Last SWR Questions

[Tracy]

For those of you using SWR, I wonder if you can tell me how much time you spend on it each day/week. And are you working with a struggling speller or natural speller?

 

And then if I get SWR, what do I need? Just the Core Kit?

 

Thanks!

[EmeraldGirl]

I use it for my 4 youngest. They are all ESL learners and we have used SWR for the last 1.5 yrs (when they arrived in US).

 

My 10 dd and 7 ds are doing well. My 8 ds has lots of academic delays and LDs (APD, no short term memory, retrievel issues, etc).

 

For all 4 kids I spend about one hour total each day I teach it, teaching 3 levels right now. The older 3 are on the Lists, but the 10 yr old is moving at a 1st grade pace now and the middles are moving very slowly at a K pace.

 

There is a wonderful Yahoo Group moderated by the writer and trainers. There is also a Getting Started section on Morningstarlearning by Liz Fitzgerald that is extremely helpful.

 

Buying the Core Kit is basically what you need. Be sure to follow the Getting Started and also the first 11 Steps before diving in. There is a learning curve to it and some teacher intensity at first, but once you get the feel for it, it really does go smoothly and the varied activities for each spelling list keep things interesting.

 

Hope to see you on the Yahoo Group!

[Dinsfamily]

You only need the core kit and 2 primary learning logs (one for you and one for her) for the first year. I'd also recommend buying a log book for next year too because the shipping can be almost as much at the book. I had to delay our SWR start this year because I had to wait until I was ready to place a bit RR order to get our learning log for the year. I do highly recommend Beall's Phonogram Fun Packet. It a fun and painless way to master the phonograms and spelling rules.

 

The Alpha List is a good resource if you have the $$, but not necessary. I bought the New England Primer this year and it looks good, but it isn't really needed either. I think I can use it as a source for dictation, though. Eventually, you will need the McCall-Harby/Crabbs sets, but not until around 2nd grade.

 

As for how long it takes us...this is what we've been doing over the last year or so. It did take longer at first as we were both getting used to dictation and the program, but we quickly settled into a routine.

 

For Kindy: 10 words/week

M- 20 mins: of review, learning phonograms, or reference pages

T- 30 mins: dictation of new spelling words

W- 15-20 mins: quiz and writing words on index cards

T- 15-20 mins: enrichments

F- 15 mins: test

equals 1hr 35 mins-1 hr 45 mins/week

 

For 1st Grade: 20 words/week

M- 30-40 mins: dictation of new spelling words

T- 15-20 mins: quiz, review phonograms, reference pages

W- 30 mins: word bank, grammar enrichment

T- 30 mins: write words on index card, dictation

F- 20-25 mins: test

equals 2 hrs 5 mins - 2 hrs 25 mins/week

 

I've found this year that it's easy for me to skip Tuesday and roll the work into Wednesday. It kind of saves me if we want to do something else (Tuesday's become our pool day).

 

ETA: My ds definitely isn't a struggling speller. I don't know if he's a natural, though. We've been doing SWR since the beginning of K and I've been exposing him to the phonograms gently since he was about a year old. He learns the material easily and spells well (tested at a 3.4 spelling grade level in May just after turning 6yo), but I don't know how he'd be doing if we'd used another method.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Dinsfamily

[Dinsfamily]

There is also a Getting Started section on Morningstarlearning by Liz Fitzgerald that is extremely helpful.

 

Buying the Core Kit is basically what you need. Be sure to follow the Getting Started and also the first 11 Steps before diving in. There is a learning curve to it and some teacher intensity at first, but once you get the feel for it, it really does go smoothly and the varied activities for each spelling list keep things interesting.

 

 

That Getting Started article really helped me in the beginning. Also, making your own learning log before starting the program is very helpful (Liz tells you to do this in the article). I think a some people try to skip this, but I'd recommend taking the time to do it.

[Delighted3]

At the beginning, I would plan on at least an hour, but after more experience, you can do it in 30-40 minutes a day. It also depends on how many extras you add in. We do cursive first, my wise grammar, and the spelling word bank for missed words. With my 4th and 5th grader, it takes us about an hour a day to do SWR and we get through 40 words a week and do the my wise grammar activities and spelling rule and phonogram review.

I only spent about 30 minutes a day with my 1st grader, but we were only doing handwriting, learning phonograms and about 10 words a week.

SWR is a great program, but it does take a little while to find your groove, but when you it is smooth sailing.

HTH,

Joy

[Tracy]

There is also a Getting Started section on Morningstarlearning by Liz Fitzgerald that is extremely helpful.

 

 

Help! I can't find this. Can someone give me a link?

[Dinsfamily]

Help! I can't find this. Can someone give me a link?

 

Here it is on Liz's site. I printed it out and marked it up as I completed each step.