Spelling--or not?

[StaceyL in Canada]

I can't decide what, if anything, to use for spelling. My oldest son, now 19, never had a formal spelling lesson--he could look at a word and just remember it. The next two used Spelling Workout for a few years, then seemed able, again, to spell most anything. For all three of those sons, we movedon to vocabulary work (mostly Vocab for the High School Student/ for the College-Bound Student).

 

Now I'm down to son #4. And I'm stumped! He will be going into grade 5 and although he reads quite a bit and even writes his own stories, he still makes many spelling errors. He used SW for a year or two and did fine with it, but did not much care for the format. Then I switched briefly to Spelling Power (which I had used for a bit with the older boys) and I recalled why I hadn't much cared for it--the randomness of the word lists (not much different from SW) along with lack of actual instruction about basic spelling rules/ generalities. I tried Natural Speller, which uses graded lists, as well, with somewhat the same problems--he would learn how to spell the words, but did not necessarily extend the "rules" learned to other similarly spelled words.

 

I'm stumped. What I want is a spelling program which teaches the basic rules (eg, that the "shun" sound at the end of words is usually spelled "tion", etc), but which uses lists which don't seem so utterly random--and which does not include a lot of "busywork" exercises. I looked online at Rod and Staff's Spelling by Sound and Structure, but I'm still not sure if that's any different or better.

 

Anyone have a favourite spelling program? Do we really need a "graded" one? Any advice?

[newhsmommy]

I really LOVE the IEW spelling program. My middle school son did not feel like it was childish and I have seen my younger daughter make leaps and bounds witht he program too. My friend used it for her 2 high school kids and had fantastic results. I was not impressed with anything else on the market. My 2 cents

[Karen in CO]

I really like The ABC's and ALL Their Tricks. I go back and forth as to whether or not my kids need spelling, but when we want to know why something is spelled the way it is, this is the book for us. It works great to just use it for words that the kids misspell. We look up the misspelled word, learn the rule or in some cases, the story behind it then that seems to stick more than anything else. One rule as it is needed seems to work better for us than multiple rules that we don't care about.

[StaceyL in Canada]

Maybe I should try that approach. I love words too--love finding out about etymologies and origins. My kids think I'm nuts : )

[ElizabethB]

I teach from rules I know and "The ABCs and All Their Tricks."

 

All the rules I teach are in my online spelling lessons.

 

I also have all the rules I teach except the suffix rules in some documents on my how to tutor page, this paragraph:

 

Your number one task is to get them to stop guessing and start sounding out each and every word from left to right. Nonsense words are key, they help prevent guessing. Here is a free website that generates nonsense words. Syllables are also helpful, I would use the Blend Phonics Reader (it helps show how guessing is a bad strategy by showing words with similar configuration together) followed by Webster’s Speller. Here is a step by step guide to using Blend Phonics that also adds in syllables, spelling and phonics rules, syllable division rules, and syllable division exercises. There are also readings from Hebrews 12 that can be added to show progress through the program.

 

Some suffix rules are here:

 

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/spelling.htm

 

Also, on my phonics lesson 22. There are a lot of suffix rules!

 

For an older student I like "Spelling Made Simple" by Stephen Ross. If he needs something a bit simpler, I like Spelling Plus by Susan C. Anthony. It uses 1000 words, for K - 6 in one book, combination workbook/teacher led. Words are most frequently used words + most commonly misspelled words. It also has a companion Dictation book with ready made dictation sentences using the spelling words. Both books have the words in a rational order instead of random non-helpful order that is all too common in today's spelling books. (I "learned" my spelling words that way, 20 random words a week, without ever learning to spell. After teaching phonics and phonetic spelling rules for a while, I have finally learned how to spell.)

 

Swan's Spelling book is free online, it has pretty good lists of words and some rules, rules start on page 43:

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=6QISAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=spelling%20book&lr=#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Edited August 1, 2009 by ElizabethB

[BillieBoy]

I've been happy with Sequential Spelling.