blessed2fosteradopt Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Any opinions? Both are appealing to me. This is for my 5th grade son. He is not a natural speller. What have your experiences been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I have not used Simply Spelling; I've just looked at the samples on the site. I have to say that although it has things that are appealing to me, too, there are things that bug me enough that I probably couldn't use it. For example, if you're going to teach children to use diacritical markings, you should use the real terminology--breve or macron, not "smiley face." I disagreed with calling "many" a sight word, and with the definition of "sight word." The only letter in "many" that does not say its usual sound is the "a." Otherwise, it's completely phonetic, and it isn't difficult to read or spell. Spelling by Sound and Structure is rules-based. The children are given lots of practice reading, writing and using the words in each lesson. Because of my Spalding background, I disagree with some of its pronunciations and quasi-rules, but generally, it's right on. So, between those two, my recommendation would be Spelling by Sound and Structure, and add in some copywork if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeljenn Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I have Simply Spelling, and have used it a bit here and there. My children are not natural spellers either. We have used Rod and Staff Spelling too. I really like R&S spelling, but some of it was really confusing, and the printing was small... just too much on a page. But, it was a great program as far as content!! I know that they are revising their spelling, with grades 4 and 5 completed, so we may go back to it for my younger children. However, for my older children, we are using SWO and I still do dictation with them. I also keep a list of their frequently mispelled words. I pretty much do what is outlined in TWTM. As for my children, I asked them what spelling they liked the best and they said SWO. It is systematic, easy to understand and quick to do. They really hated copying out Simply Spelling every single day... especially since I make them write out all answers on Rod and Staff English, and we do some sort of composition everyday. I hope this helped somewhat:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jg_puppy Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 They really hated copying out Simply Spelling every single day... especially since I make them write out all answers on Rod and Staff English, and we do some sort of composition everyday. I hope this helped somewhat:001_huh: Thank you for your help. I am not the OP, but I had been wondering about these two programs. The main part of the Simply Spelling that I didn't think my dd would like was copying the passage over and over again. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed2fosteradopt Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 I think between notebooking and other writing assignments, it would probably be best to just concentrate on spelling as well. I am leaning towards R&S but still open for more suggestions. Thank you ! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeljenn Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Lisa, I just wanted to make sure that I did not discourage you from using Rod and Staff Spelling. Like I said, it is a great program, and I am sure the revised program will be even better! I hope you make the right decision:D I have never had much trouble with making decisions... until it came to curriculums!!:lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed2fosteradopt Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 No, you did the opposite, actually. :001_smile: I have printed the pages and do notice that there seems to be alot to process with each lesson but I will probably let my son use the whiteboard for a great portion of it. I just need something that enforces the rules as that seems to be his weakness. Thanks so much for your valued opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeinfl Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 http://www.susancanthony.com/Books/sp.html I've always liked the looks of this, but have never tried it. There are great samples on the website. Blessings! Dee:mellow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Megawords is a great spelling program for 5th and up, as it re-iterates those vowel and syllabication patterns, but also introduces a lot of vocabulary. If your child isn't a natural speller, and you plan to do spelling up through 8th grade (or perhaps beyond), then I vote Megawords because of the vocabulary. : ) Just "mudding" the waters for you. ::wink!:: Best of luck in finding what works best for your family. : ) Warmly, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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