Spelling issue-- please advise

[m0mmaBuck]

We started HS'ing in January and LA's was DS's weak area IMO (even though the PS was ready to push him into 3rd grade by Oct of his 2nd grade year). He struggled with phonics and spelling as well as grammar from where I saw things. I chose to remediate him. We started with CLE LA 1 and supplemented with WWE, FLL, and AAS.

 

Five months later DS8 is great with phonics, reading, and comprehension He can use good grammar, knows the parts of speech, shows improvement in penmanship, and can construct good sentences and paragraphs for his age. He even does well on spelling lists. However, when it comes to writing he reverts to spelling phonetically. He will also mispell words when doing copywork which drives me absolutely crazy because the words are right there!!!!!

 

CLE covers the rules of spelling (i.e. "The e at the end makes the vowel say it's name," "Drop the silent e when using a suffix that begins with a vowel," "F, L, S, and Z are usually doubled when used at the end of a word," and so on) and he can tell me what they are when asked. He just can't seem to remember to use those rules when he writes.

 

So is it him being 'lazy' when it comes to writing or is it a spelling issue? Is he so focused on forming the letters properly (which has been an issue) that he neglects to spell correctly? Do I drill more spelling or do we focus on writing with me looking over him to make him "think" about how he is choosing to spell things?

 

How do I help him overcome this?

[Chris in VA]

1. He's still young.:001_smile:

2. Let him write, then make him edit. Not everything, just a little a week, building up to more until his skills improve.

[Murmer]

You could start asking him to pay attention to if the word he just wrote looks right after he made it sound right. That will help him start focusing on making sure it looks right like he does in spelling.

[Ellie]

Oh, no, I'm sure it isn't laziness. :-)

 

I like Spalding for teaching spelling, reading, penmanship, etc. It's everything in one place for English skills. :-)

[Lovedtodeath]

It is common for spelling skills to not show up in writing for a while. They are working on too much at once. Give it some time and don't worry.

[m0mmaBuck]

I guess maybe I'm just in a panic because he has his state-required testing in 2 wks and I feel like he is going to be 'graded' poorly because he has these spelling problems, but it sounds like maybe he is where he should be for finishing second grade. I've also been trying to figure out what we will use for next year and I've been hypercritical of where he is at this point. I need to remember where he was when we started.

 

Thank you for your advice. I need to relax but life has me wired so tight right now it's hard. Thanks again!

[momof2girls]

My dd8 knows the rules too. We used Spell to Write and Read for a while which has some of the same rules, etc. It's based on the Spalding method.

 

She has to close her eyes to spell properly. She can read the words, but not write them with the correct spelling. The evaluator we used this year thinks it is because she is more visual and hands on rather than a listener. Try asking him to close his eyes and see the word before he writes it.

 

Good luck!

 

K

[MerryAtHope]

Wow, it sounds to me like he's doing great! I agree that this is something that comes with age and experience. Here's an article on helping them work on spelling within their writing. I wouldn't do a lot of this with 2nd-3rd graders, but you could start to gradually introduce some editing ideas. At this age though, I like to focus on their ideas in writing and not the mechanics so much. Enjoy his cute misspellings just like we enjoy our babies' cute spoken errors :).

 

Merry :-)

[susankenny]

It is common for spelling skills to not show up in writing for a while. They are working on too much at once. Give it some time and don't worry.

 

 

I really agree with this. In fact, I have to remind myself of this all of the time!:)

[Lovedtodeath]

OP: You are already using the best of LA that is available. I certainly wouldn't be looking for "greener grass". Some have found that their children have LDs. Others have needed a different approach, but it is too soon for that. You just need time to let what you are doing work. ;)

Edited May 19, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[siloam]

We started HS'ing in January and LA's was DS's weak area IMO (even though the PS was ready to push him into 3rd grade by Oct of his 2nd grade year). He struggled with phonics and spelling as well as grammar from where I saw things. I chose to remediate him. We started with CLE LA 1 and supplemented with WWE, FLL, and AAS.

 

Five months later DS8 is great with phonics, reading, and comprehension He can use good grammar, knows the parts of speech, shows improvement in penmanship, and can construct good sentences and paragraphs for his age. He even does well on spelling lists. However, when it comes to writing he reverts to spelling phonetically. He will also mispell words when doing copywork which drives me absolutely crazy because the words are right there!!!!!

 

CLE covers the rules of spelling (i.e. "The e at the end makes the vowel say it's name," "Drop the silent e when using a suffix that begins with a vowel," "F, L, S, and Z are usually doubled when used at the end of a word," and so on) and he can tell me what they are when asked. He just can't seem to remember to use those rules when he writes.

 

So is it him being 'lazy' when it comes to writing or is it a spelling issue? Is he so focused on forming the letters properly (which has been an issue) that he neglects to spell correctly? Do I drill more spelling or do we focus on writing with me looking over him to make him "think" about how he is choosing to spell things?

 

How do I help him overcome this?

 

Kids, and especially young kids (who am I kidding, adults too) sometimes have problems doing more than one task at a time. They can write or they can spell, they cannot do both at once. That is where editing comes in. When I have my kiddos write out a sentence for dictation, I allow them to finish writing (one skill) then I tell them how many corrections they need to make and have them edit it (2nd skill). That way they do them in separate steps.

 

In time the child does usually get better about spelling correctly, just because they build visual memory of words. But it does just take time.

 

Heather

 

 

[Jennefer@SSA]

I saw this thread when you first posted but didn't have time to reply just then. At this point I am just one more voice saying the same thing! :tongue_smilie:

 

Don't worry. You are using excellent materials and it will come. It is a huge developmental jump learning to transfer ideas into something remotely cohesive on paper. To think about spelling and/or mechanics at the same time is just way too much for most kids that age, especially boys! I taught ps for seven years and my last four I was responsible for the majority of writing instruction for the entire 2nd and 3rd grade levels. I say all that to hopefully give you peace, not to toot my horn. You are doing great. Writing is hard. Hang in there!

[m0mmaBuck]

Thank you for the kind words. I needed them today. I need to remember that he's only 8, and he's only been home for 5 mos.