busymama7 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Background: I have used nothing but Spell to Write and Read for 9 years, 5 kids so far. I STRONGLY believe in the methodology of this program and dont want to give it up:glare: The youngest of those 5 is entering 2nd grade and will continue with it next year. The oldest two are high school and dont do spelling anymore. That leaves the 5th grader and 7th grader next year. They were taught phonics/reading/spelling with SWR. Ideally we still do spelling with SWR, but reality is that it doesnt happen consistently enough to make much progress each year. They also do copywork/dictation Charlotte Mason style, but I feel like they really need a spelling program too. I want something they can do every day, on their own. That is the reality of our life right now. Even a dreaded workbook that got done each day would be better than inconsistent work with SWR with me. The problem is that everytime I look at another program its different then what they already know and esp with the 7th grader, that just will not work. Plus, because I believe so strongly in the method, other things bother me or seem inferior. Mostly though I just dont want to confuse them which is a strong possibility with the older one. I have tried to make SWR more independent for years. Since they are strong readers I have allowed them to copy the spelling words from the teacher book(I know...) and study them and use the CD to test. They hate this and I dont love it either. I have also pulled words out from writing assignments and done them on the board with all of them, going over rules, syllables etc. That actually has worked very well, but I still feel like they need a program to fill in any gaps. I dont know that I care about the dictation part at this stage in the game. I do however want to keep the rules they've learned the same. I dont care if it is computer based, workbook based, DVD, online, ANYTHING at this point that I can have them work on a few minutes a day everyday is what I need. Something that can go on without needing to wait for me to get 15 mins of quiet, hahaha! I will check up and make sure they are doing it and how they are doing(learned that lesson a little too late with the older ones and Growing with Grammer:tongue_smilie:) Thank you for any thoughts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monalisa Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Phonetic Zoo might work for you. It is phonics based. It is completely independent. I don't think the rules of SWR (from what I know of them) would conflict with the PZ jingles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Phonetic Zoo might work for you. It is phonics based. It is completely independent. I don't think the rules of SWR (from what I know of them) would conflict with the PZ jingles. Thanks! That is the one I keep going back to! We love all other IEW products we have:) Its not babyish? That has been my only worry. I love the way it is set up and if the rules reinforce what they have already learned and dont conflict thats even better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Not babyish at all. I have just started it with my ds who turns 10 this month. We are on day 2, here is the long review that I have written about it. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397302 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmomjacquie Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Spelling power might work. Takes minutes of your time each day, it starts at their level and after thr 5minutes you spend with them it takes about 10 independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I don't have any suggestions, but one thing I will say is that workbooks are not inherently deficient or substandard. I have utilized many workbooks in various situations with great success. Don't comdemn workbooks just because they are workbooks. If you use them in the right way, they can be great assets to your curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julzar Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 We love the Spelling Workout workbooks. They are mostly independent. My kids think the activities in the book are fun. I ususally just go over the spelling rule for the week at the beginning of the week (5 min.) and grade their work/tests. If you get the teacher's manual, there are sentences to use with the tests and your 5th and 7th grader could give each other their spelling tests. I had my 4th and 6th grader do that this year. I like to grade their tests so I know how they are doing. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) I don't have much to offer but sympathy! I too am very invested in the Spalding/O-G method. Now to me all other spelling programs pale in comparison, especially the dreaded "word families". I don't do spelling any more with dd (7th grade) but she is a natural speller. I am desperately trying to find something to use like you describe that is Spalding with ds9, to no avail. It's hard to find things like that for 4th grade and up. I will be using studied dictation with him, applying markings. One thing you *might* want to check into is "How to Teach Spelling" and its workbooks "How to Spell"-not totally independent but they are workbooks that apply the SWR rules. They are not as good as SWR, in my mind, but it may work for what you need. (ETA: here is a link: http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?series=1847m) Or what about going through the SWR lists as you are doing (having them mark first), but then for fun putting the words into SpellingCity.com (free online spelling games using your list) for fun reinforcement? Edited June 15, 2012 by HappyGrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Also I should add that PZ is a great program for children who learn well by *hearing*. Both my kids are very visual and wouldn't do well with PZ. It probably could be tweaked to be more visually oriented, but it sounds like you don't have time for that! (I LOVED Dolphin's wonderful review! :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I am using Spelling Wisdom with my 6th grader because he got bored with SWR after 4 years of it. Spelling Wisdom is studied dictation. I require that he read the quote, identify the words in it that he does not know, copy them, mark them up with SWR markings, and then review them the following day. Then once a week, I pick a random quote of the 4 he has studied to dictate to him. The Spelling Wisdom books go all the way up to 12th grade in difficulty and they use famous quotes and speeches. Plus it teaches him the habit of noticing words in his reading that he does not know how to spell and then taking the initiative to study them. It has been a very nice follow on to SWR. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 :iagree: Spelling Wisdom is one of the programs I looked at for studied dictation and it does look wonderful! I ended up going with The Modern Speller (free on Google Books) for ds9, mainly because it keeps intentionally reviewing previous words and he needs that, but you couldn't go wrong with Spelling Wisdom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I don't have any suggestions, but one thing I will say is that workbooks are not inherently deficient or substandard. I have utilized many workbooks in various situations with great success. Don't comdemn workbooks just because they are workbooks. If you use them in the right way, they can be great assets to your curriculum. You are absolutely right. I should have put a smilie. I was saying it tongue and cheek :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I don't have much to offer but sympathy! I too am very invested in the Spalding/O-G method. Now to me all other spelling programs pale in comparison, especially the dreaded "word families". I don't do spelling any more with dd (7th grade) but she is a natural speller. I am desperately trying to find something to use like you describe that is Spalding with ds9, to no avail. It's hard to find things like that for 4th grade and up. I will be using studied dictation with him, applying markings. One thing you *might* want to check into is "How to Teach Spelling" and its workbooks "How to Spell"-not totally independent but they are workbooks that apply the SWR rules. They are not as good as SWR, in my mind, but it may work for what you need. (ETA: here is a link: http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?series=1847m) Or what about going through the SWR lists as you are doing (having them mark first), but then for fun putting the words into SpellingCity.com (free online spelling games using your list) for fun reinforcement? I forgot about how to teach spelling! Thanks I will give it another look. I have also considered something like spelling city if I could get it all set up over the summer break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I am using Spelling Wisdom with my 6th grader because he got bored with SWR after 4 years of it. Spelling Wisdom is studied dictation. I require that he read the quote, identify the words in it that he does not know, copy them, mark them up with SWR markings, and then review them the following day. Then once a week, I pick a random quote of the 4 he has studied to dictate to him. The Spelling Wisdom books go all the way up to 12th grade in difficulty and they use famous quotes and speeches. Plus it teaches him the habit of noticing words in his reading that he does not know how to spell and then taking the initiative to study them. It has been a very nice follow on to SWR. Ruth in NZ This is basically what we have ben doing with our copywork/dictation. But its only a few new words a week and I would like something that covered most words on some systematic way. Thank you for the book recommendaton. I will look at it. It may work for the dictation part at least and save me some work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 But its only a few new words a week and I would like something that covered most words on some systematic way. What makes spelling wisdom special is that the author has made sure to order the quote in order of difficulty and made sure the quotes include the top 7000 words (plus an additional 12000 words). The books ramp up in difficulty and in the second half of each book the quotes/speeches are more than a page long. So if your child can't spell only a few words from a 2-page long Churchill speech, he is doing pretty well. My son gets quite a few words every week. It is a systematic program, just done in quotes/passages rather than lists. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 What makes spelling wisdom special is that the author has made sure to order the quote in order of difficulty and made sure the quotes include the top 7000 words (plus an additional 12000 words). The books ramp up in difficulty and in the second half of each book the quotes/speeches are more than a page long. So if your child can't spell only a few words from a 2-page long Churchill speech, he is doing pretty well. My son gets quite a few words every week. It is a systematic program, just done in quotes/passages rather than lists. Ruth in NZ I see! Just looked at website and samples! I really like the look of this. Cant imagine doing the super long passages though. We have never done anything that long... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) I see! Just looked at website and samples! I really like the look of this. Cant imagine doing the super long passages though. We have never done anything that long... My son studies 2 short quotes, 1 medium quote, or 1/2 of a long quote every day. I only dictate once per week and only 2 sentences from the quotes he has studied. He does not know which 2 sentences I will choose, so he has to study ALL of the quotes to prepare. I also have him spend a few minutes every day reviewing words from previous weeks, in more of a list style. Anything that just doesn't stick goes onto a "tough" words list to review more regularly. But I have found that since he has studied with SWR, there are really very very few words that he cannot remember long term with only a minimum of study. He knows the patterns of English and how to "think to spell." He simply need exposure to LOTS of words. His retention is excellent because of SWR. Ruth in NZ Edited June 15, 2012 by lewelma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Also I should add that PZ is a great program for children who learn well by *hearing*. Both my kids are very visual and wouldn't do well with PZ. It probably could be tweaked to be more visually oriented, but it sounds like you don't have time for that! (I LOVED Dolphin's wonderful review! :)) Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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