ChandlerMom Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Maybe a stupid question, but are there somewhere lists of the most common words used? I don't want/need a formal spelling/vocab curriculum, but I would love to have some sort of word lists. Such a thing MUST be out there somewhere, right? Free would be even better! :lol: I would like to use words relevant to our studies for spelling/vocab, then I can "mark them off". I'm not as worried about "level". I just need a list a little more concentrated than the dictionary. :tongue_smilie: Ideas? Suggestions? Anyone built a spelling/vocab program in this manner with some wisdom to share? I'm trying to make the words studied relevant to what we are doing in other studies (history, science, lit). TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Spelling Plus is a spelling program, it it is the 1000 most common words and it has supplementary lists in the back to add to it. The book was only $10-12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hmmm, I think I'm beginning to see a problem (and reason for buying curricula): the 1,000th most common word is "view". Even going out to 6,000 you aren't seeing many juicy vocab words ("apple" isn't in the top 2500). What's the deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) If you are choosing not to approach spelling in the typical way, you should look at Natural Speller. Lists are provided for grades one through eight. Vocabulary can be as simple as a word a day - http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/middle/ Edit: This might help ... http://www.homeschool.com/articles/SpellingCity/default.asp?Hover_NoThankYou=true Investigate Word Walls as well. As well, dictation can be a method (Charlotte Mason) used to teach spelling and vocabulary without the formality or structure of the typical approach. http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/dictation/ Something else that I remembered reading that was not a traditional style for vocabulary was using the Tired/Wow word notebooks. We keep a WOW box here at the house. (an explanation exists further down on this page http://www.epikardia.com/blog/teaching-elementary-school/vocabulary-studies-and-charlotte-mason/) HTH Edited September 5, 2011 by ChrissySC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I second Spelling Plus. We've just started it, but I like it. They've taken the 1,000 most commonly used words and arranged them into a phonics based system. So, for example, in the early word lists, you're covering all one syllable words with a short a, then with a short e... and so forth. It also includes longer word lists to "extend" the lessons. We use those as the "bonus words." They also offer a nice plan for memorization that I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Maybe a stupid question, but are there somewhere lists of the most common words used? I don't want/need a formal spelling/vocab curriculum, but I would love to have some sort of word lists. Such a thing MUST be out there somewhere, right? Free would be even better! :lol: I would like to use words relevant to our studies for spelling/vocab, then I can "mark them off". I'm not as worried about "level". I just need a list a little more concentrated than the dictionary. :tongue_smilie: Ideas? Suggestions? Anyone built a spelling/vocab program in this manner with some wisdom to share? I'm trying to make the words studied relevant to what we are doing in other studies (history, science, lit). TIA! Yes, you can just google the most common 500 or 1,000 words. I use the list from Seeing Stars by Nanci Bell, along with some of those materials. I supplement(ed) vocabulary books to create individualized spelling list for my children. I go through 25 words at a time, and any word they can't easily spell I put on their list. Once they can spell the 1000 most common words, we're moving onto a googled list of the most commonly misspelled words. Those individualized spelling lists are in addition to an intense phonics program that we use that covers spelling. (disclaimer: I don't know if I have any wisdom to share on spelling or not. Spelling is our worst subject. That's why my children are covering the spelling of basic words below their grade level. :tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Yes, you can just google the most common 500 or 1,000 words. I use the list from Seeing Stars by Nanci Bell, along with some of those materials. I supplement(ed) vocabulary books to create individualized spelling list for my children. I go through 25 words at a time, and any word they can't easily spell I put on their list. Once they can spell the 1000 most common words, we're moving onto a googled list of the most commonly misspelled words. Those individualized spelling lists are in addition to an intense phonics program that we use that covers spelling. (disclaimer: I don't know if I have any wisdom to share on spelling or not. Spelling is our worst subject. That's why my children are covering the spelling of basic words below their grade level. :tongue_smilie:) Thanks! I hadn't considered googling most common MISspelled words! I think that's a great way to beef up the common word lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 1. Webster's Speller 2. Greek and Latin Roots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.