spelling rec for great, natural speller?

[yellowperch]

We are new homeschoolers. DS2 is a math whiz (6th grade level or so) and an avid reader (poppy and rye, percy jackson, charles and mary lamb shakespeare, collum greek myths)

 

I am looking for a spelling program/book for a second grader who is a fantastic reader and speller. I need something that he can work on on his own while I do AAS with a remedial 4th grader. I have spellingworkoutB wich he looked at today and said was too easy. I think C or D might be a better fit but I don't really love that series of workbooks. I've only see A and B but it doesn't seem as step-by-step or logical as I would like. But maybe it's fine for DS2 (DS1 really needs to have patterns laid out for him--AAS seems like a good fit.)

 

TIA

xposted on k-8 board

[Donna]

I use Spelling Power with my natural speller.

[JeanM]

I use Spelling Power with my natural speller.

 

I use Spelling Power with my natural speller too, but it isn't something that the student can do independently. It doesn't take very much time though, especially if the student gets most of the words right. I'm not really sure what else to recommend, since we have avoided workbook-types of spelling programs.

 

I'm using AAS for my struggling speller, and that has really helped him.

[Tracy]

:bigear:

[abbeyej]

No, SWO isn't particularly systematic, and I think it best serves Very Average spellers. It's mostly busywork for good spellers, but it doesn't teach patterns very well for poor spellers.

 

For my two natural spellers, the best I've found so far is Spelling Power or nothing. Spelling Power cannot be done alone, but it can be done in 5-10 minutes a day. If you're just looking for busy work to keep the younger one occupied while you work with the older (and that's not a terrible thing!), Spelling Workout (level E, I'm guessing) would work okay.

 

For me though, simply *not* doing spelling with my natural spellers has also worked. Or, at least, doing spelling only occasionally, in short bursts. I correct their spelling in writing, of course, but both of them simply remember and intuitively understand correct English spelling. They just don't *need* to spend time on spelling.

 

And goodness knows, I can find plenty of more productive ways to spend even that little bit of time each day. If their spelling improves at basically the same rate, regardless of whether or not we study spelling as a separate, formal subject each day, why do it? :)

[Donna]

As I said above...when I responded quickly. I use Spelling Power but only from Sept. until about Jan or Feb each year...she works through about 2 levels in that time and it only takes about 10 min a day. Every year when I retest her in Sept. she ends up testing many levels higher than where she finished so as someone else said, it doesn't seem to make much difference whether we do spelling or not.

 

I am leaning toward doing simply vocabulary study since she seems to remember how to spell any word she sees. I just felt like I needed to make sure she had some systematic spelling in the early years because she taught herself to read.

[yellowperch]

Many thanks for the responses. I am so glad I asked this question. I've realized that I was feeling like I needed something spelling-like to give ds2 when I work with DS1, mainly to keep ds2 from drifting away. I think some mind benders or other logic game-y things might be be good, or he could use that time to practice piano. It seems clear to me now that it would be perfectly fine not to give him spelling.

 

He does need a lot thrown at him every day or he gets a little lost--drifty, moody, etc. I'm finding it hard to keep up with him in general. One of the reasons we began homeschooling him in the first place was to give him more stimulation, more real work, more physical play. This is proving harder than I anticipated. But that is all for another post! Thanks again!

[TravelingChris]

I had one natural speller and I just stopped teaching spelling. He didn't need any lessons. He read it, he spelled it. He doesn't have any spelling problems as an adult, neither. My other two were not natural spellers, more like complete unspellers, so we have been haing them work on it.