What kind of words should a rising 4th grader be able to spell?

[CatholicMom]

I'm almost afraid to ask. :001_unsure:

 

I didn't know about AAS years ago so we just started it last year and we are at the beginning of Level 2. Should I be concerned?

[sagira]

:bigear:

 

I have a rising fourth grader too who just wrote "restrant" instead of restaurant..

[nansk]

I would say a child should be able to spell correctly any word that they are writing on their own (i.e. not copying/reading from). If they want to use a word to communicate, they should be able to spell it correctly (or at the very least, phonetically).

 

Don't worry; keep doing AAS consistently. Your student will catch up to whatever the 4th grade standard is. If you just want to see a list, the Spelling Plus level 1-4 lists are words a 4th grader encounters most frequently.

 

Hope that help.s

[CatholicMom]

I would say a child should be able to spell correctly any word that they are writing on their own (i.e. not copying/reading from). If they want to use a word to communicate, they should be able to spell it correctly (or at the very least, phonetically).

 

Don't worry; keep doing AAS consistently. Your student will catch up to whatever the 4th grade standard is. If you just want to see a list, the Spelling Plus level 1-4 lists are words a 4th grader encounters most frequently.

 

Hope that help.s

 

 

:blink: *panic*

 

 

Somebody tell me this lady is off her rocker! lol j/k

 

 

:lurk5:

[Violet Crown]

Middle Girl, rising fourth-grader, misspelled her own name recently.:eek:

So that sets the bar pretty low.

[tammyw]

You are fine. You have plenty of time to catch up. We just finished AAS3, and had no problems with it, but dd9 is a voracious reader. I'm of the opinion that reading is what creates good spellers/writers/etc.

 

We do the AAS, just for my own peace of mind, and to make sure we're not missing anything. We don't do the cards or the tiles anymore, because for us, it was just overkill. Now I just work through the teacher's manual and it's just fine for us.

[twoxcell]

If it makes you feel any better I have a rising 4th grader who struggles with spelling. He is an excellent reader, but spelling not so much. I just bought R&S Spelling level 3 and 4. I'm hoping that will help.

[creekmom]

I have found that AAS is not quite enough to keep them on grade level. -I think it's important to learn the rules, but there are sooooo many words that don't follow the rules!

I give my kids a list of words at the beginning of the week, as well as doing AAS with them. You can get a list of grade level spelling words online or you can take them from their own misspelled words. On Monday, they write each word on an index card and put them in alphabetical order. (This way, if they mess up, they can just switch the cards around instead of having to erase on paper.) Also, the cards can be put on a ring and used to study from all week. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, you can have them work on Spelling City or write a story etc. with the words to practice. This book of spelling activities to do with any unit http://www.amazon.com/Activities-Any-Spelling-Unit-Bette/dp/1576903125/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1341412295&sr=8-13&keywords=spelling+activities is an excellent resource! I like it much better than Spelling Power activities. Then, any words they miss on Friday's test can be carried over to the next week's list. I try to make it as independent as possible so I can spend spelling time doing AAS with them.

[boscopup]

I would say a child should be able to spell correctly any word that they are writing on their own (i.e. not copying/reading from). If they want to use a word to communicate, they should be able to spell it correctly (or at the very least, phonetically).

 

:lol: No way that is happening here. My 3rd grader has such a large vocabulary (from reading a LOT) that he writes a lot of words he cannot spell. He is not a natural speller (and no, reading does not necessarily make a great speller). I am his human dictionary, so he can continue to use good words while his spelling catches up with his vocabulary. I don't expect that to happen until probably middle school.

[boscopup]

Middle Girl, rising fourth-grader, misspelled her own name recently.:eek:

So that sets the bar pretty low.

 

My son misspelled our last name the other day. And our name stems from a word he knows how to spell. He just wasn't thinking. Good thing IEW encourages first and last name on papers. :tongue_smilie:

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

:lol: No way that is happening here. My 3rd grader has such a large vocabulary (from reading a LOT) that he writes a lot of words he cannot spell. He is not a natural speller (and no, reading does not necessarily make a great speller). I am his human dictionary, so he can continue to use good words while his spelling catches up with his vocabulary. I don't expect that to happen until probably middle school.

:iagree:

When a child's vocabulary was built from advanced reading levels and living in a house with teens and adults their vocabulary is not the typical vocabulary for their age. I would expect her to be able to sound them out and write phonetically though or look it up/ask for help.

[MerryAtHope]

I'm almost afraid to ask. :001_unsure:

 

I didn't know about AAS years ago so we just started it last year and we are at the beginning of Level 2. Should I be concerned?

 

I didn't find AAS until the end of my oldest's 5th grade year. You have to decide what you want to focus on. I knew my kids were behind grade level in spelling. When spell check can't figure out what word they meant, you know you're in trouble! It's not like there's a magic spelling pill that will make them master all of that in one year though. But if you stick with AAS, it will bring them up to high school level spelling at the end of Level 7. Just be consistent, work on spelling daily for short lessons (15-20 minutes) and your 9 yo will get there.

 

I chose instead to focus on whether they were learning and improving their skills, whether the lessons made sense to them, and things like making sure I did enough review so that they could be successful with this. Kids who struggle need lots and lots of review, so make sure not to skimp there. AAS will take them through the rules and patterns and will teach them how to assess words--should they apply a rule, an auditory strategy, a visual one, a morphemic one? They'll learn this all incrementally, step by step.

 

Whether your son is behind grade level is not the most important question. Whether he is learning and gaining skills is much more important. Spelling is a subject that some children learn implicitly (through lots of reading) but many need to learn it explicitly (through direct instructional methods). It may be that your son hasn't ever had explicit instruction and he will catch up quickly. Or it may be that he will have to work hard at spelling but you've got good tools to help him in AAS.

 

There are some children who struggle with spelling that have an underlying learning disability such as dyslexia, or a vision processing issue. Since you asked whether you should be concerned, I don't know whether you were wondering about something like that. If you are seeing issues in other subject areas, then it might be worth looking into. AAS is based on the Orton Gillingham method which helps kids with dyslexia.

 

My oldest has done through level 6 and is just waiting for 7 to come out, and my youngest is just starting 6. I've seen great progress over the last 4 years, so for us it was definitely worth it. Hang in there! Merry :-)

[khall]

I have no advice, but misery loves company, and we're on the second lesson of AAS 2 with DD10 and DS12.

[cjgrubbs]

:lol: No way that is happening here. My 3rd grader has such a large vocabulary (from reading a LOT) that he writes a lot of words he cannot spell. He is not a natural speller (and no, reading does not necessarily make a great speller). I am his human dictionary, so he can continue to use good words while his spelling catches up with his vocabulary. I don't expect that to happen until probably middle school.

 

boscopup - this is good to hear! My rising 7th grader is a terrible speller but a voracious reader. He reads a wide variety of good quality literature. It hasn't helped him spell or write at all.

 

My rising 4th grader is also a terrible speller and he dislikes reading and is not even really on reading level yet. We've done AAS 1-3 and while he can do the lessons, he just isn't applying them to his writing. :tongue_smilie:

[Violet Crown]

When I read the collected letters of Flannery O'Connor, I was amazed at how poor her spelling was - and yet she was one of the great American writers of the last century. I guess her editor kept busy.

[Punks in Ontario]

Regardless of whether your child can spell at "grade level" or not, the only place to start remediating is where they're at. Just keep plugging even if you pick up the pace a bit to make up for lost time. I have one older child who's spelling is terrible, and one who can spell very well. Same instruction, just different guys.

 

For ds9, I started working more diligently with him the last year and 1/2. He is finally up to grade level. I'm not familiar with AAS, but if it's working, hang in there.

 

Here are a links that might help you to know where you're at.

 

http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/

http://www.time4learning.com/spellingwords/spelling-words.shtml

 

FWIW, only one of my guys could spell restaurant correctly.

[CatholicMom]

Glad to hear of others' miserable spellers. :lol: Yes! j/k

 

Actually, my 7 yr old has done the same spelling work as my 9 yr old but he can spell much better and his spelling is probably further along than where we are in AAS. My 9 yr old would probably spelling restaurant as "restront" or something. I don't know if I want to find out. lol

 

But if you stick with AAS, it will bring them up to high school level spelling at the end of Level 7. Just be consistent, work on spelling daily for short lessons (15-20 minutes) and your 9 yo will get there.

 

I chose instead to focus on whether they were learning and improving their skills, whether the lessons made sense to them, and things like making sure I did enough review so that they could be successful with this. Kids who struggle need lots and lots of review, so make sure not to skimp there. AAS will take them through the rules and patterns and will teach them how to assess words--should they apply a rule, an auditory strategy, a visual one, a morphemic one? They'll learn this all incrementally, step by step.

 

Whether your son is behind grade level is not the most important question. Whether he is learning and gaining skills is much more important. Spelling is a subject that some children learn implicitly (through lots of reading) but many need to learn it explicitly (through direct instructional methods). It may be that your son hasn't ever had explicit instruction and he will catch up quickly. Or it may be that he will have to work hard at spelling but you've got good tools to help him in AAS.

 

There are some children who struggle with spelling that have an underlying learning disability such as dyslexia, or a vision processing issue. Since you asked whether you should be concerned, I don't know whether you were wondering about something like that. If you are seeing issues in other subject areas, then it might be worth looking into. AAS is based on the Orton Gillingham method which helps kids with dyslexia.

 

My oldest has done through level 6 and is just waiting for 7 to come out, and my youngest is just starting 6. I've seen great progress over the last 4 years, so for us it was definitely worth it. Hang in there! Merry :-)

 

So if I do one Level of AAS a year wouldn't I be right on track if Level 7 is high school level?? I wonder what the normal track is, if there is one.

[nansk]

:blink: *panic*

Somebody tell me this lady is off her rocker! lol j/k

 

 

I did say that at the very least, the child should be able to spell a new word phonetically. :001_smile: I say 'restront' is a phonetic spelling (based on how you pronounce it).

 

I wonder what the normal track is, if there is one.

 

There is no one 'normal' track, lol. Like a pp said:

the only place to start remediating is where they're at.