Natural Speller - Do you give a "list" each week?

[Frontier Mom]

I just bought this and was looking through the book. I am planning for the next year and wondering if I should lay out the lists for each week. Can you tell me how you do this?

 

I could actually put them in HST+ and they will print out. However, I don't want to do this unless it is time savvy.

[Tweed]

What I do is on Monday I start a new list and ask them to spell the words. I put a little pencil check next to the words they get wrong. Sometimes we go through two or three lists before I compile enough misspelled words. I like to stay in the same sound category, but found that the kids can easily do mixed letter sounds in one week. Last year I had them do one list a week, but realized this year that they could already spell most of the words and it seemed a waste of time. We do the list words everyday and on Friday have a test.:001_smile:

[hsmamainva]

My children do two lists per week.

 

For instance, list 1 would be given Monday and they are to look up the definition in the dictionary, if it's an unfamiliar word, write it down, and use it in a sentence (the more often you write a word, the more likely you are to remember it).

 

Then on Tuesday, they have a spelling quiz on list 1.

 

Wednesday, they are given list 2, with the same things done for each word , and they have a quiz on that list on Thursday.

 

On Fridays, they go over any words they missed on their spelling quizzes from Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

And so on and so forth. :)

[elegantlion]

Last year was our first year using "Natural Speller". I spent some time making up lists and printing them out in publisher last summer. It worked great for us, but was time consuming.

 

What I did for next year was divide the works up in the book and we will test him before writing out each list. I probably will not print out each list, but make him use good penmanship in writing it out himself.

[sweetbaby]

Each week, I give my dc the list of words which have the same phonetic sounds unless it's a short list. Then I would combine two short list with two different phonetic sounds. This is less confusing for my bunch. But here's a list of some of our NS activities.

[Frontier Mom]

Thanks. Great suggestions and thanks for the heads up at Donna Young.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I do it differently for each kid, but do both kids at the same time.

 

I don't see a reason to have them study words they can already spell, so I "pre-test" all the words. Both kids have white boards that fit on the table top. The boards measure 12in X 24in. I alternate between 11yodd and 10yods (her word, his word, her word, etc.)

 

For my 6th grade dd, I give her her words in the order presented in the lists, circling the words she misses, and keep going until we've found about 15 words that she either can't spell, or doesn't recognize. These become either spelling words, or vocab. words, or both. I then have her write out all her list words on paper, in alphabetical order. Then, she looks up all the vocab words in the dictionary, and writes out the pronunciation and definition and writes a sentence for each word. For the spelling words, I have her write them a few times on paper, and add any prefixes or suffixes. I have her split all the words into syllables. After all of this, she usually knows how to spell them. I give her another test, and we call it "done". This is not all done in one day! Actually, she is such a natural speller already, that we usually have to go through at least 100 words before she misses enough to make a list. She finished all 8 grade lists in about 4 years. No more spelling for her. We'll just do vocabulary.

 

For my 4th grade ds, we do it all on the white board. I give him words, and lightly circle any missed words. I have him write the missed word correctly three times, then go on to the next word. Periodically, I throw in a previously missed word, to see if he can spell it correctly. If he misses it, he writes it three more times (sometimes on the whiteboard, sometimes on the table with his finger, sometimes in the air, sometimes orally while "seeing" the word in his mind). If he gets it right two times, I erase the circle from that word. We usually do about one entire column of lists at a time, and we do it about once a week. Each time, I review the words he missed previously, as we move forward through more lists. I guess you could say I "spiral" with him.

 

HTH,

Suzanne

[moosemomma]

I have all my curriculum picked put except spelling. I was thinking about Natural Spelling for awhile. I have been doing my own spelling thins year (grade one). How much time does it take to do plan spelling each week? I want something we can complete in 10-15 minutes a day, teaches him the basic spelling rules, and HOW to commit a new word to memory? I have looked at workbook programs, but I worry that he will just learn for the test with a workbook.

 

Jill

[Suzanne in ABQ]

In Natural Speller, the words are grouped by "rule" (all words with /ie/ spelling together, for instance), but the actual rules are taught in catchy sayings. The word groups are also divided by grade level. There are tips in the front of the book for various ways to study the spelling, that will help it "stick" for various types of learners. At each grade level, they give ideas for additional activities that will introduce dictionary skills, vocabulary building, and spelling with prefixes and suffixes added. It really takes zero planning, once you get a routine established for your child's level.

[moosemomma]

Thanks - That is what I am looking for- a simple way to teach the rules to him and ideas for teaching spelling to two different learners.

 

Jill

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Ooo, Jill!

I just re-read my my post, and realized that I made a typo. I meant to say that the actual rules are NOT taught in catchy sayings. They group by like spelling, but they don't teach each individual rule. I'm sorry if I led you astray! If you're looking for spelling rules, you won't find them in Natural Speller. But, it IS an excellent resource for teaching different levels at the same time.

[Frontier Mom]

So, would you start all 4 of my dc's and find the words they miss to come up with a list? Or, would you stick with the age category to start?

 

Before we have used Spelling Power and, I think my dc's will do pretty well since they spell pretty well. After reading your post, maybe I should start each one at the beginning and just work through the whole book, however long that takes.

 

Advice?