Spelling Workout is not working for us!! Please advise!!

[LauraKay28]

My daughter is 7 and reads well (she easily reads things like Ramona and the American Girl series). However her spelling is TERRIBLE. We used Sonlight's LA last year and their spelling is just using lists. We switched to Spelling Workout and she finished Level A and is about halfway through Level B. But she isn't "getting" it. She still spells almost every word wrong, unless she is copying it!! I don't know what to try next. Spelling Power?? It's pretty expensive.

 

Any ideas for a frustrated mom and daughter?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Laura

[UmMusa]

Hi Laura, I'm a first time homeschooler and we're using Spelling Workout. My DD9 (4th grade) is using level D and is doing well. Maybe some flash cards and/or more practice to learn the words? Let her use the words in games or sentences in addition to the book?

 

I've personally been pleased with how easy it is for them to go through each lesson. Funny how each child is different. Would switching really help, or is the problem more that she could use more time reviewing words? I"m just thinking out loud...

[kristavws]

I use SWO for my 4th grader, and it works wonderfully, but he is a natural speller. My 7-year old could seriously read probably anything I handed him, but is an absolutely horrid speller. I just switched him to All About Spelling. My son really likes this program, and actually requests to do spelling each day. I wish I could provide you with more information, but we have only been using it for a couple of weeks!

 

Krista

[scrapbookbuzz]

A couple of things to consider. When working on spelling words, have her use Scrabble tiles instead of writing them out. That really helped my daughter! Also, Sequential Spelling (aka AVKO) works really well because it starts with a root and builds around that root for all the words in that lesson. And it's not expensive or hard to use, either! Bonus! :^)

[mamananci]

We loved SpellWell!!! :001_smile:

[Dana]

SWO didn't work for us. My son read well but learned how to read without phonics. We switched to All About Spelling in March and its been a much better fit.

[Susan in KY]

Spelling Power?? It's pretty expensive.

 

Yes, and yes. But wait until 3rd grade to implement it—or any spelling program. Before then, it's really not worth it. You're better off to focus on phonics.

 

Then again, I delayed writing, too, so delaying spelling fit well for us.

 

At any rate, another mom and I were talking about all the programs we had tried. Between us, we covered everything from Phonetic Zoo and Rod and Staff to Spelling Workout. We'd used a total of probably 6 or 7 spelling programs! We both settled on Spelling Power and love it because it works. Nothing else did. Nothing.

 

You can get used, older versions for cheap. I got mine under $25. It's worth it, I promise.

[Tree House Academy]

I have been using Charlotte Mason style dictation (via Heart of Dakota) with my horrible speller and it is really starting to show in his work. You could do this yourself by having her study passages from works of literature and then write them from memory. If she misses even a small detail, then she repeats the dictation passage again the next day. If she gets it all right, she moves on. Seeing it written correctly within writing seems to help their brains connect the two. My son struggled with lists too - he would make A's because he could memorize almost photographically for the test, and forget immediately afterwards.

[Kate in Arabia]

My oldest is a natural speller, and has done very well with Spelling Workout (he's finishing the series this year with level H). My second tried Spelling workout A and a bit of B, but it was not a good fit. He'd miss all the words in the pretest; we'd drill all week, I made extra practice worksheets including wordsearches and the like; he'd miss all the words in the final test.

 

We switched to All About Spelling last year, and he is making a lot of improvement. What I discovered is that my second ds is a phonetic speller, so he writes words the way they sound to him. The layout of AAS works better for him, the way the spelling rule is introduced and reinforced, plus having the tiles as a tactile aspect. It's still a bit of a struggle for him, but if I remind him of the rule he is quicker to see his mistakes.

[Annabel Lee]

I agree to focus on phonics for now; but maybe combine with some spelling. CLE's LA teaches when and why to spell words with certain letters - such as when to use 'ge' or 'dge' for the /j/ sound at the end of a word. The word lists aren't extensive but it gives their brains a better workout if you "test" them on the principle on words outside that list as well (e.g. "Which /j/ spelling would you use for ____").

 

AAS is a very good phonics-based spelling program. I think going through even the "mastered" words more often and continually reviewing all those cards makes the difference w/ AAS.

 

The other one I've used is Abeka - not the whole shabang - just the Language workbook, the Letters & Sounds workbook, and the Spelling book with the basic phonics charts. This would teach some phonics rules (they call all the phonograms "special sounds" and have the dc memorize the spelling of each sound). The workbooks would reinforce it w/ a lot of "word work", marking vowels, roots, suffixes, prefixes, and changing the spelling of words to add suffixes. I'd only try this option w/ a very non-writing phobic kid who likes (or at least doesn't mind) workbooks.

[kalanamak]

SWO didn't work for us. My son read well but learned how to read without phonics. We switched to All About Spelling in March and its been a much better fit.

 

That is what I would do. AAS didn't work for us because kiddo finds it slow. SWO is a good fit for him. If AAS doesn't work, I'd go for Sequential Spelling. I've used two of these programs, and read the third one cover to cover. (I will note, I started with SWR, and we had the phonograms and most of the rules by rote before we started AAS and then SWO.)

 

(And yes, I had angst over spelling. Hubby and I both have bad handwriting and poor spelling. Kiddo has neither. But he looks like us!)

[ArizonaGirl]

Have you looked at The Writing Road to Reading? English really is organized and full of simple rules, even though most people don't think so.

 

Spalding Education International has more information about the program.

 

Good Luck!

[lovetobehome]

SWO was fine for my DS, but I moved him into Sequential Spelling 3 years ago. It is perfect for him.

SWO was a disaster for DD. Sounds JUST like your daughter. All About Spelling has worked miracles here! She completed level 1 and Level 2 already this year. HUGE improvement. HUGE! We will start Level 3 next week. I couldn't be happier with her progress!

[Crimson Wife]

Spelling Power is an excellent program for kids who are "natural" spellers like my oldest DD but it doesn't teach the rules explicitly like AAS does. That's the one I'm planning on using with my DS.

[TKDmom]

Spelling Power is expensive, but you only have to buy it once. It's designed to cover grades 3-12. I bought a used copy here once for $20. I'd suggest looking for a used copy and reading through it. If you don't feel like you can use it, you can sell it for the same price as you bought it.

[Mama2Many4]

We use Spelling Workout and so far, it's working out great for us. I use letter tiles, file folder games for spelling the words, white board hangman, all kinds of fun things that will make the spelling of the words stick. Maybe try some of that?

[lulubelle]

Okay, so we have been using SWO as well. I've been thinking it isn't working all that well. I like the idea of letter tiles and white board hangman! But, when should I expect a spelling program to start working? My son is 8. Should spelling really come more naturally in the logic stage? Should an 8 year old be able to spell the words he is practicing? My husband seems to think we should not be worrying about it.

[NanceXToo]

See, I don't really think you need a spelling program that young.

 

And when you do, I still don't think you need a spelling "curriculum" per se. Your "spelling list" can come from words that you see her spelling wrong. Select a few of those each week (maybe 5 if she's younger, 10 if she's older) and have her review them each week.

 

But let her review them in fun ways. Let her draw them on the sidewalk with chalk. Let her draw them in the dirt with a stick. Let her trace them with her finger in a tray of salt. Let her make them in fancy bubble letters and then color or decorate the letters. Let her draw pictures of maps or people or buildings and then label/"name them after" spelling words. Make a simple "windsock" out of a paper plate and crepe paper streamers and write the spelling words on the streamers. Trace the words on each other's backs and guess the words. Chant the letters of each word as you toss a ball or throw cushion back and forth. Stuff like that?

 

I don't know. Maybe it's better than a spelling "curriculum" that isn't even working for you!

[Tracy]

The problem with SWO is that it doesn't really teach rules (at least not at that level). It works fine for an intuitive speller but not for kids that struggle with it. We switched from SWO to SWR. I especially like it because it is an integrated phonics/reading and spelling program. Kids learn to read and spell at the same time. For $100, you get all the manuals you need for K-12, so it is very inexpensive. It is teacher-intensive, though.

[sewpeaceful]

We had a similar situation and had to ditch the workbook spelling programs. My dd could spell the words beautifully for the test on Friday and within 2 weeks, it was a jumbled mess again. Sound familiar to anyone? things were only going in short term memory and not sticking in long term memory.

 

We left the workbooks and went to dictation - for FREE (yes, free). Here is how it works: child studies passage for a few minutes until comfortable. Instructor recites one sentence at a time or the passage (pick your poison) and the student writes the passage from memory. If they get it all correct, including capitalization and punctuation, the next day they move onto the next passage. If there is even 1 mistake, they do the same passage the next day - it doesn't matter if they missed the silly period. They not only learn spelling but sentence structure, grammar, etc. I opted to let it be super easy at first to fill in gaps in spelling and build up confidence. We have been doing dictation for a year and a half now and she is starting to write and spell correctly with confidence.

 

Now, back to the FREE part. There are dictation programs for sale out there. They seem great. I liked the repetition with the freebie I found from the 20's. Here is the link to level 2 (far more than a years worth): http://books.google.com/books?id=OdMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR5&lpg=PR5&dq=day+by+day+spelling+dictation&source=bl&ots=B0CqjjqCni&sig=oEkLoc5AlffepKwNRDx1PPXrUaY&hl=en&ei=pFyyTO-qC8K88gbl5cSvCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=day%20by%20day%20spelling%20dictation&f=false

 

There are levels all the way to level 6. You will just have to poke around Google for them.

 

I hope this helps. It would be worth a try. I was very skeptical of dictation but it is the ONLY thing that helped my dd.

 

Good luck!!

[siloam]

My recommendation is All About Spelling. It has worked well for all my kids. It is also phonics based, so it is one of the few programs I think are fine to start before 3rd grade. Most of the time I am in the wait camp.

 

SL spelling is actually an extension of the phonics study, and not a real spelling program they start formal spelling in 3rd grade. They recommend Sequential Spelling, but we needed something systematic, to mastery with rules. It is too abstract for us.

 

Heather

[robsiew]

Just remember spelling is an ongoing skill to be learned. It will take many years before your child is consistently spelling everything correctly. Even what she has studied. Leave room for errors. If you generally like the format of SWO I'd stick with it. Maybe add in some practice. Moreover, I'd make sure that you are correcting any misspelling of words in her writing that she already knows. See if she can find the error first, then remind her of the rule if needed. It takes time and patience to develop spellers. This may not be a strong area for her either... so gentle reminders will go much further than drill, drill, drill...:001_smile:

 

That said, I use and LOVE AAS. It is working well for 2 of the three children I do spelling with. My third I am just figuring out needs to be more independent (a personality/learning issue, nothing to do with AAS), so I just actually ordered SWO for him! Go figure!

[VillaH]

I started out all of my kids with Spelling Workout. I had one son (now 11) who was not successful at all with the program so years later I changed to sequential Spelling. I asked him at the end of last year if he learned anything from it. He said, "yeah, I learned I can't spell." So, back to the drawing board. We have taken a break from "spelling" curriculums for a bit. He reads very well, but still has trouble spelling even the word "when." Even though he writes it often, he still spells it "wene." His vocabulary is huge and uses words even my 13 year old son won't add into his work. I thought I would go back to the basics and bought "Phonics Tutor" but havn't had a chance to use it with him yet. I read some information about visual spatial learners and it seems that spelling problems go along with that. Check it out. Even though he is 11, I still write some of what he needs (history and science journalling etc....) Or I just encourage him to write it out and ask me to spell when he gets stuck, or sound it out. He doesn't like to write it down wrong, so it can get very frustrating for him. Typing is another helpful thing. Also, try text to speach on the computer if it isn't a spelling test, but just a paper or essay.

[StephanieZ]

FWIW, 7 is very young for spelling.

 

I think kids vary in when they are ready for spelling. My oldest was an early reader (2nd gr level by 5 yo) but spelling was a bomb with her. . . My youngers have been more natural spellers & have done fine with earlier spelling. I think I started my 2nd around 3rd grade -- with SWO C. My youngest has been doing SWO since age 5 or so (starting w/ A). I think they did so much better b/c they had Explode the Code whereas my oldest didn't get that b/c I hadn't yet discovered it.

 

So anyway, I think it is safe to wait a year or two and then try SWO again. . . You might be amazed at how much she picks up via osmosis just by reading.

 

You could also consider the advanced Explode the Code levels for her in lieu of spelling for a year or so. They are awesome for spelling skills IME.

[LauraKay28]

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions! I have some magnetic letters that I got out today and had dd do spelling with those today. She actually found it fun. :001_smile: I think she/we need something with the rules spelled out for us (no pun intended :001_smile:) because she is just not a natural speller. It is frustrating because she reads SO well and I was not expecting this. And she is not used to struggling. So anyway, I think we'll just do lots of review and games and stuff and give AAS a try if we can't push through this. We did ETC and just finished 4, which she really started having problems with. So I don't know if we're going to go on with that, yet.

Thanks again, all of you are so wonderful!!