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Anyone using Spelling Power?


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I was just given this book and tried to read thru it super fast to get an idea of the program. I cant possibly read anymore as have stopped retaining info at this point...LOL. Is anyone using this and do you like it?

 

Thanks,

 

Colleen

 

We do. We've been using it for years. I have my dd do Spelling Power on her own as independent work. She likes it. :)

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Dd is fourteen; we've been using it since she was around nine. We're nearly at the end now, but it has been a good fit for her. She began with severe dysgraphia and was pretty well unable to spell anything but the simplest three-letter words despite a very high reading ability; now her spelling is at or above grade level. And it hasn't been drudgery or time-consuming at all. The hardest part is getting through that manual!

 

Do take the time to do that, though. Just the lists of words in themselves aren't anything special, particularly for younger kids.

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I was just given this book and tried to read thru it super fast to get an idea of the program. I cant possibly read anymore as have stopped retaining info at this point...LOL. Is anyone using this and do you like it?

 

My edition from several years ago had a short section (4 pages?) on how to get started very quickly; your book might have that too. It was helpful.

 

I like the different ways it reinforces correct spelling, visual, tactile, etc. The spelling "rules" and exceptions, imo, are very poor. I think most of their so-called exceptions can be easily explained. My dd's retention using SP was not so great, and we moved on to a different program. It works for some kids, doesn't work for others.

Edited by Kristine out of lurking
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I used it/still use it with all my kids. My kids range from horrible speller to natural speller so I have used Spelling Power in different ways with each. When oldest two were little they benefitted from all the different ways of learning to spell incorrect words. They enjoyed picking an activity from the cards to do each day.

 

My youngest rarely spells a word incorrectly and once she sees her mistake, doesn't need reinforcement so for her I go through a list a day plus any incorrect words from the previous day and no extra activities.

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We cut the spine and took out the list of words. Tossed the rest of the book after we read it. I put the hole punched word lists in my 3-ring binder.

There is a website where you can get the printable pages free or you can buy the cd.

It is an easy 15-20 minutes a day - or however you use it.

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We've used SP for more than 10 years.

 

Pros:

- Quick to use, once we figured out we didn't need the extra activities (some like them).

- The word lists are convenient.

- The word lists are comprehensive, and include the words I feel are most important.

- The review is usually spot-on, and the words in the review lists are most often the ones my dc miss.

- The practice books are convenient.

- It's cheaper overall for us, because one book has lasted through seven dc.

 

Cons:

- The instructions are wordy and convoluted (as is typical for anything by this author). I agree that you should read the Quick Start info and ditch the rest.

- The rules are ok, but not perfect. I'd love to see a SP-like program that uses the Spalding rules.

- The practice books have too much extra stuff in them for our use because we do our spelling orally (to prepare for spelling bees).

- I do not like the line spacing in the new practice books. It is too close together for my dc.

 

Spelling takes me about 10 minutes a day with each dc. I would rather have a computer program to drill my children, but so far I've been too lazy to put them into something like Spelling Made Simple. I really like SMS - you might want to check that out, too.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

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We are using SP this year with my 9yo dd and will start using it with 8 yo dd next year.

 

I was very confused after trying to read the whole book as well. It was a bit overwhelming. So I came up with my own schedule.

Day 1 Pretest and review previous wks spelling rules

Day 2 10 step study for misspelled words and review rules

Day 3 Sentences and review rules

Day 4 I use either activity or make a wkst with spelling city and review rules

Day 5 Test if she does not mis any words then she is done. If she misses any words I have her write them out 3 times each, but this has not happened yet.

 

My dd needs alot of review because she is not a natural speller. I have a feeling my 2nd dd will not need as much reveiw though.

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Thanks everyone!

 

Last night I was reading the "must read before you start" section. Which in turn is literally half the book. I just kept trucking through it until I read that it takes the average adult "12 uninterrupted hours" of reading time to get thorough the instruction section. WHAT? 12 hours of reading time to know how to use a spelling program..surely that cant be right. Well, Im sure its right as I spent like 3 hours last night and picked it back up this morning to realize that I didnt retain anything that I read last night...LOL. So, I just re-read the quick start guide which was like 25 pages and took notes. I did the first lesson this morning and it went well, he likes it ALOT better than the sequential spelling and actually enjoyed spelling today. Probably because he got to write words in shaving cream on the floor. :)

 

The placement put him in section B so I just did group 1 in that section. He got 3 wrong. I am a little confused on what I am supposed to do from here. I know I retest him tomorrow on those misspelled words but do I add the next group of words to that or do I wait until we are totally done with the 3 misspelled words before I move on to the next group? :001_huh:

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We do. We've been using it for years. I have my dd do Spelling Power on her own as independent work. She likes it. :)

 

How does your dd do this independently?

Don't you give her a test daily?

 

We've been using it for a couple years now and I agree it is quick and easy.

 

OP - my book came with a quick start dvd that I believe explains how it all works (I never used it) I have the 4th Edition.

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Thanks everyone!

 

The placement put him in section B so I just did group 1 in that section. He got 3 wrong. I am a little confused on what I am supposed to do from here. I know I retest him tomorrow on those misspelled words but do I add the next group of words to that or do I wait until we are totally done with the 3 misspelled words before I move on to the next group? :001_huh:

 

Tomorrow give him those three words that he missed first (hopefully they will be right that time) and then keep going on the same list until he misses 3 words and continue on that way.

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How does your dd do this independently?

Don't you give her a test daily?

 

We've been using it for a couple years now and I agree it is quick and easy.

 

OP - my book came with a quick start dvd that I believe explains how it all works (I never used it) I have the 4th Edition.

 

We use this one. http://shop.rocksolidinc.com/spelling-power-student-book-h-8th-grade-p2411.aspx I have her do 3 pages a day. I don't have to test her. She learns it just from doing the exercises in the workbook. When I do test her she always aces it. Has for years so I don't test her anymore other than randomly.

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We use this one. http://shop.rocksolidinc.com/spelling-power-student-book-h-8th-grade-p2411.aspx I have her do 3 pages a day. I don't have to test her. She learns it just from doing the exercises in the workbook. When I do test her she always aces it. Has for years so I don't test her anymore other than randomly.

 

So you buy these books every year, or did you just start that as she got older?

 

One of the things I like about Spelling Power is that its nonconsumable and was a one time purchase.

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