Remedial Spelling

[Hebrews3:13]

My oldest DD (entering 7th) still is just a bad speller. I know some people in the world just seem to struggle here, but I have trouble with that. Hubby and I both just spell by instinct and it has never been an issue.

 

Over her years of homeschool we have used SWO, the wise guide (used with Spell to read & write- had a different title then), Spelling Power, BJU and Abeka. I see little difference with any of them as far as helping her. Spelling was her lowest score on her recent Stanford at 68th percentile with everything else in the 90's.

 

I really want to help her here, as I feel this is something that will come back and haunt her forever. There's the smart girl who can't spell. I guess I feel like it makes her look stupid (when she obviously is not) to constantly make spelling errors.

 

She scored the lowest in the spelling section on phonemic awareness. I have to say she wants to spell everything phonetically, but seems to be ignoring spelling rules and some phonograms she should know in the process. She reads well with great comprehension, so I don't get it?

 

Anyone have suggestions?

 

I had considered some remedial phonics along with covering the spelling rules VERY thoroughly. I figured I would be able to easily develop word lists w/ their appropriate rule based on her missed words in other work, however this also sounded time consuming.

 

I appreciate anyone's suggestions of even a better spelling curriculum. I had wanted to start vocabulary roots this year, might that help?

 

Thanks so much,

Laurie

[nmoira]

I'd recommend the teen/adult version of Sequential Spelling. However, 68th percentile is still better than average, and that some people, no matter how hard they work at it just aren't great spellers. Personally I'd still have her work on spelling, but I wouldn't increase the amount of time spent on it. It just doesn't seem like a good trade off.

[Vida Winter]

She has two different spelling programs; one is for older kids. I just started using that one (afterschooling) my daughter who's going in to 8th grade.

 

Another thing she offers is a personal dictionary where the student lists all their "trouble words" in alphabetic order, it is organized like an address book with pages for A, B, C.,.. and has all sorts of useful information in the front of the book.

 

One important aspect of the program is that the student add some personal words to their spelling list. Personal words include all words that the student has misspelled in their written work during the week, and maybe some that the student has looked up. These words also go in the personal dictionary.

 

Another very useful book is Susan's Homophone book; it contains reproducible sheets that give the student practice, say for example:

THEY'RE THEIR THERE

It is fill in the blanks practice. These words are some of the most often misspelled.

 

Good luck; hope this helps. I have found these resources to be valuable, inexpensive, and of good quality. They also ship very quickly.

[Momof2kids]

I second Susan C. Anthony. My dd is going into 6th grade and we are going to use Anthony's books for the next three years so that by the time she is going into high school she can spell!

 

Susan C. Anthony Books that I will be using are:

1.) Spelling Plus 1000 words

2.) Dictation

3.) Homophones

 

Rainbow has these books. That's where I got mine.

[sarah in tenn]

Great suggestions! Thanks!

sarah:001_smile:

[Kathie in VA]

I'd recommend the teen/adult version of Sequential Spelling.

 

Nmoria: Could you tell me more about this? Is it one book or two? How many lessons/sessions is there? [or how long does it take to complete the book(s)?] I've used SS with my dd before and she liked it but I was afraid that it would take too long to go thru the whole program since she was already in 7th grade. This might be faster.

 

 

Laurie: Just so I'm not totally hijacking your thread... :D Let me offer another option: Apples Daily Spelling drills. I'm using it with my 7th grader. This along with an increase in writing and I am seeing improvement. She's still not great but I do like how this simple wkbk goes thru the rules and reviews them... starting with the basics.

[senunk]

My dd12 has always struggled with spelling. Last year she used Apples Daily Spelling Drills for Secondary Students by Susan Kemmerer. The back says: Apples is designed for the older student who needs basic phoics review. Apples drills the student in spelling rules without dwelling on confusing exceptions. Each day your student will study a spelling rule, and then apply that rule by completing Bible verses, sentences and puzzles.

My dd could work on this independently, it took about 15-20 min./day and the lessons seemed to focus on common errors. I did see improvement in spelling this last year. I don't know if that is because of Apples, more writing using Writeshop, or maturity. There are two books.

http://www.timberdoodle.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=331

[TravelingChris]

I also agree that Apples Spelling Drill made a difference. So did Phonetic Zoo but then the DVD broke. I am waiting for our test results for this year but she has much improved spelling in my opinion finally (SHe is almost 15 now).

 

Now I have to really help with the youngest (11) who can memorize but seems to lack even the common sense for spelling her older , auditory sister had. (ANd sister #1 consistently scored at 25% in spelling until last year she went up to 40%.).

[Quiver0f10]

My dd12 has always struggled with spelling. Last year she used Apples Daily Spelling Drills for Secondary Students by Susan Kemmerer.

 

We have used this too and have been very happy with the results.