Tell me about Sequential Spelling

[m0mmaBuck]

We have tried Christian Light Education's LA programs (which includes spelling) and Spelling Workout with no success. DS9 hated AAS (felt it was "too babyish"). We are currently sinking with Spelling Power. So now I'm leaning toward Sequential Spelling.

 

He is not a natural speller and just really struggles.

[SorrelZG]

I haven't used it but I do have the first book on hand if you want me to ... I don't know ... help you get a better idea of it somehow than you might get from the site. Speaking of the site - do you know you can download the first 8 lessons for free? That's the part of the book that basically explains how to do it and after that point it's all the word lists.

[redheadmom]

I received the first book from another homeschool mom and am working through it with my dd. I really like the concept since it builds on itself and phonics. I know that Spelling City and AVKO teamed up to provide some of the lists for free:

http://www.spellingcity.com/avkofoundation/

[Homeschooling6]

We just started, so I can't really comment but here is a link for a placement test.

[Lily_Grace]

We're using it this year. I can't say it's overwhelmingly awesome, but it is quick and painless. I've teamed it up with a study on latin and greek roots so that he can break down words easier.

His spelling has improved greatly this year, so I don't know if it's the SS, word roots, or just general growing up.

[Diane]

we JUST started this last week with a 2nd grader...So far, I'm not impressed and rather frustrated. I knew going in there wouldn't be any phonics rules, however out of no where after the word spin came spinned. No rule for double consonants. We will be covering this in Explode the Code, however...so I may just put this away for a few more months.

 

Good luck in whatever you choose. With my oldest, we tried Spelling Workout. I thought it was the absolute worst, but it's looking better and better to me now. What I didn't like about spelling workout is that they would have to correct misspelled words. I don't like my children seeing those misspelled words and taking a picture of it in their minds. (just my opinion).

 

I think I should have gone with my gut and gone with AAS.

[Mystie]

I've used SS for 3 years now, though it too consistently because so far my oldest seems to be very visual and a natural speller. It is very no-nonsense and visually boring, but it's straight forward and gets the job done without busy work. I like that the words are arranged by patterns and you learn the different endings for the words at the same time. It's true that it doesn't give you teacher-talk or explanation for the spelling conventions, only the lists. I learned spelling with patterns (BJU) and my mom was thorough with phonics, so I'm fairly confident ad-libbing as we go, but I also keep "ABCs and All Their Tricks" on hand to look things up if I need to.

 

I also like that they have to correct a word right away, so they don't practice or visualize the wrong spelling.

 

I let my son use a whiteboard for the lessons, and that is exciting to him and it helps make erasing faster and easier.

[Wee Pip]

We're new to ss this year. I started both 4th and 6th grader on book 1. My 4th grader is sensitive and hates getting a word wrong. It was nice for her to realize that she could secretly get the word wrong, I'd give her the correct spelling, and she could correct it before I ever see it:) I DO remind the kids of the rules as I'm spelling out a word, because I don't trust that the pattern itself is evident. You can get a good list of spelling rules by googling something like Spelling Rules. I remind them of things like:

short vowel words will double the consonant when adding an ending (pot becomes potting, potted)

long vowel words do not double the consonant, but silent e will drop before ending is added (rake becomes raked, raking)

 

Is it working? My kids do seem to remember the rules now, although aren't always applying them correctly:) Also, the WHOLE POINT of the first 5 lessons was so that the kids could go from spelling PIN to BEGINNING. Well, wouldn't you know, both of my kids still - to this very day - spell it as "beganning" or "begaining". ARRRRGGHHHH! Having seen this type of mistake in every other spelling program we've used, I just have to trust that someday it will all click in and it will have been worth it. I can dream, can't I? I do like the program. If this one doesn't work for my kids, then honestly, I don't think anything else will either.

[nitascool]

We have used books SS 1-3. Book 1 is for students on a 3rd grade spelling level. I do not suggest using this program with a second grader who has not completed a phonics program already. The spelling lists are not phonics instruction, though they are somewhat phonetic in nature.

 

I am a horrible speller, but this program has helped me tremendously. My oldest began spelling with another program and hated it. With SS he just zooms through the list each day and doesn't have to do all the busy work he hated. He rarely misses a word. It takes 5 min. to do a list with him... 10-15 with my second son who has writing issues. He will miss one or two words a week.

[...................]

and we really loved it. My son loved it at first but then grew to hate it over time. Writing all those words and correcting them all the time really annoyed him. On the flip side, he was thrilled not to have to take "tests" since they had been so discouraging.

 

BUT NOW finally my son is really doing great in spelling!! We are using Scott Foresman EveryDay Spelling with Calvert's online spelling lessons.

 

I'm not sure if the Scott Foresman everyday spelling would work so well without the online lessons that give extra practice every day. ...So I don't know if this really helps, but my son is really improving a lot in spelling.

[ThreeBlessings]

We've been using SS for the past two years. My kids are in 4th and 6th grades. I like it. My kids both spell well, however, so I'm not sure how I would feel about it if they struggled with spelling. As it is I have started added in a few 'challenge words' from commonly misspelled word lists each lesson because they rarely miss words and I want to be able to see improvement somewhere and have them be actually learning something.

[mom2scouts]

We tried Sequential Spelling last year and we were both frustrated. It was easy, but didn't produce results. My son kept asking how he was supposed to know how to spell the words other than to memorize them. Towards the end of the year, when I realized his spelling wasn't improving at all, we switched to Phonics Road and I've seen a huge improvement in spelling.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I tried it and quickly got very frustrated. It was just lists and absolutely no *why* (or retention). Even if my boys don't remember all the phonics and spelling rules *I* need the tools to be able to say, 'Remember, we usually double the letters F, L, and S after a short vowel at the end of a single-syllable word.' Or, 'Remember, every syllable has a vowel.' But we're LOVING AAS, so YMMV.

[JadeOrchidSong]

I tried it and quickly got very frustrated. It was just lists and absolutely no *why* (or retention). Even if my boys don't remember all the phonics and spelling rules *I* need the tools to be able to say, 'Remember, we usually double the letters F, L, and S after a short vowel at the end of a single-syllable word.' Or, 'Remember, every syllable has a vowel.' But we're LOVING AAS, so YMMV.

 

Same here. We actually did 140 lessons and finally gave up because ds was frustrated and was in tears every time we did it towards the second half of it. We bought AAS and are happily using it now. I plan to try Spelling Power after we are done with AAS 6. I can't tolerate Sequential Spelling anymore.

[Embassy]

SS just wasn't getting done in our house. I disliked it. My son did as well. I stuck it out for almost one whole book and did pre and post tests to determine progress. He progressed, but not enough for us both to go through something we didn't like. My son enjoys R&S Spelling now. We also do some games related to spelling rules.

[...................]

that I OFTEN separated the words by syllable and taught all the obvious spelling rules with Sequential Spelling. I don't think my son would have done as well if I didn't break things apart for him now and then and explain rules and examine words.

[hsbaby]

We have used it for two years now. I use it with my special needs dd and my 3rd grade ds. We do it on white erase boards and they seem to enjoy it. If either of them miss a word, I spell it out on my own board and explain the rule for whatever pertains to the word. Because the root word repeats for about a week and only the suffix changes, my kids tend to understand how to change it by the end of the week.