Are your voraceous readers also good spellers?

[percytruffle]

Well, I am a very visual learner (as you would expect from an artist ;)) and my spelling is atrocious! I'm not sure there is a link. I think it is a much more complex process than is initially evident and I also think there are many different types of spellers. It reminds me of your post about hearing the words as you read. There are many different kinds of readers: hear the words, see the words, both, neither. I suspect there are many different kinds of spellers as well.

[percytruffle]

And, to answer the op's question, there is no link in our family with voracious readers and good spelling.

[Harriet Vane]

Poor dd's spelling is terrible. So is her father's--he doesn't read as much as she and I do, but he does read quite a bit.

 

Like dd, I am a voracious reader and always have been. Unlike dd, spelling has always come naturally to me.

[sassenach]

It's true here.

[Mesa]

Not true with my ds.

[Laura Corin]

Both my voracious readers are excellent spellers.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Retired]

I live with a dictionary.

My DH is a natural speller and a reader.

2nd DH loves reading also, can't spell

[Hilary in MI]

My best friend's DD is a great reader, but can't spell worth a flip. She has dyslexia, but it only affects her spelling. Her brain can't put the letters in the right order. So no, this is not universally true.

 

So true, Rhonda in TX!

 

There is no guaranteed link whatsoever. It's a common myth that good readers automatically and naturally are good spellers!

 

An advanced reader can have great difficulties with spelling. In fact, Eide and Eide, in The Mislabeled Child, refer to such difficulties in their definition of "stealth dyslexia."

 

http://mislabeledchild.com/html/Library/DyslexiaReading/Stealth_dyslexia.htm

 

More information about spelling and dyslexia:

 

http://www.dyslexia-ncbida.org/articles/feb02/basicspell.html

 

Here's an article by a journalist who struggles with spelling:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A27074-2005Feb15?language=printer

 

My oldest ds is a highly advanced reader with huge spelling struggles. We're remediating with an Orton-Gillingham-based program (AAS; and I also have SWR). Basically, I've discovered that the actual diagnosis doesn't matter; whether it's dyslexia or some other learning difference, he needs the same kind of systematic approach to encoding (spelling/writing) that works for children learning decoding skills (reading).

[Old Dominion Heather]

It is not true for me. I read and read and read and still misspell nearly everything. I can't tell that a word is misspelled even after I write it incorrectly. I can't see typos unless people point them out.

[jmgconner]

So true, Rhonda in TX!

 

There is no guaranteed link whatsoever. It's a common myth that good readers automatically and naturally are good spellers!

 

An advanced reader can have great difficulties with spelling. In fact, Eide and Eide, in The Mislabeled Child, refer to such difficulties in their definition of "stealth dyslexia."

 

http://mislabeledchild.com/html/Library/DyslexiaReading/Stealth_dyslexia.htm

 

More information about spelling and dyslexia:

 

http://www.dyslexia-ncbida.org/articles/feb02/basicspell.html

 

Here's an article by a journalist who struggles with spelling:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A27074-2005Feb15?language=printer

 

My oldest ds is a highly advanced reader with huge spelling struggles. We're remediating with an Orton-Gillingham-based program (AAS; and I also have SWR). Basically, I've discovered that the actual diagnosis doesn't matter; whether it's dyslexia or some other learning difference, he needs the same kind of systematic approach to encoding (spelling/writing) that works for children learning decoding skills (reading).

 

 

Wow, I think this is my 12 yo. He's a great reader, but his spelling is so awful, it's embarrassing. He misspelled "bike" the other day. :001_huh: We've tried almost everything - I'm going to look at that Orton-Gillingham program you mentioned. Thanks!

[Melanie]

I have two voracious readers. One can spell and one can't.

[elbac]

I was a voracious reader as a child (still am when I have the time :tongue_smilie:) and also a good speller. I honestly don't recall ever actually studying for a spelling test. Also being able to follow rules of writing always came naturally to me, and I absolutely loved writing assignments. The latter I always attributed to my love of reading and the exposure that offered, but I really don't know.

 

When I was young, I got very frustrated when my teachers marked "grey" incorrect because I *swore* I had seen that spelling in my fairy books. Sure enough, "grey" in England and "gray" in America.

 

Funny, I actually use both. Over the years I find that I tend to feminize "grey" and masculinize "gray." So, my mom has grey hair, but dad has gray. I'm just making up my own rules over here. :D

[Tammyla]

One no and one yes here. Both of mine love to read, but one is a natural speller and the other isn't.;)

[Krista in LA]

My 12dd is a voracious reader but can't spell very well at all. My 10ds doesn't like to read much and spells better than his older sister.

[Donna]

My oldest reads all the time and has since he was 3 but spells horribly and I always wonder why he doesn't "see" the words are spelled incorrectly. He spells fine for spelling tests but horrid in his own writing.

 

My youngest reads voraciously and is a natural speller. She rarely spells a word wrong once she has seen it spelled the correct way.

[Jennifer on Earth]

My voracious reader spells crazy well - much, much better than me at the same age. My not-so-voracious reader spells about as well as he reads, which is mildly above average (I think). My friend's daughter, however, reads like nobody's business and she struggles with spelling. She's been diagnosed with dyslexia, but who knows? Her mother isn't even sure if the diagnosis is correct but she does know the child reads really well.