I need to change spelling..where do I go?

[caitlinsmom]

We have been using spelling workout and I thought it was working fine. However if my dd is writing in any other context outside of SWO she can't spell anything! She does fine with small words and, the, cat, hat etc but as soon as there is word that is trickier, it goes right out the window.

 

She has difficulty with school because of severe ADHD as it is so I am not sure if this is just a phase, laziness, or something else. She is not a natural speller. She can not hear a word and hear how it is spelled and she has trouble making the connection between a reading rule and a spelling rule.

 

What program would you recommend for a reluctant speller?

[Krista in Colorado]

My middle dd is the same way. She did well in her spelling workbook, but I was shocked at how poorly she spelled even little notes she wrote to her sister or when she posted a sign on the bathroom door "toylet klogged." :001_huh:

 

I recently switched from Spelling Workout to Spelling Power. I love that I can use it for all of my kids (no more separate spelling books). I love that it only takes 10-15 minutes each day. And I love the steps the kids take when they misspell a word. It's very structured, very easy, and requires minimal (if any) prep time. They can also progress as slowly or as quickly as necessary.

 

I highly recommend it.

[caitlinsmom]

My middle dd is the same way. She did well in her spelling workbook, but I was shocked at how poorly she spelled even little notes she wrote to her sister or when she posted a sign on the bathroom door "toylet klogged." :001_huh:

 

 

I highly recommend it.

 

LOL my dd would have spelled that the same way! We had kareutt cake the other night. :001_huh:

 

I will look into spelling power, it sounds like something that may work.

[Hedgehogs4]

we are using sequential spelling with great success here. i was using spelling workout with the very results you described. SS makes a lot of sense to me, and next year i plan to combine it with megawords to have both a spelling and a vocab. program.

[EppieJ]

I bit the bullet and purchased Phonetic Zoo Level A from IEW. We just did the first lesson today and ds loves it! I've felt like the neglectful teacher because up to this point, we have put precious little effort into learning spelling. However, I have been witness to something amazing...ds told me recently that he wants to learn how to spell things the right way (glad I was sitting down!) :lol:

 

Phonetic Zoo has the philosophy that since spelling is sequential, you need to learn to spell sequentially. They make the point that this happens one letter at a time (paraphrasing) rather than by just looking at a whole word. In other words, when you see a word you take in the whole thing all at once and it can get jumbled around in your brain. When you hear/say it one letter at a time, it gets stored in your brain sequentially, making retrieval much easier.

 

I dunno, but ds scored 11/15 his first time thru lesson 1 today!

 

To study, ds reviews the rule/tip, reads a word, then spells it out loud while he's looking at it. Then he uses a cd which reads each word to him while he writes it down. The cd then goes on (different track) to spell the words correctly. Ds writes the words again as they're being spelled. Then he goes back and checks his own work to see which are correct/not. So in the process (about 15-20 minutes) he's getting all kinds of practice with the rule and the spelling words. There are also "Zoo Cards" that are collected by ds as he goes thru the lessons - each with the rule & sample words. It's pretty fun, actually!

 

You can learn more about it on their website. http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/catalog/spelling-1

 

Also, just noticing your dd is only 7. I wouldn't stress too much about it just yet. Could be she's just not ready to tackle higher spelling yet. You might consider this program, or something similar tho. I don't have too much experience with ADHD, but Phonetic Zoo uses a combination of audio, visual and kinetic learning. It might keep her engaged.

 

HTH!

Edited April 9, 2010 by EppieJ

[Janasjots]

We had a similar experience here after using McGraw Hill and then A Reason for Spelling. The words they wrote were almost impossible to decipher. In desperation I bought Spell to Write and Read. It's quite a bit of teacher involvement over others I've seen but it makes SO much sense and the kids have really improved! I'm so glad I jumped in and switched. We'll be using this til they graduate.

[siloam]

We have been using spelling workout and I thought it was working fine. However if my dd is writing in any other context outside of SWO she can't spell anything! She does fine with small words and, the, cat, hat etc but as soon as there is word that is trickier, it goes right out the window.

 

She has difficulty with school because of severe ADHD as it is so I am not sure if this is just a phase, laziness, or something else. She is not a natural speller. She can not hear a word and hear how it is spelled and she has trouble making the connection between a reading rule and a spelling rule.

 

What program would you recommend for a reluctant speller?

 

Kim,

 

Honestly for what you describe I wouldn't recommend a spelling program. I would first buy a LiPS manual and go through that, then once she has a better ability to hear and feel the difference between sounds I would do a spelling program.

 

Because of attention issues I would recommend All About Spelling. The tiles might help her focus, and build visual memory, and continued review built into the program should encourage retention.

 

Does she have problems seeing words in her mind? I think in pictures are really struggle to see words at all, which has made me a mediocre speller. My oldest two girls and good, natural spellers but they have the ability to see words in their mind and spell them from what they remember. I am using a program called Seeing Stars (just the manual) with my 8yo, who is like me and can't see words. Seeing Stars teaches you how to see words in your mind, building visual memory for spelling.

 

Heather

[MamaofTwo]

FWIW - I was just listening to an MP3 download of SWB and she mentioned that it is very normal for kids to not apply their spelling rules to their writing in 1st - 4th grade.