~Puddins~ Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I have been reading every single spelling thread for the last few days, but I am still undecided on what to do. My son is in 2nd grade and while he does not excell at spelling, he does do well at it. We started with Spelling Workout, but it feels like he isn't actually learning any thing from it. The rules just go in one ear and out the other. I was considering either Spelling Power or Rod and Staff spelling. I am not familiar with either, they are just the two I seem to keep coming back to. I worry that Spelling Power will take up too much of my time since I typically get my son to do his SWO book while I am doing math with my 1st grader. But I like that we would not be wasting our time on words he knows. With R&S, I like the workbook he could do on his own, but I wonder if it is too much like SWO? Suggestions or your own opinion of either of these programs? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I would check out Webster's Speller and ElizabethB's posts. It is free and great:). You could use it with a small lap size chalkboard or a whiteboard to make the writing part fun:) WE use the 1908 version which can be found on Don Potter's Education page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug_1976 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I use Spelling Power with my 3 older kids. It only takes 10 minutes per day, per kid. I just set a timer for 10 minutes, and we see how far down the list we can get. When the timer goes off, we stop and mark the spot so we know where to pick it up the next day. It is the easiest spelling curriculum that I have found to use. Obviously you could take more time if you added a bunch of activities to your daily tests, but we don't find them necessary on a regular basis. I also like that it is not scheduled into weekly lesons. If we happen to miss a day, then I don't feel like we're getting behind or we have to make up that day. We just pick it up the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
way2cross Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 We just started Rod & Staff Spelling 2 today for my seven year old. I will stick with this! He likes it and can work independently. I always come back to R&S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Why don't you keep the SWO, since you like it as a workbook, and add in some daily dictation to use the words? You can dictate from literature, but I also like the sentences in the Spelling Plus dictation book and the Wise Guide of SWR. Things don't necessarily stick without practice, and some kids need that practice over a period of years. I wouldn't sweat it at this age. Just add in more writing and keep working on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 And we are in lesson 6 of R&S Spelling 3--and my son and I both really dislike it. It is set up in a very easy-to-use way, but in this level, there is not a lot of rhyme and reason to the word lists (I researched, and they are supposedly set up more systematically in the 4th grade), and the exercises are good but quite tedious. We will finish the book (now my son wants to do a Lesson every 2 days to get DONE) but we are using an "Elementary Speller" off Google books and will use McGuffey Readers from here on out--I have been very disappointed with actually using R&S Spelling. The samples looked good, but . . . Betsy We just started Rod & Staff Spelling 2 today for my seven year old. I will stick with this! He likes it and can work independently. I always come back to R&S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcjlkplus3 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 We use Spelling Power. Like another poster said, we don't spend more than 10-15 minutes a day on it. I give my dd8 her test, then she does the 10-step study sheet and sentences on her own (I have to be close by in case she has questions) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 It sounds like you are more attracted to something that you can allow your child to work on independently so you can take care of other things. I've used SWO and felt the same way you did. My son didn't mind the workbook and even liked some of the activities, but it seemed like too muh of it was busy work. I am using the R&S Building Spelling Skills for my youngest. It is working well. It is no frills. The words are organized by spelling rules and the exercises focus on getting the child to really think about the sounds the letters make or the various ways to spell a word. Each chapter has VERY similar activities. The exercises do not vary as much as SWO. If you look online at the samples, you should be able to get a pretty good feel for the rest of the book. R&S is easy to implement. Your child can do it independently and phonetic spelling is empahsised a little more than SWO. It's also very inexpensive! Maybe you should consider R&S. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gevs4him Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 We use Sequential spelling with our 2nd grader. You give a test per day - it goes something like this ~ give a word correct the word until the list is completed. When you write the word on the board for correcting you use different colored makers for the patterns. Example in, pin, thin and so forth. We were really surprised how many words he gets correct. It just makes sense to us. Check them out at http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html you can try the 1st lesson out for free. Lisa DD 18 Ds 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beverly L. Adams-Gordon Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) First let me say, since you mentioned you have a second grader, that Spelling Power is designed for students over the age of eight who have had basic phonics instructions. The program does not have groups of words for the consonant sounds or common blends unless they are known to cause reoccurring problems to children and adults. There are developmental (verses academic) reasons for the age eight and above recommendation as well. There is an adaption to the program for younger students who are ready to begin formal spelling study. By being ready I mean has finished a good phonics program, is reading above 2nd grade level, and can write with some ease. If you are thinking of getting Spelling Power primarily for a child younger than eight, visit the company website for a copy of the Readiness Checklist. You needn't be concerned about the amount of time you'll use -- even with a bunch of students. It is used in regular school classrooms as well as in home education programs. I think it is one of the most time efficient and effective programs available. The total daily time a student spends on spelling lessons is 15 minutes per day, but it only takes about five minutes of your time per student per day. (Of course, this is after the first week or so when you are conducting placement testing and introducing the program.) You'll spend five minutes per day retesting or pretesting words from one of the 47 groups (which are organized by phonetic principle or spelling rule.) Each word is corrected immediately after it is tested. You stop testing when three words are missed or when the five-minute timer goes off . Then, your child will spends five minutes studying those words that he has missed (and only those words) using a totally multi-sensory 10-Step Study Sheet. The study sheet guides you child through using five different modalities: seeing, hearing, touching, feeling, and spelling aloud to master the word. The study steps also include having your child compose a sentence using the spelling study word. Students usually can do this on their own after a few sessions. The final five minutes of a daily schedule are used to complete skill building lessons and activities. These activities address the phonetic principle or spelling rule related to the word list on which your child is currently working. There are also activities that drill words, teach dictionary skills, and proofreading skills. (The new 4th Edition has a very handy index that makes assigning activities easier than the older editions.) The newer edition is also more user-friendly and comes with a teacher resource CD-Rom and a Quick Start DVD seminar. I hope this description helps you, if you have any more or specific questions about Spelling Power please feel free to ask. Beverly L. Adams-Gordon Edited October 5, 2009 by Beverly L. Adams-Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisainVirginia Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 with DS7, second-grader, v. good speller. I found (and this is my first year of homeschooling, so I'm no expert) that SWO and R&S were simliar in the level and grouping of words in each lesson. We started with R&S 2nd grade, lesson 1 and it was way too easy. Played around with WRTR and SWR a bit, went to back SWO (we did a couple of lessons in the summer) and skipped ahead to lesson 15. We're averaging 2 days/lesson which seems about the right pace for now while the words are still 'easy' and am adding trouble words (as suggested in WTM) which is very helpful. Also, the SWO bonus words are great & follow the rule for that lesson. (BTW, I got a used teacher's guide for $1 and there are good suggestions in there, too.) I looked at Spelling Power and thought it was fabulous - loved the pace and that the lists of words were introduced in a logical manner following phonics & spelling rules but didn't shell out the $65 until we are sure that we'll be homeschooling for a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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