Guest kovthome Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hi, I am struggling with my 5th grade ds and spelling. We have tried copywork, Explode the Code, A Reason for Spelling, All About Spelling, Sequential Spelling, Megawords, and Spelling Power (not all this year of course). I am trying what I feel like must be our last hope How to Teach Spelling. I so desperately want him to be able to spell and not feel bad about himself because of his difficulty with it. He still seems to struggle with sight words that he learned years ago for example there, where, was, were, said.... plus vowel team words and multi syllable words he has a hard time with. I need this to work for him. Well my question is for those who have used the program should I get the phonics drill cards? I do not mind spending the money. There seems to be two sets at Christian book.com and I am wondering if the bigger set is referenced in HTTS or just the smaller set. Also, did you have your child set up a spelling notebook along with doing the workbook? I am thinking I should have my ds do this. I am planning on starting him in workbook 1. I know this is going to be a lot of review which he should move through quickly but there are words in workbook 1 that I know he can not spell. Is this the correct thing to do? Any other advice or direction would be much appreciated. Thank you for your help, Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hi,I am struggling with my 5th grade ds and spelling. We have tried copywork, Explode the Code, A Reason for Spelling, All About Spelling, Sequential Spelling, Megawords, and Spelling Power (not all this year of course). I am trying what I feel like must be our last hope How to Teach Spelling. I so desperately want him to be able to spell and not feel bad about himself because of his difficulty with it. He still seems to struggle with sight words that he learned years ago for example there, where, was, were, said.... plus vowel team words and multi syllable words he has a hard time with. I need this to work for him. Well my question is for those who have used the program should I get the phonics drill cards? I do not mind spending the money. There seems to be two sets at Christian book.com and I am wondering if the bigger set is referenced in HTTS or just the smaller set. Also, did you have your child set up a spelling notebook along with doing the workbook? I am thinking I should have my ds do this. I am planning on starting him in workbook 1. I know this is going to be a lot of review which he should move through quickly but there are words in workbook 1 that I know he can not spell. Is this the correct thing to do? Any other advice or direction would be much appreciated. Thank you for your help, Kelly Apples and Pears has helped my 5th grade boy become a very confident speller. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 There seems to be two sets at Christian book.com and I am wondering if the bigger set is referenced in HTTS or just the smaller set. I don't have a special needs child but I have the TM and workbook 2. I don't think it matters which set of phonogram cards you buy. I think even a printable set of Spalding phonogram cards would work. You can print them from this page or this PDF. Also, did you have your child set up a spelling notebook along with doing the workbook? I am thinking I should have my ds do this. Not sure what you mean by 'spelling notebook' but your student will need a basic composition notebook to write the words and sentences that you dictate from the TM. I am planning on starting him in workbook 1. I know this is going to be a lot of review which he should move through quickly but there are words in workbook 1 that I know he can not spell. Is this the correct thing to do? No, you should get the workbook for his grade level. The workbooks all start at lesson 1 and they don't have any grade-specific words. The full set of words and dictation sentences is in the TM. The workbook only contains worksheets for each rule. The student fills in the words in each worksheet. So get the workbook for his grade level. Hope this is somewhat helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 If I could make a suggestion, while you're preparing to start HTTS (which I own, have used a dab, and have mixed opinions on), I'd suggest you follow a couple additional trains. One, I'd get his eyes checked, just to make sure they aren't part of the problem. Two, I'd get a neuropsych eval. You have issues that aren't going away, and you need some answers. The neuropsych eval is the way to get them. Prices vary, so call around. Sometimes even the ps will do them. Third, read books like "Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World" by Freed. He has some specific suggestions on spelling. You've already tried so many other good spelling programs, I don't think HTTS is going to make a shred of difference. I'm sorry, but I'm just being honest. I would research these other things and find out what's wrong. *IF* his eyes are working correctly, I would start doing daily dictation. You can use the sentences in HTTS, yes that would be fine. Literature is more interesting, especially if you find something he really likes. My dd loved the Loony Coon books by Sam Campbell at that age. They're funny, and they would be perfect for dictation. Dictation, using things in context, is a good way to work on spelling. Isolated words would never stick for my daughter. There are bigger guns for spelling btw. Barton is the ultimate. But you need to get the testing (neuropsych eval) to know what's going on and why you need it. Barton has a lot of information including a worthwhile pre-test on their website. You can do the pre-test for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kovthome Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Thank you for your insight. How do I go about getting a neurophsych eval? Do I go through his pediatrician for a recommendation? What's involved with this? What do they do / test for? How long does it take? He sees an ophthalmologist in a large city once a year for another condition he has, Marfan's Syndrome, and she has never mentioned any problems with his eyes. He has 20/20. He also had surgery when he was little for lazy eye, in both eyes and no longer has drifting. I have read about vision therapy and considered having him checked but I thought the dr. he sees would have picked up on something if there was a problem. Should I still pursue this? I have looked at Barton but it seemed a bit overwhelming and very expensive to try without knowing more about it. Thank you again for all of your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 hands down..........Apples and Pears spelling. very easy to use and very effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 We love the logic of english for spelling and reading. It has helped my moderately dyselxic boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Wow, I just looked up Marfans, and I see why you're seeing an opthamologist. He's specialty is the physical/surgery end. The developmental optometrist is looking at the developmental process and the visual processing. They'll look at how the eyes team, converge, focus, track, etc. etc. With what you've said, it's very possible there are some issues there that a developmental optometrist could find and do therapy for. If he would benefit from vision therapy, the results are usually pretty fast (in terms of a few months). So you could investigate it now, see what the dev. opt. finds, do therapy if necessary, and be in a radically different position by fall. About this time several years ago is when we were in the middle of our issues (actually the same grade too, 5th!), and that's how it worked for us. By the middle of 6th I had a totally new child. So definitely check it out. They aren't the same thing, the opthamologist and the developmental optometrist. It's not a one or the other. They both have what they're good for. BTW, if you do that, please go to a Fellow with COVD, if at all possible. Given what you've said, I would get that developmental optometrist eval before you buy more curriculum. I would do some dictation, but I would also try the visualization method in Freed's "Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World" just to see what happens. It *might* be that there's no dyslexia at all, given your Marfan and physical issues and that it's totally a result of visual processing problems, ie. that the visual processing didn't develop properly because of the physical problems he had with his eyes. It's very possible for this to happen, and vision therapy is very, very good at correcting it. You'd still end up needing to go back and repeat the information, just to let him see it fresh once his eyes are processing better. I'm not saying you won't need good phonics. I'm just saying *if* the problem is his eyes, it's awfully, awfully hard to plow through that. 5th is where we hit our wall. Dd just couldn't cover for it any more. The work gets too hard. If it's his eyes, you want to know. BTW, they can quantify nuances of visual processing that directly affect school work. For instance, when my dd started, she had the visual memory of a 2 yo. Well that kinda sorta explains why spelling wasn't working! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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