5th grade spelling help, is Megawords the answer (long!)

[bettyandbob]

dd is advanced academically in most areas, but cannot spell. While she tests high in reading, she only recently started reading for fun and complains about assigned reading. Tests also show her to be well above average in vocabulary, but I'm a bit surprised at the words she does not know. And I will say it again, if the word can be spelled wrong, she will spell it wrong. She has no idea she has spelled anything wrong until I go through a draft with her.

 

She studied spelling K-3. This year we just did vocabulary study with Wordly Wise--a collosal failure. This book was just not meant for dd. In not doing spelling, I was taking the position that she just needed to learn how to deal with this "disability". In other words recognize she must check all written work and correct it. Now, I'm thinking that approach should wait a few years, because it is more of coping strategy. But perhaps this was a good year to take off from spelling anyway.

 

I don't want to do vocabulary study and spelling. There's just not enough time. I think dry vocabulary study does not reap huge benefits. I think reading wide is the best vocabulary developer and I can't push that now either--because I feel if I push that the backlash will result in a nonreader. She will be reading novels for her literature studies. I have 4 novels picked for next year. She will have history and science reading too. For free reading she reads books well below any measured reading level. She currently like American Girl stories and the AG Mysteries. I will not tell her she can't read these, because she finally found something she likes.

 

Additionally, dd will study Latin with Ecce Romani (as she did this year) and Rosetta Stone (neighbor is selling cheap). And she will continue to study French with a tutor. I might be wrong, but I think the foreign language work may help her vocabulary in the long run.

 

dd will be in fifth grade next year. I want to take a stab at spelling again. What works with an older student. I need to add that it needs to be easy to use. And because spelling is a painful issue here, it needs to be a program that doesn't feel like a struggle (I know you can't garantee this). Is there something teachers spelling that may fill in the vocabulary deficits I percieve. Is Megawords this program. Is there another program. Should I look at a computer based program rather than a book based program.

 

Thank you

[Sue G in PA]

Sounds like my ds10 (also in 5th next year). He misspells the simplest of words. He tries to spell phonetically, but just misses the mark. We are using All About Spelling for him next year so we can really build the foundation. AAS teaches the rules, but not just has the dc memorize them, but teaches the "whys" of the rules. I'm hoping it will turn my ds10 around in this area and also improve his reading. AAS is also easy to use.

[Handmaiden]

About this time last year I was convinced my son was the world's worst speller. Hubby agreed.

 

We tried Calvert Spelling CD...didn't work.

 

Phonetic Zoo...returned it.

 

Then we found Sequential Spelling. It has saved spelling in our home!

No prep time, just open and go. Lessons are about 10-15 minutes. It looks deceptively simple but IT WORKS!

 

http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html

 

Sonlight also carries it.

[jenn&charles]

About this time last year I was convinced my son was the world's worst speller. Hubby agreed.

 

We tried Calvert Spelling CD...didn't work.

 

Phonetic Zoo...returned it.

 

Then we found Sequential Spelling. It has saved spelling in our home!

No prep time, just open and go. Lessons are about 10-15 minutes. It looks deceptively simple but IT WORKS!

 

http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html'>http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html'>http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html'>http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html

 

Sonlight also carries it.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I have to agree! Otter couldn't spell worth beans and I tried just about every spelling program out there (or at least it seemed like it). Nothing was working and we were getting to a point where he was supposed to be in 4th grade (we held him back though) and still spelling words like: bird as brid, noises as noseses, spider as sipter, black as blake, bowl as blole, etc.

His writing was atrocious.

Finally I gave Sequential Spelling a try. I also tried it out on Bear last year.

It worked. For both of them.

Now Otter is still not the best speller on the planet and he still has problems BUT he gets the words he learned in Sequential Spelling right consistently. It is so easy to use. There is no busy work to do. It's also really quick to get through. We spend about 10 minutes tops.

 

I do have to add a note here...we thought Otter was dyslexic, but it turns out he has Aspergers and supposedly that was part of why he was having trouble some of his subjects, including spelling. Besides Sequential Spelling we are also using the Barton Reading and Spelling program. Even though we were told he is not Dyslexic, he does have some very dyslexic type tendencies. I know Barton has helped him a lot with the individual letter sounds and splitting words apart phonetically and that has helped his spelling too. So, I can't credit Sequential Spelling exclusively, but... I know that both programs have helped him because I see him using things he learned from both independently.

 

They have a free trial on their site that you might want to check out:

 

http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html

 

You can try it out for a week and see if it helps your daughter. :001_smile:

 

Edited to add: oops I duplicated the link I quoted...duh. Ok it's late...that's my excuse. ;)

 

[Lolly]

My nonspellers have been helped best by SS. I also use Megawords. They are both simple programs to use. SS takes about 15 minutes with you there the whole time. Megawords takes about 2 minutes of my time (although I feel that it should need less of me) and is done as an independent worksheet. I just go over the rule and directions for the sections. Some days it does have pages that require teacher input. The approaches are very different but seem to compliment each other nicely. I would also suggest using a copywork/dictation sentence of two every week using the same sentence/s every day. We just tack it on at the end of the SS list using some of the words from the current lists.

[Sunshine State Sue]

What works with an older student. I need to add that it needs to be easy to use. And because spelling is a painful issue here, it needs to be a program that doesn't feel like a struggle (I know you can't garantee this). Is there something teachers spelling that may fill in the vocabulary deficits I percieve. Is Megawords this program. Is there another program.

 

Megawords may be worth a try. It is intended to be started in 4th grade. I started with a 5th grader at the start, but we covered books 1, 2, & 3 in the first year. I would not say that spelling is one of my son's strengths. Megawords has helped to keep him at grade level.

 

It is easy to use. My ds finds it easy, definitely not a struggle. There is some vocabulary that I think is well done.

 

Here is my review:

We have used Megawords 1, 2, and 3 starting in 5th grade. It took us 2 months to complete Megawords 1, 2 ½ months to complete Megawords 2, and 3 months to complete Megawords 3. We generally did 4-5 pages a week. He tested out of a lot of the reading, so we skipped a bunch.

 

Megawords 1 focuses on the different types of syllables and syllabication rules. Different types of syllables include:

- closed syllables have a short vowel sound and end in a consonant (ex. sub)

- open syllables end in a vowel, usually long (ex. re)

- silent-e syllables have a vowel followed by a consonant followed by an e which makes the preceding vowel long (ex. mune)

- etc.

 

Different syllabication rules show how to divide up words:

- VC/CV divide between the consonants (ex. puppet)

- V/CV divide after a long vowel (ex. human)

- VC/V divide divide after a closed vowel (ex. rapid)

- Etc

 

Megawords 2 focuses on prefixes and suffixes. It points out the meaning, many from Latin, of prefixes and even gives the Latin for some root words so that the students can figure out the meaning of different words (ex. transport = across+carry). It teaches the rules for adding suffixes (no change, double a consonant, drop the e, and y rule).

 

Megawords 3 focuses on the schwa sound, which is a vowel sound that sounds like the letter u in up. It can be made by any vowel. Ex. final, silent, animal.

 

The books work on a list of words that are grouped together in some way. There are around 15 pages for each list that cover reading, spelling, and vocabulary. There is a variety of activities to help the student learn how to break up and read or spell or determine the meaning of the words in the list.

 

At the start of the book, the parent gives a pre-test which helps to determine which lists need attention for reading and/or spelling. This is nice because you can focus on the pages that your child needs work on and you can skip the pages that your child has already mastered. At the end of each list, you can test your child to determine if they have mastered the material or not. At the end of the book, the pre-test can be used as a post-test.

 

I have been happy with the Megawords series and plan to continue with it. I like the pre-test and post-test and the variety of activities. I like that it focuses on breaking the words apart into syllables and spelling the syllables. That is how I learned to spell, and I am a very good speller. It is easy to follow and it is not an overwhelming amount of work. My son has made steady progress in spelling. And, he is not a natural speller. Here is my experience with testing. In FL, homeschooled children have to be evaluated once a year. My son took the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement in the middle of Megawords 2 (at what was the late fall of 5th grade) and scored 4.8 grade level. He took it again 6 months after we completed Megawords 3 (at what was the fall of 6th grade) and scored 6.1 grade level.

 

Sometimes, people ask if the teacher’s book is necessary. For me, it is completely worth it. It has the pre-test and post-test. It has which pages correspond to reading, spelling, and/or meaning which helps to streamline the work that needs to be done. It has some words that you have to dictate to the student for the odd worksheet. And, it has the answers to every page.

[PeterPan]

Two things. First, check out the COFA's (Childhood of Famous Americans), which it sounds like she might enjoy. They're about the same reading level as the AG books I think and are history, which it sounds like she enjoys. Second, she's doing quite a bit of foreign language there. How is she spelling in those? Just wondering, because if she's spelling accurately in those and not in the english, makes you think it's how the english spelling was taught. There's no way a K-3 study of spelling taught her enough foundation, so I'd definitely get her into something. I haven't used Megawords, but I definitely agree with the others that a multi-pronged approach is good with a questionable speller. Dication a couple times a week plus megawords plus something else (SS, the calvert cd's, whatever). Also, is she writing enough? My dd had a real spelling hump last year and we went to massive amounts of writing, especially dictation, every day. It was tremendous and helped her through it. The key with the dictation was to turn it into a team effort with the goal of writing CORRECTLY, rather than letting it be a test. As you say, I wouldn't let her write incorrectly and say to correct, because it cements it incorrectly into her brain. The goal is to have her write it correctly the first time, which you accomplish by watching her, being available to help, and constantly asking if she knows the next word. I've posted about that before, how I did it with my dd, so I won't bore you. Anyways, it worked. I also let her use a spelling dictionary which just lists the words and is a fast reference, unlike a full dictionary. I'd encourage you to REWARD her for asking for help. Encourage her to consider as she writes whether she knows the spelling of each word. That's what has worked well for us.

[Nancy in NH]

My ds is pretty bright, loves to read, but struggled to spell well. He also had trouble pronouncing some unfamiliar words. Megawords changed all that for him. There is very little for the teacher to do, and my ds worked through it pretty independently. Good luck!

Nancy in NH

[HollyDay]

We have had some success with MegaWords. SWR helped initially, but dd got stuck on list N. We did 2 books of MegaWords this year and she has progressed and is more confident. We intend to do MegaWords again this year. It is pretty simple to use too.

[BZmom]

how does mega words compares to spelling power? i will use wordly wise 3000 this fall, do i still need a spelling program with it ? I have a copy of spelling power and do not know much about mega words. my ds is 10. thanks.

[Kathie in VA]

I'm having a hard time with spelling prgms too. I guess it's because it's one of those skill that I gathered would be learned without too much trouble (like handwriting or typing) ... but that's not the case.

 

I've tried Sequential Spelling and it does work well. We had a strange situation here and dropped it for other reasons... needed a prgm that wasn't mom intensive. I was also worried about getting thru all the books... my dd was already in 7th grade.

 

I love the look of MegaWords but at that time my dd still had trouble with small one syllable words... MW starts with multi-syllable words.

 

We ended up with Apples Daily Spelling Drills (meant for older students). It's easy to use. It works on the rules, phonograms and other ideas to help remember how to spell words. There is a bit of bible in there but it's not much. I also increased her writing and the two seemed to help her quite a bit.

 

I'm thinking that when we are done with Apples my dd still might need some spelling work. So I'm debating on the 2nd Apples bk, going back to SS (I now see they have a bk for teens/adults to use so it shouldn't take too long), or even trying MegaWords. BUT I will be a mean mom and make dd finnish Apples before getting anything else!

 

hth

[Ottakee]

http://www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/

 

Check out Apples and Pears from the above link. It is a WONDERFUL spelling program from England designed for kids who are struggling. You can see the entire program---TE and student books on line. They go very step by step in teaching the children HOW to spell, not just drilling spelling. You do this every day or at least several days a week.

 

My 11dd does 1/2 level a day but some kids can handle 1 level a day. They have placement tests so you can start with the right books. I like also that they do different activities with the spelling and have the child use the words in sentences. It has really carried over to her other work.

 

The program is very easy to teach---everything you say is in the TE. Even an older sibling that reads at at least a 5th grade level could do it with her.

[LizzyBee]

Your dd sounds a lot like my middle dd, who I thought would never learn to spell. Calvert Spelling on CD worked like a magic pill for her. If you can find one used on the swap board, it is worth trying since it's not very expensive.

 

Many kids who can't spell are visual learners. They can often pick the correct letters, but not put them in the correct order. The reason for this is that the brain stores visual input randomly, and auditory input sequentially. Since spelling is inherently a sequential activity, some auditory input is needed regardless of which spelling program you use. Check out http://www.visualspatial.org to learn more about VSL's.

 

Kids who read slowly and can't spell may be mildly dyslexic as well. For the longest time, I thought my dd couldn't be dyslexic because she was reading. I finally learned that motivated mild dyslexics can often learn to read, but they struggle with spelling. Also, dyslexia affects far more areas than just reading and spelling. Check out http://www.mislabeledchild.com for more info. There are lots of articles about how to teach children who learn differently. The owners of the website are medical doctors who specialize in learning differences and homeschooled their own children for several years.

 

Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World is a highly practical book that includes strategies for teaching kids who learn differently. It is geared toward ADD, but I found it very helpful for understanding my dd.

 

I hope something here helps.

[Mama Lynx]

I am using Megawords with my rising 7th who can't spell. He's a strong reader, he maxes out vocab. and reading comprehension on standardized tests ... but just can't spell.

 

Megawords is easy to use, and it does seem to be helping. Learning about the different types of syllables has definitely been helpful for him.