CactusPair Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Forgetting price, which of these spelling programs do you like best? Reasons for liking/disliking either? Did either make your kid go bonkers with frustration? (or is mine the only one that does that?:D) Is one more effective for your particular student? Thanks for any info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Well, from what I've observed the two programs are almost completely opposite from one another. If you don't like one, you may be likely to like the other. Spelling Workout: workbook form; activities ready to go; simpler for mom; fast paced; better for natural spellers; many different types of words on each spelling list Natural Speller: come up with your own activities; more work for mom; go at your own pace; each word list has words clearly grouped by rule, with only one type of word on each list Ime, Spelling Workout is almost more like just spelling *practice,* for good spellers. I don't think the program really teaches children to spell. It's best for natural spellers, who just need some reminders about spelling-- not those who really need to learn how to spell. I used it with my oldest ds and it was fine, because he already was a very good speller naturally. Eventually, though, I began to feel like it was sort of a waste of time, so he just gave up spelling altogether. He did just as well without it. Natural Speller is a better fit for someone who actually needs to learn to spell, like my second ds. I can put as few words on his list as I need to, and all of the words will be of the same type, clearly grouped by spelling rule. This allows him to succeed, whereas with spelling workout I think he'd really struggle. Hope that helps! Erica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaby Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Natural Speller is a better fit for someone who actually needs to learn to spell, like my second ds. I can put as few words on his list as I need to, and all of the words will be of the same type, clearly grouped by spelling rule. This allows him to succeed, whereas with spelling workout I think he'd really struggle. :iagree: Although, it was not a good fit for our family. I don't think NS will work if you have a great speller. I had to work two levels above my dc's grade because they complained how baby-like the words were. For each grade level, there is a list of teaching suggestions under the areas of dictionary skills, grammar, latin and greek (upper grades), etc. Each list of words is grouped according to the same spelling rule or phonetic pronounciation. Rules are in the back of the book also. If you decide you would like NS, let me know. This is just a small or thin book, so I am giving mine away for free and charging shipping only. There is also a suggestion for teaching here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 I haven't used either of these programs, but I thought I'd give your topic a "bump"...That's one advantage on this board versus the old boards. You don't have to retype queries if the board "rolls" over, just look at your old message and "bump" it. Then it'll be on the front page again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 I am switching this year from SWO to Natural Speller. I think we will be able to move more quickly through NS where SWO felt ike busy work. DS would start the week knowing how to spell all but maybe two words on the list. Then at the end of the week he would still miss the same two words. This way he can work on the words he can't spell. I'd rather him learn to spell five words that he couldn't than spend the week practicing 18 that he already knows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlashine Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 I use SWO and will continue to do so because I need at least one thing in my curriculum that I don't have to plan. I give him the workbook, we go over the lesson, he does the exercises, the end. It streamlines at least one part of my day. But he has grasped phonics very well through our use of OPG, so I guess I feel he is getting spelling rules in a couple places and doing fine, so I have no reason to switch. Other's mileage may vary.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen in NJ Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 I use SWO and will continue to do so because I need at least one thing in my curriculum that I don't have to plan. I give him the workbook, we go over the lesson, he does the exercises, the end. It streamlines at least one part of my day. But he has grasped phonics very well through our use of OPG, so I guess I feel he is getting spelling rules in a couple places and doing fine, so I have no reason to switch. Other's mileage may vary.:001_smile: :iagree::iagree::iagree: I love SWO for the reasons listed above. I like the fact that it is independent work for the most part. I think it is good practice for the future. My dds like the "Words in Action" section. This works very well for my family. I hope you find what is best for yours. Best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay in Cal Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 We like Spelling Workout, but ds is a "natural" speller. He misses few words, and we only do a number of exercises equal to the number of words he misses--oftentimes we do the pretest, he gets them all, and we move on to the next chapter. Once he's covered that, he knows them and generally gets 100% on our review tests. I like that it is easy easy easy to implement, and that his spelling in personal writing (emails, etc) has improved overall. BUT I really think this wouldn't be the program for a truly struggling speller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen in NJ Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 I think you could expand on SWO for a child who is a truly struggling speller. We use the 3 day lesson plan, but there is also a five day lesson plan. You can have the student use each word in a sentence for example. I have dd8 is a natural speller and dd10 has to work harder. The natural speller reads the Spelling Tip and dd10 uses the Spelling Tip for Copywork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusPair Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 Thank you all for your thoughtful, helpful responses. My ds is a naturally good speller already. I liked the point about having something that's already planned for you, hand it to the kid and go. We'll probably go with SWO. Thanks for the bump, SnowWhite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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