-test and post-test and the variety of activities. I like that it focuses on breaking the words apart into syllables and spelling the syllables. That is how I learned to spell, and I am a very good speller. It is easy to follow and it is not an overwhelming amount of work. My son has made steady progress in spelling. And, he is not a natural speller. Here is my experience with testing. In FL, homeschooled children have to be evaluated once a year. My son took the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement in the middle of Megawords 2 (at what was the late fall of 5th grade) and scored 4.8 grade level. He took it again 6 months after we completed Megawords 3 (at what was the fall of 6th grade) and scored 6.1 grade level. In the middle of Megawords 5 (at the end of 6th grade), he took the ITBS and scored 8.6 grade level in spelling and 11.7 grade in vocabulary (possibly due to Latin tutor as well).

 

Sometimes, people ask if the teacher’s book is necessary. For me, it is completely worth it. It has the pre-test and post-test. It has which pages correspond to reading, spelling, and/or meaning which helps to streamline the work that needs to be done. It has some words that you have to dictate to the student for the odd worksheet. And, it has the answers to every page.

[KIN]

Thank you so much for your detailed review! I'm going out for supper tonight and have printed this off to read in the car. :)

 

I've just started to think about the fact that next year I'm adding in my 3rd son. I don't think I can do such time consuming things like SWR and RightStart Math with all 3 boys. My oldest is doing very, very well in spelling so I think I could go to something a little less teacher intensive with that subject.

 

Thanks again for your help!