How do you know if your child is a natural speller?

[4toteach]

I'm new to HS'ing starting this fall and will have a PK, 1st, 3rd, 5th grader. I keep reading about natural spellers. Does the fact that my fourth grader corrects my spelling mean he is one? They are in PS and rarely miss words on their lists...does that mean they are?

 

Also..I think I want a straightforward, workbook style spelling curriculum that teaches the rules and can be done fairly independently....is there one out there like that?

[Halcyon]

I don't think there's a universal definition. That said, my boys both can spell almost any word with no study at all, particularly my youngest. Oldest has a bit of trouble with, for example, the state names, and needs to review. But for me, a natural speller is a child who can spell above their grade level (sometimes substantially above their grade level) without any review. They just seem to "know" how to spell through osmosis. ;)

[Momling]

My daughter says she never thinks about any spelling rules, she just imagines the word in her mind as if it was in a book and that's how she writes it. There has been a word or two, though, that she has consistently misspelled... I think she's seen her own spelling of it too often. Otherwise she is a great speller... naturally.

[abbeyej]

Yes, just seeming to "know" how to spell, spelling well above grade-level (by mid-to-late elementary spelling as well as most adults) without much effort or instruction, needing only to be reminded once of the correct spelling of a word in order never to misspell it again...

 

Spelling Power is probably more or less what you're looking for. I tend to consider it a waste of time for my "natural spellers" (and it doesn't do much to improve the spelling skills of very poor spellers), though I think the editing practice is somewhat useful. It's okay for "pretty good" spellers though, who do reasonably well at grade-level and can do with some extra practice.

[TCB]

I'm not sure of the proper definition of a natural speller. My dds age 11 and 7 seem to know how to spell most things without being taught by a spelling program. We do SWO which is a workbook which can be done mostly independently. Both girls get almost all words correct without studying them, although they do the exercises which expose them to the words. I, personally, think they know how to spell because they read so much and see so many words again and again.

I don't know if this is what is called a natural speller, but fits my definition of it. Both girls are using SWO levels several years above their age grade.

[Crimson Wife]

My oldest is a "natural speller". I used to test her periodically with the Schonell Spelling test and she'd always come out quite a bit above grade level even though we weren't formally studying spelling. At the beginning of 3rd, she asked to do spelling as a subject, and placed into level G of Spelling Power. She did SP for a while, but then our LA "loop" got too full, so I shelved it for the time being.

[my2boysteacher]

My daughter says she never thinks about any spelling rules, she just imagines the word in her mind as if it was in a book and that's how she writes it. There has been a word or two, though, that she has consistently misspelled... I think she's seen her own spelling of it too often. Otherwise she is a great speller... naturally.

 

This is how my younger son is as well. He taught himself to read at an early age, and can spell just about any word correctly.

[boscopup]

I think if your child is spelling things correctly in their writing without having been specifically taught how to spell those words, they're a natural speller.

 

My son is not really a natural speller, but he did great on tests at school because he's a quick learner. Once you show him "This is the rule that makes these words be spelled this way", he remembers it and applies it. He doesn't, however figure out how to spell words just because he's read them. He needs to learn either the words themselves or the rules for the words. So I don't think he's a natural speller, even though he did really well on school tests and never had to "study" for them at home (just going over them in class and the "why" of spelling them was enough).

 

That's just how I think of a natural speller though. Someone else may have a better definition than me. ;)

[Guest jab300]

I am a good speller. I used to think it was because I memorized all the rules in school, but now I realize it's because I "see" the words in my head. If I have read a word before I pretty much remember how it's spelled, and don't even use all the "rules." My dh and ds2 have a lot of trouble with spelling, but my 10yo ds3 is like me, he just spells (and I haven't taught him one rule of spelling.) He recalls what he has seen, notices patterns and such and figures it out like that. I guess I would define a natural speller as someone who can spell well without knowing the rules. I advocate exposing children to good literature so they can model good writing (and spelling) but know that it won't always make a child a good speller...my ds2 has learned all the rules and reads a lot but still struggles with spelling.

[~Kirsten~]

I'd agree with the previous posters' definitions of natural speller, so I won't repeat all that!

 

I also would agree that Spelling Workout is probably a good fit for natural spellers. It certainly would meet your criteria for a workbook-type program that covers the rules and can be done independently. SWB also recommends it, and in later grades, it transitions into a bit of a root study from what I remember. So that's a bonus for me. I know the company that makes Growing With Grammar also has a spelling program that is workbook-style. I'm happy with SWO, so I haven't even looked at it, but I wanted to give you a second option.

 

My personal understanding of Spelling Power is that it's more teacher-intensive, but I could be wrong on that. I also didn't think it was a workbook but rather a book from which you assign lessons. Maybe I'm thinking of a different program?

[Penelope]

I think it is a person who is very visual and sees the words in their head without being taught. A natural speller wouldn't need phonograms or rules to know how to spell. They spell from reading and writing.

 

I have wondered about spelling, though. It's very popular on this board to teach very intensive spelling programs like AAS, SWR, and PR. Yet SWB recommends in her lectures to just do a simple spelling program like SWO and that we often have to wait for 4th or 5 th grade for correct spelling to carry over into writing. I think that natural spellers will be ahead of this curve, but how many children really need all these mom-intensive programs in grades K-4? I know my child is not a natural speller, but would he be an average speller without spending all the time on AAS? I'm thinking about trying the workbook route with second child who seems to be more visually-oriented. I really couldn't care less if my child knows phonograms or spelling rules, as long as he is able to read and spell.

[janainaz]

My ds is a natural speller and we've worked through Spelling Workout up to (G or H, I can't remember which one we're on).

 

It's a perfect spelling program to do independently. Other than giving ds a test on Friday, and reviewing some word roots and prefixes/suffixes, with him, I let him do it on his own. He rarely misses a word.

 

I think a natural speller just kind of almost sees the word in his/her mind. If I spell a word out loud, or start to write it, I can hear or see if it's not spelled properly. Other than the rhyme "i before e, except after c...," I can't recall a single rule that I draw upon to spell a word. So that for that reason, just exposure visually, is enough.

[boscopup]

I have wondered about spelling, though. It's very popular on this board to teach very intensive spelling programs like AAS, SWR, and PR. Yet SWB recommends in her lectures to just do a simple spelling program like SWO and that we often have to wait for 4th or 5 th grade for correct spelling to carry over into writing. I think that natural spellers will be ahead of this curve, but how many children really need all these mom-intensive programs in grades K-4?

 

This was my line of thinking when I started in January, and I got a couple workbook type things. They were ok, but then I realized that my son wanted to know "why" the words were spelled that way, so I got AAS. Now he's spelling well and he knows why the words are spelled that way. It has given him a lot of confidence in writing, since he's a perfectionist (when learning to talk, the boy wouldn't even say a new word until he could pronounce it perfectly).

 

Do I think every kid needs a mom-intensive phonics-based spelling program? No, I don't. A lot of kids will probably do just fine with a simple spelling workbook. Does it hurt to do a mom-intensive phonics-based spelling program? Nope, unless the mom is going crazy due to doing too many mom-intensive programs with multiple kids. ;)

 

Then on the other hand, some kids do need that mom-intensive phonics-based spelling program, but mom may not realize it until they get to 5th grade and they aren't yet magically spelling well. Then the spelling program is even more mom-intensive because you're trying to cram all of it into a short time so the kid will be ready to write in high school and spell words properly.

 

So I plan to do the mom-intensive phonics-based spelling program with my kids, getting it out of the way early. Thankfully, I only have 3 kids, and they're spaced such that I likely won't be doing spelling with more than 2 kids at a time. Of course, if one of them turns out to be a natural speller, I'll ditch the mom-intensive spelling program for them.

[Penelope]

 

Then on the other hand, some kids do need that mom-intensive phonics-based spelling program, but mom may not realize it until they get to 5th grade and they aren't yet magically spelling well. Then the spelling program is even more mom-intensive because you're trying to cram all of it into a short time so the kid will be ready to write in high school and spell words properly.

 

 

 

I have the same concerns. I am treading carefully as I consider venturing over into the workbooks. However, I feel more confident in being able to focus in on a trouble area, after having already used a more intensive program. AAS has been most helpful to me in that way.

[boscopup]

I have the same concerns. I am treading carefully as I consider venturing over into the workbooks. However, I feel more confident in being able to focus in on a trouble area, after having already used a more intensive program. AAS has been most helpful to me in that way.

 

Yep! Teacher training! :D I figure once I've gone through the levels with my oldest, even if my younger ones need to go the workbook route or some other route, I'll still feel more confident about it because I can then answer "why" if they ask. I couldn't answer "why" when we were doing the other programs. I already feel more confident now, and I've only done 2 levels and a few steps of the 3rd.