Spelling - your experience

[jenniferp8]

In your experience do your kids learn to spell as they are learning to read and use phonics or has that come later? My oldest is a great reader and a great speller (always has been). My second is a great reader and now at age 11 is learning how to spell better because she is learning the spelling rules from WRTR. For my 9 yo son, reading has just started to click. He is an atrocious speller (did I spell that right? :)) though because he just throws in whatever phonogram makes the right sound. The reason I ask is that my kids have had to go to a charter school this year. If it were me, I'd forego the spelling with him for a while longer until he really gets reading under his belt but they have to do it at school. The school uses the Spalding method very intensively (WRTR) and it has helped in his reading to learn the phonograms but he has a really hard time with the spelling. Any suggestions? Would you just let it go and not worry about it? It's really the only thing he is really struggling with at school (he's been home schooled up until now so this has been quite a transition in itself.)

[jenniferp8]

bump

[ChristusG]

For DD7, reading is coming first and spelling is following, albeit slowly. She reads much better than she spells.

[Denise in Florida]

This is just my personal experience based on how my girls did.

 

Spelling did not seem to related to reading or writing in any significant way. When my oldest dd was in 2nd and 3rd grade she could read very well (way ahead of grade level) and good memorize spelling list words. However, when she wrote a story she would spell most of the words incorrectly even when she had just spelled them right on a spelling test. :glare: Absolutely no crossover of skills at all. She reads voraciously. She is in an honor's college in very advanced writing courses (preparing to begin her thesis) and still depends on spell check.

 

My youngest dd waited until somewhere in 2nd or 3rd grade to learn to read. She rejected all attempts to teach phonics and eventually just learned to read by magic :glare: (again). She would write with 'invented' spelling and would defend her spelling against the dictionary's by declaring that someone just made those up also so why couldn't she? Now at 17 she is the better of the two at spelling.

 

I have never figured it out.

 

Sorry that was not much help. :lol:

[Ellie]

Phonics and spelling are not the same. :-)

 

My dc became better spellers as they went along. I did Spalding with younger dd a few times, nothing with older dd. Both seemed to have developed good spelling skills in spite of me. ;-)

[Denisemomof4]

first two, excellent readers, good spellers. Third, excellent reader, horrific speller. Same curriculum used on all three.

 

Third, horrible reader, horrible speller. Same curriculum.