Question about SWR and when to proceed

[Bokons]

My 6yos in grade 1 is on list E. I just gave him a quiz, this is the second quiz he's had for list E, and he got about 8 of them wrong, but he can read them all when we are doing the reading (although it can be slow). I'm wondering if we can go on to list F or do I have to make sure he can spell them all correctly. I'm thinking that if we have to wait, then it might be for quite a while as he is having a hard time remembering all the spelling rules (silent final e, double "l", etc.)

 

Thanks.

Colleen

[Once]

Hi Ballzy

 

I have used SWR in the past and looking at your post made me start thinking. I would say keep going since that is the advice I heard so much when I was on the yahoo group but the ladies there might have different suggestions.

 

If there are no other posters with additional advice and information I would suggest signing up for the SWR yahoo group. They would be able to help you out. They *know* SWR and can point you in the right direction. Here is the link.....I hope it works!

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellToWriteAndRead/

 

HTH

Once

[Alenee]

But in answer to your question, yes, move on. The idea is to get exposure, not mastery at this point. In fact, I think it's on the page just before you start section J, she says something to the effect that one of the biggest mistakes parents make is going too slow. I can say I totally agree with this. My dd9 should be nearing the end of the program had I gone at the pace I should have. She's at list r-2 now. I have a dd6 who is on list F right now as well and she did about the same as your child on list E. As you move on, give your child the missed words as review words. Then as you progress further, review whole spelling lists. My friend and I made worksheets for the whole program using the enrichments. Each week's worksheet has a review list to practice for mastery.

[rafiki]

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[KIN]

I agree with everyone else!

 

1. Keep going, Sanseri says the one of the biggest mistakes is that people stop going forward

 

2. Review the missed words in the coming weeks.

 

3. Join the Yahoo group, it is very helpful!

 

Good luck! I love SWR my oldest can spell and read like crazy! My K'r is coming along well too.

[PeterPan]

Colleen, you mentioned he's 6. Is he young for his grade? Many kids turn 6 in K5, meaning there can be a huge age-spread in a given grade, 9 months or more. At this age, it really seems to make a huge difference! I'm just saying because he's young, I wouldn't get caught up in whether he's doing what SWR says for 1st grade, etc. Just teach him where he's at. As far as expectations, is first time through the list and he's learning to read? Just go through the lists quickly, writing those words onto flashcards so he can practice READING them. Play a couple games, especially any that work with his best learning style (kinesthetic, auditory, whatever), but focus on him hearing the sounds, the syllables, learning the basic phonograms, and READING the words. Then you're going to repeat those lists next year with the goal of nailing the spelling. The spelling will come the next time through, when it's more familiar and things are starting to click. And you want to know a dirty little secret? I went through almost all those lists *3* times with my dd, not just two. Guess she's not a natural speller, lol. She enjoys it now, but she really has needed that year to year repetition to get things to stick, especially in those first couple years. Now she's writing more and things stick better, but I repeated all the lists up to M three times, usually faster each year. So don't sweat it the first time through. Focus on the reading and keep going.

 

As far as some tips on reading with SWR, when my dd was that age, I got a little index card filing box and a set of dividers. I labeled each section with the list (A, B, C, E1, etc.) and wrote the words on cards. That way I could tell her to get her C words or whatever and she could grab them to drill. We did this often during the day just as a way to practice our words and get them fast. Also I made little booklets (cut, fold and staple a couple sheets to make a little book) where each page had one sentence and told a story. She would read the story and illustrate each page, such a sweet thing.

 

I love the way my dd reads as a result of SWR. She's not turned out to be a natural speller or anything amazing (not everyone is, lol), but I think our efforts with SWR headed off a lot of problems at the pass. It's just something we have to work on in our house and never let our guard down about. Just keep going. You'll get there! :)

[Bokons]

Thanks, everyone for the suggestion to move on. I know that I have been going too slow with my ds. This is my first time using SWR to teach reading, and it's so much different from the other programs I've used before.

 

Colleen

[Bokons]

He just turned 6 in Dec. We live in Canada, and the cut-off for starting K is that the dc has to turn 5 by Dec. 31, so he was right at the end of the cut-off.

 

He went up to list E last year in K, and this year, I've started over again. I know I am going really slowly though. He doesn't enjoy it that much, and I haven't been very consistent. He still can't really read yet except for his spelling words, and sometimes he does figure out what a new word is (that's not on his spelling list).

 

Thanks, Elizabeth for the tips on learning to read with SWR. I also do believe that SWR is an excellent program for learning how to read which is why I went with it for my 3rd ds. I'm looking forward to trying out your suggestions. I really like the booklet idea!

 

Colleen

 

 

Colleen, you mentioned he's 6. Is he young for his grade? Many kids turn 6 in K5, meaning there can be a huge age-spread in a given grade, 9 months or more. At this age, it really seems to make a huge difference! I'm just saying because he's young, I wouldn't get caught up in whether he's doing what SWR says for 1st grade, etc. Just teach him where he's at. As far as expectations, is first time through the list and he's learning to read? Just go through the lists quickly, writing those words onto flashcards so he can practice READING them. Play a couple games, especially any that work with his best learning style (kinesthetic, auditory, whatever), but focus on him hearing the sounds, the syllables, learning the basic phonograms, and READING the words. Then you're going to repeat those lists next year with the goal of nailing the spelling. The spelling will come the next time through, when it's more familiar and things are starting to click. And you want to know a dirty little secret? I went through almost all those lists *3* times with my dd, not just two. Guess she's not a natural speller, lol. She enjoys it now, but she really has needed that year to year repetition to get things to stick, especially in those first couple years. Now she's writing more and things stick better, but I repeated all the lists up to M three times, usually faster each year. So don't sweat it the first time through. Focus on the reading and keep going.

 

As far as some tips on reading with SWR, when my dd was that age, I got a little index card filing box and a set of dividers. I labeled each section with the list (A, B, C, E1, etc.) and wrote the words on cards. That way I could tell her to get her C words or whatever and she could grab them to drill. We did this often during the day just as a way to practice our words and get them fast. Also I made little booklets (cut, fold and staple a couple sheets to make a little book) where each page had one sentence and told a story. She would read the story and illustrate each page, such a sweet thing.

 

I love the way my dd reads as a result of SWR. She's not turned out to be a natural speller or anything amazing (not everyone is, lol), but I think our efforts with SWR headed off a lot of problems at the pass. It's just something we have to work on in our house and never let our guard down about. Just keep going. You'll get there! :)