Can you recommend a spelling program for me?

[TKDmom]

I am looking for a spelling program that is inexpensive, effective, and not too teacher intensive.

 

Right now we are using Spelling Power. It's a little too much for me, as a teacher. I'm just doing the daily tests with my dd. She's not even doing the activities that you're supposed to do after the tests. She whines about all the visualizing and tracing, etc., that she has to do with the words that she misses (and she rarely misses more than 2 words). I feel like I'm not using this program effectively, but I don't want to do any more. Spelling is rarely a pleasant interaction between dd and myself. On a good day, I manage to refrain from snapping at her...

 

I just bought some Spelling Workout workbooks for my dd and 7yo ds. But I'm not all that impressed with SWO. My dd used it right after I pulled her out of ps, and dislikes it. I told her to get over it, and just do the pages. :tongue_smilie:

 

But then I started wondering, is there something out there that would be more effective than SWO, but more independent than SP?

 

Feel free to tell me (nicely), if we just need to have an attitude adjustment, and work through the program we're already doing. I know it's a perfectly good program...<sigh>

[Hedgehog]

Maybe your DD needs time to get into Spelling Workout? We do it alongside MCP Phonics/Word Study and it's fine. We don't often do the creative writing bit at the end of the SW lesson, though. I get the impression there's a few others who don't bother with it, either.

 

I've found that Spelling Workout works best if we do the Lesson on one day, and test on another. I think some people split up the lesson over several days but we've never done that and I would say my DDs are learning their spelling alright.

 

HTH! :001_smile:

[Ellie]

Spelling by Sound and Structure (R&S). The word lists are not exceedingly difficult, but the activities...those are challening, especially from 4th grade up.

[Karen in CO]

I have made my way around spelling programs and and currently using SWO again. I use it along with the ABC's And All Their Tricks. We look up everything in the ABC's book so that there is more understanding for the rules related to the words she's studying.

[abbeyej]

...It's a little too much for me, as a teacher. I'm just doing the daily tests with my dd...

...Feel free to tell me (nicely), if we just need to have an attitude adjustment, and work through the program we're already doing. I know it's a perfectly good program...<sigh>

 

Okay, lol, I promise, I really am only saying this *very* nicely... ;) But... You're talking about 5-10 minutes per lesson of your time, right? If all you're doing is reading off the words for her to write, and noting when she gets one wrong, how long can it take? Is there anything you're doing there that could be streamlined? (For instance, are you having her study her missed words before she moves on to the next one? Save that for the end instead?) Or is it taking too long because she's balking?

 

She whines about all the visualizing and tracing, etc., that she has to do with the words that she misses (and she rarely misses more than 2 words).

Well, while I hate to give in to whining ;), is it possible she just doesn't *need* to do all of those steps? If she's only missing 2 words at a time, it sounds like she's probably a pretty good speller. And often times natural spellers don't *need* to do all of the visualizing/tracing/etc steps that are laid out in Spelling Power. Why not tell her, "You're old enough to begin figuring out for yourself how you can study best. So for the next week, every time you miss a word, it's your responsibility to learn to spell it before we doing spelling again. But you can decide how to do that and experiment with different ways." Then ask her to tell you the different ways she might study a word she has missed (prompt her if necessary), and then see how it goes. Many kids who are naturally good spellers only need to look at the corrected word and think about how it's different from what they wrote, or write it out a couple of times correctly. If she doesn't need all of those steps from SP, let her skip them! Of course, if she's not learning the words effectively on her own, you'll have to provide more specific guidance -- but it still may not be *all* of the current steps...

 

... Basically, I don't think you're doing anything terribly wrong, but I also don't think you're going to find an effective spelling program that takes less than 5-10 minutes of your time for each lesson. I mean, you can find something more independent, but I find that those are usually: 1) not very effective for poor spellers, 2) mostly busywork for good spellers. So you'd be saving *you* time, but largely wasting *hers*. What I like about SP is how very efficient it can be for good spellers -- as long as you're willing to tweak it to fit you (and your dd).

 

Maybe just try to tweak SP a bit so it takes less time for both of you for a few weeks, then reevaluate whether you really need to spend the money and the adjustment-time on a new program?

[TKDmom]

I've found that Spelling Workout works best if we do the Lesson on one day, and test on another. I think some people split up the lesson over several days but we've never done that and I would say my DDs are learning their spelling alright.

 

Good idea. It might make it more palatable, if she doesn't feel like it's long and drawn out.

 

Spelling by Sound and Structure (R&S). The word lists are not exceedingly difficult, but the activities...those are challening, especially from 4th grade up.

 

I have made my way around spelling programs and and currently using SWO again. I use it along with the ABC's And All Their Tricks. We look up everything in the ABC's book so that there is more understanding for the rules related to the words she's studying.

 

I'll file these in my list to look at. Thanks!

[TKDmom]

Okay, lol, I promise, I really am only saying this *very* nicely... ;) But... You're talking about 5-10 minutes per lesson of your time, right? If all you're doing is reading off the words for her to write, and noting when she gets one wrong, how long can it take? Is there anything you're doing there that could be streamlined? (For instance, are you having her study her missed words before she moves on to the next one? Save that for the end instead?) Or is it taking too long because she's balking?

 

Ok, I asked for it. :tongue_smilie:

But this is why I post these questions. Talking it over with other people helps to clarify my thoughts. I was talking to dh last night, but you know, he's basically clueless about curriculum choices. ;)

 

You're right. It does only take 10 minutes. I feel silly that I'm even complaining. (DH said last night, "How could you even have an independent spelling program?" :lol:)

 

I suspect that our problem stems from the fact that spelling is our last subject of the day (per dd's request). By that time of day, I'm tired of interacting with children, the baby is up from her nap and climbing on the table, dd is easily distracted, I just want to be done, and she wants to talk about random tangents instead of writing out her words.

 

Well, while I hate to give in to whining ;), is it possible she just doesn't *need* to do all of those steps? If she's only missing 2 words at a time, it sounds like she's probably a pretty good speller. And often times natural spellers don't *need* to do all of the visualizing/tracing/etc steps that are laid out in Spelling Power. Why not tell her, "You're old enough to begin figuring out for yourself how you can study best. So for the next week, every time you miss a word, it's your responsibility to learn to spell it before we doing spelling again. But you can decide how to do that and experiment with different ways." Then ask her to tell you the different ways she might study a word she has missed (prompt her if necessary), and then see how it goes. Many kids who are naturally good spellers only need to look at the corrected word and think about how it's different from what they wrote, or write it out a couple of times correctly. If she doesn't need all of those steps from SP, let her skip them! Of course, if she's not learning the words effectively on her own, you'll have to provide more specific guidance -- but it still may not be *all* of the current steps...

 

I have started doing this. I'll just ask her to write it out a couple of times, or use the words in a sentence. She seems to learn spelling words pretty quickly. It's good to hear that someone else thinks that skipping the steps is okay. :D

 

... Basically, I don't think you're doing anything terribly wrong, but I also don't think you're going to find an effective spelling program that takes less than 5-10 minutes of your time for each lesson. I mean, you can find something more independent, but I find that those are usually: 1) not very effective for poor spellers, 2) mostly busywork for good spellers. So you'd be saving *you* time, but largely wasting *hers*. What I like about SP is how very efficient it can be for good spellers -- as long as you're willing to tweak it to fit you (and your dd).

 

Maybe just try to tweak SP a bit so it takes less time for both of you for a few weeks, then reevaluate whether you really need to spend the money and the adjustment-time on a new program?

 

Okay, thanks for all the advice. Although I love looking at different programs, I keep having the nagging feeling that switching programs mid-year is not the best option for us. I'm going to try changing the time of day that we do spelling and streamlining the process for dd. And if I still hate that orange book in the spring, I'll look into those other programs.

 

So if anyone else has a suggestion that hasn't been mentioned, please tell me. I'll file them away for when I need something to research. :lol:

[abbeyej]

...I suspect that our problem stems from the fact that spelling is our last subject of the day (per dd's request). By that time of day, I'm tired of interacting with children, the baby is up from her nap and climbing on the table, dd is easily distracted, I just want to be done, and she wants to talk about random tangents instead of writing out her words. ...

 

Oh, I can definitely understand *that*! And it's true, there are times of day when I can do a really good job of working directly with my kids, being patient, etc... And there are times when I'm just *done*. Maybe it's time to let her know how you feel, "Look, you've asked for spelling to be our last subject, and I've allowed that, but I'm finding that I'm tired and cranky by then, the baby is up, and you're dawdling. Something has to change. Either we need to do spelling earlier in the day, or you need to focus and get through it quickly and with a good attitude. Which do you want to try first?" Or, you know, just tell her that you have to move it to X time.

 

But changing when you do spelling seems like a less disruptive (and cheaper!) thing to try than switching programs. And, of course, if things *still* aren't working, you can always switch programs later on anyway.

 

Oooooh, *or* you could tell your husband that it would just be such a *huuuge* help to you if *he* would take on that ten minutes a day and... ;) lol...

[monalisa]

A friend of mine has her ds using Phonetic Zoo, and it is pretty independent. They are finding it really good, and switched from AAS (which isn't independent). However, it is pretty pricey ($99 I think). It's by Andrew Pudewa and you can read about it on the IEW site.

[MaMa2005]

I use Megawords for the spelling rules, but love A Reason for Spelling as an almost independent spelling program. DS enjoys it and all I really have to do is give the pre-test and post-test. I think I only spent about $15 on the book and it has 32 lessons so it will last for the entire year.

[mcconnellboys]

I used Spelling Workout with both my boys and always liked it. They would work on one page of the workbook each day and then we'd test on Fridays. (In some years, I covered more than one book in a year and we did more daily work.)