How can I fix this? (7yo - Spelling??)

[Daisy]

My son thinks he cannot write. He doesn't want to spell anything wrong so he doesn't try. I make him sound it out and try anyway. He had to write a sentence for phonics using the word knight.

 

He wrote...

 

Knights do

 

and stopped. "Mom, how do you spell don't?"

 

I said, "Sound it out."

 

He wrote dot and knew it was wrong. He went into drama mode.

 

I reminded him that don't is a contraction of do not but you drop the o.

 

We finally got Knights don't written.

 

Next word.

 

"Mom, how do you spell like?"

 

"Sound it out."

 

"L - I - K - E"

 

Right.

 

NO IT ISN'T! It doesn't look right! Pencil flying. Drama ensuing.

 

He had first written lick. Erased the c and wrote li ke (with the ghost of c still hanging around so of course it didn't look right.)

 

At that point he was pitching a fit, arguing with me, and I sent him to his room.

 

He does copywork everyday, but it isn't sticking.

 

He does R&S Spelling everyday, but it isn't sticking. He routinely gets 2 or 3 out of 10 words wrong. The only ones he tends to get right are simple CVC words or words he has seen enough times to have memorized.

 

He reads at about a 4th grade level BUT I'm convinced he does most of it by sight reading.

 

He has had Abeka phonics & continues to do their Letters and Sounds book, but again, doesn't seem to retain much of it. I can tell him a phonics rule but he resorts right back to his sight reading. Part of the problem is that I can't really find too much in 2nd grade work that he has to actually sound out. So the ONLY time he is having to sound out anything is when he is doing spelling.

 

Writing anything that isn't copying is sheer torture for him. Every word takes a lifetime. What am I doing wrong? Or how can I help him?

 

Oh, and this is a child who just wants to be done with school so he can go play. UUGH.

[LizzyBee]

Oh, I have sooo been there and done that.

 

Visual kids read by sight in spite of being taught phonics because it's how their brain works. Keep teaching phonics, as gently and painlessly as possible, and eventually it kicks in and makes sense.

 

For my VSL, Calvert Spelling on CD was like a magic cure for her spelling woes. She cried through the first week of lessons while I kept telling her that it's okay to not know how to spell the words because the computer is going to teach you the ones you don't know. After the first week, spelling became her favorite subject. She's never going to win the Natl Spelling Bee, but she is a decent speller now at age 13. No two kids are the same, and Calvert may not be the "cure" for every VSL who can't spell, but I always mention it because it's inexpensive to try. We use the old version, and I'm not sure how it compares to the new version. The Calvert people are very helpful if you call to ask questions.

 

Here's a website that is incredibly helpful: http://www.visualspatial.org

 

My favorite book on the subject is Right Brained Kids in a Left Brained World by Jeffrey Freed. I liked The Edison Trait, too, but Right Brained Kids has more practical suggestions for teaching these kids.

 

ETA: When he asks how to spell a word, just tell him. Visual input is stored in the brain randomly. As a result, strongly visual kids can often choose the correct letters but cannot put them in the correct order. They need auditory input because auditory input is stored sequentially, and spelling is a sequential activity.

Edited December 15, 2009 by LizzyBee

[Daisy]

As a result, strongly visual kids can often choose the correct letters but cannot put them in the correct order.

 

THIS is exactly my son. He'll write all the letters down correctly and often take two or three or even more times of unscrambling, writing, rewriting before he gets the spelling word written correctly. He just has to keep doing it until the word LOOKS right.

 

Thanks. I look at those resources.

[siloam]

I would recommend All About Spelling, because it not only teaches phonics, but it teaches spelling and syllable rules. I also helps build visual memory of words.

 

Beyond that I would also get him typing for composition, so he can continue to move ahead with that using a spell checker instead of having his spelling limit his learning in this area.

 

Heather

 

 

 

[nmoira]

 

He had first written lick. Erased the c and wrote li ke (with the ghost of c still hanging around so of course it didn't look right.)

For the first couple of years, I had DD the Elder do her spelling on a whiteboard. The air of impermanence allowed her some extra breathing room while correcting mistakes and as a result, she was far less anxious.

[nmoira]

 

ETA: When he asks how to spell a word, just tell him. Visual input is stored in the brain randomly. As a result, strongly visual kids can often choose the correct letters but cannot put them in the correct order. They need auditory input because auditory input is stored sequentially, and spelling is a sequential activity.

:iagree:

[Tam101]

My son was exactly the same way last year at 7, this year he has become much more confidant in his spelling and writing, which equals less drama. Just stay patient and get him a good spelling program, he'll get there. I still get a lot of deep sighs, but I think he reacting out of habit now!