dd hates spelling!

[musicianmom]

Dd is doing AAS level 2, and it's like pulling teeth to get her to do it. I think a 5-year-old SHOULD have some form of phonics, and she's reading at about a 5th-grade level, so a spelling program makes the most sense.

 

I've condensed it as much as possible. There are practice words and dictation exercises. If a practice word appears in the dictation, I don't give it to her as a practice word, that way she doesn't have to spell the same word twice. She rarely makes a mistake, so it's not difficult for her. She just doesn't like to do it!

 

By the way, we do live in a state where K is required and I'm accountable to an umbrella school, so I feel responsible for doing something each day. I can't just let go and not do anything.

 

Any ideas?

 

ETA: I also let her do the spelling orally, so handwriting fatigue is not the issue. She only does one line of copywork OR a page of HWT daily for handwriting (actually lately it's copywork because the HWT book is lost).

Edited September 24, 2010 by musicianmom

[nmoira]

It sounds like she's bored.

 

Dd is doing AAS level 2, and it's like pulling teeth to get her to do it. I think a 5-year-old SHOULD have some form of phonics, and she's reading at about a 5th-grade level, so a spelling program makes the most sense.

Why? What's special about five? I'm not sure that assumptions should be made based on her age, given that her abilities are not typical for her age.

 

One option is to read through word lists in OPGRT or another phonics book to see if there's any problem spots in decoding and hold off on formal spelling until later, especially since you say she's a good speller. Another -- and I wouldn't do this at her age unless she was on board -- is to up the level of challenge. I'd be inclined to drop LA altogether (except for copywork) and do something your DD finds more engaging.

 

I feel responsible for doing something each day. I can't just let go and not do anything.

Reading is LA. Copywork is LA and can be counted as spelling.

[musicianmom]

I shouldn't have said it's because she's 5. It's really because she doesn't have a strong phonics background. We went through "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and she took off from there. She's an intuitive reader, I guess.

 

My frustration is that AAS is *working* for her academically. Before we started, she didn't think she could spell anything. She would want to make up stories, but she kept asking me how to spell nearly every single word. AAS, despite her whining, has helped her gain confidence in spelling.

 

If I tried to do things informally, not only would we end up not doing anything, but also I would have no way of being able to assess what she knows spelling-wise. Now if she says she can't spell a word, I can tell her "Yes you can, you've learned that rule, remember?" and then she does it.

 

I think you're right that she's bored. We haven't hit a challenging lesson yet in AAS. BUT I don't know at what point she will be challenged. A placement test would have been useful, but AAS encourages everyone to start in Level 1. :glare:

 

So, either I need to figure out how to accelerate the process so that we get to more challenging material, or I need to figure out how to make it fun. Or both.

[nmoira]

I shouldn't have said it's because she's 5. It's really because she doesn't have a strong phonics background. We went through "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and she took off from there. She's an intuitive reader, I guess.

My eldest taught herself to read at a young age, bypassing the whole phonics thing completely. I know some here insist that all children need exposure to explicit phonics; however, I don't think that's the case with many very bright kids, and I saw no need to go through formal a formal phonics program with a young child who was reading the Lang coloured Fairy Books for fun. My approach was to use copywork for spelling for a couple of years, then start Megawords when she had most one syllable words down (after a one year diversion with Sequential Spelling). This could be done orally, but IMHO is best saved until the child can do the worksheets on their own. It takes little time out of the day and helps with syllabification and best-guess pronunciation of new words with respect to accenting syllables (something gifted young readers frequently have trouble with). Sequential Spelling is another option: rules aren't explicitly taught, but are intuited through running through families of patterns. This can be done orally, though I think something is gained by writing the words as well. If I understand correctly, the new editions have sentences for the parent to read, so they don't have to think too hard on low-caffeine days. ;)

 

I like both programs a great deal. DD the Elder asked to switch to Megawords for a bit of variety, but she was doing well with Sequential Spelling (FYI, most students don't show improvement with SS until after List 60).

[Crimson Wife]

If you're planning on using AAS with your younger kids, I'd skip her ahead to the next level. I'm not 100% sure because I haven't seen AAS but I would presume there's review of the previously learned rules.

 

FWIW, I didn't do formal spelling with my DD until this year (3rd) and she placed into Level G of Spelling Power.

[musicianmom]

Okay, you have both convinced me to give spelling a break for awhile. We haven't had time to get to FLL or SSL lately, both of which dd actually ENJOYS. I think I'll do those instead of spelling.

 

Thanks so much!

[2smartones]

I was "this close" to not doing any spelling at all. Both of my kids were starting to read before they turned 2. Language arts at an age-appropriate level is just handwriting practice. Everything else is way above grade level (at least twice their ages). I decided to give Sequential Spelling a try because it's so easy to accelerate it and skip anything unnecessary. It's also fun to pull out homonyms and such. Spelling becomes a challenging game that way rather than a long list of rules. I look at spelling in much the same way I look at math. Some people need to write out all the steps to a math problem, and some just know the answer. Some kids need to learn rules, and some instinctively know them. Why not just skip to words that are rule-breakers? (By the way, sequential spelling comes in a cheaper, condensed version for adults. ;) Kids don't have to know where the spelling list came from.)

[sunriseiz]

Our dd is reading about like yours (4-5 grade in K) and loves spelling if not actually forced to do it. So, we don't actually 'do' spelling formally. When you are done with your break, you might try a scrabble version (there are several now) or a computer game like SpellJam. We just got it and dd loves it. She only competes against herself and the computer, which is kind enough to misspell words occasionally, lol!

[nova147]

Backing off is a good idea.

 

DS is almost 6 (yikes!) and feels the same about AAS as your child. But, like you, I see good in it -- he has learned LOTS of phonics and can figure out how to spell now. Here's what I do. On Monday, I go through the lesson - introduce the new tiles, teach new rules, etc. Whatever words we don't spell during the lesson I ask him to spell. (He writes on the whiteboard.) It takes 10-20 minutes, depending on the lesson. Tuesday, we review phonograms and do 2 or 3 sentences. Wednesday, we review sound cards and do 2 or 3 sentences. Thursday, we review key cards and do 2 or 3 sentences. Friday we review word banks and assorted other things and do 2 or 3 sentences. Those days take 10-15 minutes, depending on how much he screws around while he should be writing.

 

It's a lot of writing for a little kid. I have toyed with the idea of having him type the sentences (with the spell check turned off!!!). But he doesn't know how to type, so it would still be laborious for him. Doing it this way has broken up the lesson enough that he isn't overwhelmed. He doesn't LIKE it, but he does it.

 

I will say, DS made almost no mistakes in the first 2 levels, but starting having to work harder about 5 lessons into level 3. Which is probably why I stick with it -- that kid needs a CHALLENGE!

[Donna]

I think if she is asking you how to spell certain words while making up stories, she is learning to spell. That just may be her way without any formal instruction at all. The new confidence you see in her spelling may just be her maturing or her learning how to do it by writing more...I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to a spelling program. If she really dislikes it, having her write and assisting her with spelling as needed or correcting misspelled words may be all the spelling program she needs at this point.

 

My dd read as a toddler without formal instruction and never had a formal phonics program but she is a natural speller. I did Spelling Power with her at 6 and 7yo where she tested multiple years higher than her "grade level" (last year 7th grade) then easily worked through 2 years of the program getting nearly every word correct on the pretest. She rarely spells something wrong and if she does, once she sees the word spelled correctly, has it. Any other spelling program would have been painfully slow for her....I actually remember doing "phonics" in 1st grade and how painfully boring it was for me since I already read well and saw no point in it.

 

This year I decided to ditch the formal spelling and do more purposeful spelling by doing exactly as I suggested to you above...correcting words she spells incorrectly in her writing.

[mammaofbean]

we have not used a spelling curriculum. dd (5) just does spelling of word families, i make up the lists. she copies the words and looks at them for a couple of days then tells me when she wants to test. we do about 20-25 words at a time and usually just test orally. if she misses a couple of words i tack them onto the next list. we also go over terminology and rules when they are relevant.

 

she is going to start memorizing spelling rules from spell to write and read, not doing any other part of the program. she loves memorizing things, and sees spelling rules as tricks but really if she hated it i would hold off for a couple of years.