Help me with a "Spelling Catch-up" plan...

[StHarrisandco]

for my 14 yos who is still struggling. We want to buy 3-8th grade books that he can do on his own, self-explanatory, work on a few hours a day, for a couple of months, and then move on.

 

We liked Sequential, except that I had to always be there with him. He just wants to be able to work on his own for large chuncks of time/day.

 

I'm thinking of self-contained workbooks with word list, phonics rules, and activities that get you writing the words over and over again.

 

Price is important. I am considering CLP because of this. ANy other suggestions?

[Renee in NC]

If your 14yo still struggles with Spelling, simply going through a basal, graded program won't work. The best option would be for you to teach him using something like All About Spelling, Spell to Write and Read, etc.

 

If you really need him to work independently, I would go with MegaWords. Eight books, mostly independent, middle/high school level. It won't help him spell basic words better (that would come with one of the programs listed above) but it will get him spelling multisyllable words much better.

 

You will need the teacher's guide, though, so it may be more than you want to pay.

 

ETA: Another thought! Rod and Staff sells a book called "Developing Better Reading." Working through that book and completing their Spelling books may help as well. I think for a graded, workbook program, their's is the best.

[romeacademy]

You might want to look into Megawords. It focuses on multi-syllable words and affixes. There's a lot of work the student can do on their own in the workbook, but I would recommend getting the teacher guide also. It's not very time consuming, but it adds to the program.

 

Here's a link:

http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=900m

[StHarrisandco]

It's not that he "still struggles," it's that he for the first time realizes that spelling is important and that maybe he should do some spelling drills to improve his skills. I don't know if this makes a difference compared to we have been working hard and struggling for years.

 

If your 14yo still struggles with Spelling, simply going through a basal, graded program won't work. The best option would be for you to teach him using something like All About Spelling, Spell to Write and Read, etc.

 

If you really need him to work independently, I would go with MegaWords. Eight books, mostly independent, middle/high school level. It won't help him spell basic words better (that would come with one of the programs listed above) but it will get him spelling multisyllable words much better.

 

You will need the teacher's guide, though, so it may be more than you want to pay.

 

ETA: Another thought! Rod and Staff sells a book called "Developing Better Reading." Working through that book and completing their Spelling books may help as well. I think for a graded, workbook program, their's is the best.

[mrs.m]

Maybe you should try this:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellinglessonsl.html

 

I'm not sure that drill helps a poor speller learn how to spell. Phonics review will help.

[Irishmommy]

How about Phonetic zoo by IEW? I've not used it, but I know that it is an "on your own" type program.

[Renee in NC]

It's not that he "still struggles," it's that he for the first time realizes that spelling is important and that maybe he should do some spelling drills to improve his skills. I don't know if this makes a difference compared to we have been working hard and struggling for years.

 

I would go with Megawords, then.

[missmoe]

I would go with Painless Spelling. It is written to the middle school student that is motivated to learn the spelling rules. Starts at the beginning and works through most spelling rules. Isn't it interesting when things click? Just this summer, my 16 year-old decided that being a better speller would be a good thing!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Painless-Spelling-Mary-Elizabeth-M-Ed/dp/0764134353/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282931211&sr=1-5