What's the deal? Spelling Workout/Spell Well.. not impressed..

[DragonflyAcademy]

:confused:

We got Spelling Workout last year (B) because I thought it was suggested in WTM and I hadn't a clue what to buy.. It seems fine.. but easy. Since we started 3/4 of the way through the year we didn't finish it and have continued with it.. I got Spell Well B this year.. I can't remember why..it was suggested somewhere, maybe WTM and I'm confused about what was suggested as a good program..

I'm even less impressed with Spell Well.. we haven't started it..but it seems very light on the spelling.. Am I missing something??

 

DS (gr3) spells much better than I do.. I am a product of ITA in school.. and I still can't spell, but he does need spelling instruction.. and what to use?? I read people using McRuffy.. Spell to Write and Read, lots of others..sometimes all the choices just make choosing harder.. not easier..

[lauracolumbus]

For us SWO hits the spot b/c my kids are good spellers and it's an independent program. As most of our other subjects are fairly labor intensive on my part, I'm happy to have this as our program. It's not time-consuming and my kids seem to be ok w/it. I'm not sure how the other programs work, so I don't have much to compare it to--we do have Spelling Power and might go to that at some point.

 

Laura

[Unicorn.]

As the PP suggested, SWO is great because they can do it on their own. We also like it because it's more than just spelling. They learn spelling rules and phonics, but also definitions, word usage, synonyms, acronyms, editing, etc.

 

It's also not time consuming. They read and do the 1st page of words on Monday, the second page on Tuesday, and the editing page on Wed. w/ a test on Friday. Ds is in level G, so he has a page on Thurs. as well. I feel like you get a lot of bang for just 15 minutes a day. jmho

[coralloyd]

We do spelling through copywork and dictation using this book: http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=1490908 (Simply Spelling)

 

It is working great! Dd writes the copywork once a day( paying special notice to the words she might not know), then we do the assingment for the day. On the last day of the week I dictate the passage to her. It is amazing how she even gets the semicolons correct (added grammar benifits). We struggled with other spelling programs, but copywork and dictation just makes sense. Good-bye word list! You don't have to use this book it is the process that works. It also biulds confidence because there are words they already know in each passage. It also is a way to combine subjects.

[DragonflyAcademy]

Thanks everyone.. I am relieved to see that the time we are spending on spelling, using the format that Unicorn does.. M,T,W,F only takes 15 minutes.. I really thought I was doing something wrong and not understanding the whole process.. I'm going to look into adding more copywork with a focus on spelling common words too.

[Unicorn.]

Just wanted to add, that whatever words my kids miss on the test, they have to write 3 times each. It really helps to cement the word. Oh, and we don't do the writing on page 3, just the editing.

[SilverMoon]

Spelling Workout bombed in our house. My oldest, a natural speller, hated it. The puzzle type activities with the words annoyed him, and his spelling test scores consistently dropped. ~shrug~

 

The same boy now uses Rod and Staff spelling, which has been a great fit for him. His spelling has improved by leaps and bounds. R&S really makes him work with the spelling rules and learn the patterns.

 

My little guy, first grader, is using A Reason For Spelling. It's a nice, gentle introduction to spelling, and is phonics based. Once he goes through all the sets I already have TEs for I'll move him to R&S. I'm planning on this same pattern for the two little sisters coming up behind him.

 

(For yet another option. :P My very literal thinker uses Spelling Wisdom. It's a Charlotte Mason dictation based spelling book. Using the words in context made all the difference for her.)