zenjenn Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) So last week I posted about my mildly dyslexic 3rd grade daughter who has *requested* additional spelling work. She is a terrible speller though I have for the most part been pleased with her progress through just reading and writing, she is, at this point, very self-conscious about her poor spelling ability and has asked for additional work to improve spelling. It looked into the recommendations made and of those offered I have narrowed it down to: Spelling Power All About Spelling Phonetic Zoo There's obviously only so much I can assess from web sites and reviews so I wanted to share my thoughts as well as concerns about each program, and hopefully those with experience with these 3 programs can either validate or dismiss what I'm saying. Spelling Power - I like that this program uses high frequency words. My daughter probably needs MORE than phonics, but some memorization of sight words. Due to her issues related to dyslexia, she will randomly make letter inversions etc, in spite of understanding the phonics/rules intellectually. However, NO ONE here recommended this in my thread about my dyslexic daughter, and Spelling Power's web site makes it difficult to CLEARLY see what it is exactly and how it work, at least as an outsider. All About Spelling - this was by far the most highly recommended program in my thread about a spelling program for a dyslexic child. I'm wondering if it is as comprehensive as Spelling Power without having to buy *all* the units. Is Spelling Power more or less the same at a lower cost? Because that is what it looks like to me which makes me think SP comes out ahead? Wondering what I am missing. Phonetic Zoo - the auditory component of this program appeals to me in a HUGE way. My daughter is very much an auditory learner, and loves to work independently. PZ has level 1 to look at, and it looks reasonable, but many of the reviews I found stated the words became very rapidly difficult, and I worry whether it will be too much too soon for a girl who still struggles with some first and second grade level words? By the way, she can READ words extremely fluently - she just can't spell them. Thoughts? Edited August 20, 2011 by zenjenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 All About Spelling - this was by far the most highly recommended program in my thread about a spelling program for a dyslexic child. I'm wondering if it is as comprehensive as Spelling Power without having to buy *all* the units. Is Spelling Power more or less the same at a lower cost? Because that is what it looks like to me which makes me think SP comes out ahead? Wondering what I am missing. First, let me say I have NO experience with a dyslexic child, so I won't recommend any particular program to you. I did want to comment on the comparison of AAS with SP though, as I currently use AAS and have looked at SP. The reason I chose not to go with SP was that it really didn't teach the phonics/rules, which is what my son needed (now your DD may be different there! So it might be a great choice for her!). AAS teaches phonics/rules and various spelling strategies, including memorization. I think it probably goes farther than SP in giving the child tools in their toolbox (guessing this based on just a cursory look through SP - I could be wrong!). I don't know how the number of words compares, and the downside to AAS is that you have to get all the levels to get the most out of the program, which gets $$$. You can see samples of AAS lessons on their website, and they show you how they teach a rule, then go over words that fit that rule. It's well done, though it moves slowly. That may be what you need though. You can move through it at whatever pace you need. The "steps" (lessons) are not scheduled. You can spend one day on a step or 2 weeks on a step. Basically though, SP and AAS are very different. AAS is an O-G based approach. SP seemed to be more of a traditional "here's a word list, go memorize it" with some extra activities to help memorize. At least, that's what it appeared like to me. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong! I needed the phonics/rules in there so I could teach them, and I wasn't seeing that in SP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 Oh, hmm, see Spelling Power made it sound like they broke down the words into phonics groupings and did phonics with it? I guess not? I guess I will have to go with either ASS or Phonetic Zoo then, because we have done traditional spelling programs before and nothing stuck. She'd do great on the spelling test and then within days she'd be misspelling the same words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 We tried Spelling Power years ago. The problem with SP is that the "rules" would be just a grouping of spelling patterns, summed up by saying, "Long A can be spelled ay, ai, eigh, or a." (That's not an exact quote but was the type of "rule" that really frustrated me. It didn't tell the child when A by itself is long, or that there are specific times when ay or ai are generally used, and made it seem like eigh was as common as some of the other patterns. What I love about AAS is that if there's a rule, it teaches it. Patterns are introduced in the order of their frequency--so the most popular spelling patterns for a sound are taught first. Confusing patterns are taught several lessons or even a full book apart (for example, EE vs. EA). It really just made teaching easy for me, whereas with Spelling Power, I would have to teach all of those things myself from my own head knowledge or other resources. You might want to check out these articles as you think through what to do: What Works in Teaching Spelling? What Doesn't Work In Teaching Spelling? and Spelling Review: Making it Stick The first two give ideas of things you may want to look for or not look for in a spelling program, and the last one will give you ideas for how to do review and how to help concepts really stick for your daughter no matter what program you use. HTH some! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 We have Spelling Power AND AAS. We started with AAS - and honestly that is all that I've used. I have looked over SP quite a bit though and it just isn't nearly as intensive as AAS. It does give general rules etc. but I think it is better for natural spellers or those who aren't really challenged or needing intensive, direct instruction. I'd say AAS would be a better choice because it clearly and systematically teaches OG phonics while getting children to build words with the concepts before asking them to remember spelling lists. SP is a bit more list-based. We don't have a dyslexic child but OG programs are most often recommended for dyslexics and AAS is the most open-and-go, easy to implement, yet incredibly thorough OG program I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednkirstin Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I don't have any experience with dyslexia, although I do have one child in particular who has really struggled in spelling. I have used both Spelling Power and All About Spelling (and others). All About Spelling has been fantastic! It has really turned my struggling speller around. I really didn't care for Spelling Power at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Thanks for the reply to this still. I ordered AAS yesterday. At this point I think I've just gotta dive in, cross my fingers, and hope this program works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aawtagg Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 My oldest daughter is mildly dyslexic and has only used AAS. She started AAS in second grade with level one and started level three midway of third grade and will be in fourth grade this year and is around step 24 (I think) in level three. AAS has been great for her. She rarely gets frustrated, which tends to happen in other subjects. She enjoys spelling and I am seeing improvement in our spelling lessons and when she is writing in her own time. AAS is slow moving, but that is what she needs. I believe that if she has a strong foundation, then she will do better, so I do not have a problem with that. She tested at grade level for spelling last year during placement tests, so I pleased with that too. The drawbacks to AAS are that it is teacher intensive - not something dc can do on their own, however it is pretty much open and go; and the $$$. The cost of the levels add up, but they are not consumable and imho are worth the cost to see my daughter doing well with a difficult subject and not struggling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexa Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I checked your OP to see if someone mentioned Apples & Pears. It looks like someone did, but perhaps misrepresented it. I wouldn't say it relies on "visual imprinting" at all. It is totally phonics based, so much so that your child doesn't *need* to memorize a list of rules. Later it uses morphemes (word roots) to help with long, more difficult, spellings. It was designed specifically for severely dyslexic kids, which your child doesn't really need, but my non-dyslexic advanced DS doesn't mind using it because the lessons are so brief. Just thought I'd clarify in case you wanted to take another look. Of course do what you think will work best for your DD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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