kandty Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I am looking for a new program next year for my (will be) 5th grader. He is an excellent reader and is well above his grade level, but he struggles with spelling retention. We have used levels 1-3 of All About Spelling and his short term spelling improved but still not remembering in the long term. I decided to change our program for next year and here are the three I am looking at, but after weeks of research I can't decide. Spelling Workout (just because it is recommended), Megawords, and Sequential Spelling. My husbands advice was just to go with the cheapest since he couldn't decide either. My son was interested in a "workbook" program and liked Spelling Workout. We did a workbook program in first and second grade and it didn't work either. Sequential seems like a different approach, but my son said it looked boring since it is just one on one time. So, then I thought Megawords would be good. Anyone have any thoughts on this. This is my last decision for next year and I would love to just be done until this summer when lesson planning comes around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyJ Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I've used Spelling Workout with 3 of my children, and it is one of the few programs that I would use again and again. It seems to cover several different skills at once, uses the spelling words as vocabulary words also, teaches editing skills, analogies, etc., and my children liked it. I have started using it in a class that I teach, and the students all like it. However, I have not tried the other two programs that you mentioned. Spelling Workout is just one of only two spelling programs that I have every liked. The other program I liked was Calvert Spelling, because my kids could do it on the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 We use Spelling Workout. I have one ds10 who has no problem with spelling, and one ds11 who does have difficulties. Ds11 is just now, 6th grade, getting better. The single most important thing we have done is have him copy the tip from each lesson into a notebook. Honestly, I did not really see the point of doing this, however, he has started to remember many spelling rules because of this. We are in SWO E now and all this spelling is finally starting to pay off. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Sometimes the answer is not another spelling program but more writing. Are you doing dictation daily? Is he writing something daily? Typing? Email? They have to USE the words to retain, and unfortunately some kids need a lot more use than others. If AAS was meeting his need for conceptual understanding, I would keep going with it and add in a lot more USE. When my dd was at that stage I did lots and lots and lots of dictation, like a full page a day. Wasn't fun, but it made a huge difference. Also, it turned out she needed vision therapy. Her eyes were not focusing the images and converging correctly, so anything that depended on that visual input for learning was messed up too. http://www.covd.org is where you find a developmental optometrist to get their eyes checked fully for the issues that affect learning. If you don't suspect problems otherwise, the easiest thing is just to do a regular exam (costs no more than any other eye doc) and have them screen for anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandty Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Sometimes the answer is not another spelling program but more writing. Are you doing dictation daily? Is he writing something daily? Typing? Email? They have to USE the words to retain, and unfortunately some kids need a lot more use than others. If AAS was meeting his need for conceptual understanding, I would keep going with it and add in a lot more USE. When my dd was at that stage I did lots and lots and lots of dictation, like a full page a day. Wasn't fun, but it made a huge difference. Also, it turned out she needed vision therapy. Her eyes were not focusing the images and converging correctly, so anything that depended on that visual input for learning was messed up too. www.covd.org is where you find a developmental optometrist to get their eyes checked fully for the issues that affect learning. If you don't suspect problems otherwise, the easiest thing is just to do a regular exam (costs no more than any other eye doc) and have them screen for anything else. We do dicatation 1-2 times a week. He hates it so much and fights me on it, so I don't push more than that to keep us both happy. Vision is a problem and we have things we are doing to help him with those problems. I really don't know how that is related to the spelling because I figure if it was then we would have reading problems too and we don't. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Many kids who struggle with spelling need lots of review. If he can't remember what he has learned, you may be going through the steps too quickly or may need to spend more time on review. I've found with my son that I need to implement weekly review before moving a card from daily review to mastered. This really cements things for him, and only takes a couple of minutes per day (I include that time in the 20 minutes total we spend on spelling). Another common issue is that kids can remember but they are not thinking about spelling when they write outside of spelling time. It's easy to jump to the conclusion that they don't remember when what they actually need is a separate time for editing and more work on writing and editing skills. I have a blog article on helping kids incorporate their spelling skills with their writing. I hope this helps some! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 (edited) We do dicatation 1-2 times a week. He hates it so much and fights me on it, so I don't push more than that to keep us both happy. Vision is a problem and we have things we are doing to help him with those problems. I really don't know how that is related to the spelling because I figure if it was then we would have reading problems too and we don't. :confused: What kind of vision problems? Have you been to a developmental optometrist? Even if you've been evaluated by the regular optometrist and an opthamalogist, you STILL need a developmental optometrist evaluation. They all do different things. And yes, his eyes could totally affect his spelling. And yes, he could still read with vision problems. My dd could read just fine before vision therapy. Also, just for your trivia you might read about stealth dyslexia. Google it and you'll get some articles. BTW, hating the dictation could be several things. One, he might not have the skills to write comfortably the words. (no visual images, doesn't know the spelling, etc.) Two, it might be you have inadvertently created an antagonistic/testing environment with it. I had to change our dynamic radically. REWARD him for asking. Set a bowl of m&ms in front of you and every time he asks for help in the dictation he gets one. :) Three, he may have working memory issues affecting his ability to hold the thoughts in his head. Four, he could have other issues (expressive language processing, dyspraxia, etc.) that affect his ability to get his thoughts out. There can be a glitch in any of those steps (thought to word, word to paper). But you don't figure out everything at once. You work through issues one thing at a time. First think about the level and chunk lengths of the dictation and whether you need to make it easier. Two, change the dynamic to be more rewarding and positive. My dd felt dumb, because she was constantly being asked to spell things she didn't know or might not know, a test. We had to change that dynamic and make it more positive. Get his eyes checked. Then you start working through what's left. Edited April 12, 2011 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandty Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 OhElizabeth- You have been VERY helpful! I plan to call our doc to ask questions. Dh took him and I really didn't get a good report back. He is suppose to take his glasses off when doing close work and he has exercises to do to strengthen his eyes. I used the website you gave and the doc that came up is the one we use. :001_smile: Most likely Dh didn't say anything about school problems during the visit. So perhaps a call will be helpful or another examine. And another lesson learned is not to send Dh to any more doc appointments. :lol: I also googled the other thing and that wasn't a match. I had his handwriting evaluated last week and the specialist didn't see any problems beside working to strengthen his hands to help with grip. And she told me his handwriting wasn't as bad as I thought it was. He is not a writer either, but most likely because his hand hurts when he writes. So, we are also working on hand exercises too. I know my Ds is smart as we had a conversation the other day that just blew me away. He was able to really think through a problem, discuss it throughly with me and came up with a logically solution. I had the same talk with Dh and he came up with nothing. :lol: I just wish I could get him to approach his school work that way. Visual problems just keep coming up and know I am understanding how it is all related. Wish it wasn't bedtime so I could make the phone call to the doc right now. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Who checked your ds's handwriting? My dd had the sore hand and hand fatigue thing, and it turns out she has low muscle tone all over, not just in her hands. We ended up doing several months of OT and learned a lot in the process. The muscles use eyes, so it's not shocking to have problems with them too. I'd definitely ask some more questions about what that doc did. We actually did vision therapy, 6 months with daily homework, etc. etc. First they got her convergence (how they two eyes bring the images together into one) and focusing working correctly, then they worked on depth perception and whatnot, and then they switched over to visual perception. There's a lot beyond "strengthening exercises" they can do for them. They can hook the child up to a computer with infrared goggles and track their eye movements when reading. Our place also does PACE cognitive therapy, so toward the end they pulled some of those worksheets out and did stuff like that with her, combining working memory with visual and other skills. BTW, our evaluation was 2 1/2 hours, and we received a full written explanation of the findings. When you find out more, be sure to pop back in and update your thread! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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