mariposa Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 My son will be in 1st grade this year and so far I haven't purchased any curriculum for him. Honestly, he just hates workbooks so much that I felt it wouldn't be helpful. He's going to be doing ETC, starting book 3, which is hard enough to get him to do. Reading has not come easily for him, and I hesitate to push him with a spelling book while he's still working on reading fluently. Has anyone else just "made up" a spelling plan? Any ideas or suggestions for me? Here's my plan: I checked out some books from the library about spelling and based on that I'm planning to have him learn about 200 words for the year, about 150 frequently used words and then 50 more based on words HE uses a lot or that might be fun for him (Batman, for example!). I'm going to have a word wall that we put those words on and a little test at the end of each week. I'll come up with activities or games to help learn the words for the week. I'm actually considering letting him actually paint the words on the wall himself (!) to make it fun. I'm hoping to just incorporate spelling rules from the ETC book or patterns that we come across. Am I missing key elements for a spelling curriculum? Is there some place that I could see examples of spelling "rules" he should be learning this year? Is this a big mistake? Thanks! Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Hi - my 2 cents would be that my 1st grader last year didn't do a spelling program. We started the year with Spelling Workout (which she didn't like) so we continued with everything else suggested in the WTM. This year we are going to finish the Explode the Code Series, and then consider a spelling program for 3rd grade. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 My son will be in 1st grade this year and so far I haven't purchased any curriculum for him. Honestly, he just hates workbooks so much that I felt it wouldn't be helpful. He's going to be doing ETC, starting book 3, which is hard enough to get him to do. Reading has not come easily for him, and I hesitate to push him with a spelling book while he's still working on reading fluently. Has anyone else just "made up" a spelling plan? Any ideas or suggestions for me? Here's my plan: I checked out some books from the library about spelling and based on that I'm planning to have him learn about 200 words for the year, about 150 frequently used words and then 50 more based on words HE uses a lot or that might be fun for him (Batman, for example!). I'm going to have a word wall that we put those words on and a little test at the end of each week. I'll come up with activities or games to help learn the words for the week. I'm actually considering letting him actually paint the words on the wall himself (!) to make it fun. I'm hoping to just incorporate spelling rules from the ETC book or patterns that we come across. Am I missing key elements for a spelling curriculum? Is there some place that I could see examples of spelling "rules" he should be learning this year? Is this a big mistake? Thanks! Sarah I'm doing the same with my 1st grader this year. This will be the first time for me to do that. I think what your doing will be plenty. There are some common rules of spelling I think in the Ruth Beechick books, but I may be wrong. I plan on using Fry's list of 1000 words, but very informally. We will hit spelling in 3rd with Simply Spelling. We are also doing dictation/copywork so that will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato3 all-boy boys Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 IMHO, Explode the Code is plenty of spelling for a 1st grader. We didn't do spelling right away; work on reading first. I've attached a list of 41 rules of English spelling that may help. I only saved it as a .txt document, so it may come through pretty ugly. You can email me if you want a regular document of it. I don't remember where I got it, but it is nice to see that English isn't THAT irregular in it's spelling -- those of us who were taught with Dick and Jane books just never had the chance to learn spelling rules (at least not in my schools). spelling rules txt.txt spelling rules txt.txt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clwcain Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 We're not doing a spelling program on its own. There are some aspects of spelling covered by the phonics program we have, but nothing "aftermarket". ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qs3 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 We used Spelling Workout A for 1st grade this year. But, for ds7 it was mostly busy work. We finished it and began book B, but then I decided to just drop it. We're going to use All About Spelling for 2nd. I like that it's not a work book and that it uses a multisensory approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I am not starting my 1st grader with spelling this year - it's possible I'd add SWO mid-year but probably not. I'm waiting till more like 2nd-3rd for much spelling (we do ETC with our phonics). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 We work on reading and phonics in first and second grade - no spelling program. My dds are using Calvert Spelling CDs which start in 3rd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obiandelismom Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 We skipped spelling last year (ds is 7), and are moving into All About Spelling now. Honestly, he would not have been able to handle anything like Spelling Workout last year, and it would have ended up making us both miserable! As long as you are pretty confident that your dc won't be going to public school for 2nd, I definitely endorse skipping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prim*rose Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 We're not doing a spelling program on its own. There are some aspects of spelling covered by the phonics program we have, but nothing "aftermarket". ;) We did this too and it worked fine for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 We did not do any spelling in first grade. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I'm not doing a spelling program with my first grade dd this year. She will be continuing with Explode the Code, and doing whatever copywork WWE recommends (can't wait for that book to arrive!). I did Spelling Workout with ds when he was in 1st grade, and it was pretty much a waste of time. Some of the exercises, like alphabetizing, were okay, but I couldn't see that it improved his spelling at all. I recently bought Spelling Power for him to use this year (5th grade), and I think it is going to work well. My plan at this point is to start dd in SP when she starts 3rd grade, and not to do any other formal spelling program with her until then. Your word wall sounds like fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 We used WinterPromise LA 1, and their "spelling program" is just a list of 10 words taken from the ETC and Right into Reading phonetic pattern of the week. Then you have the dc write the words in their "Words I Use When I Write" book (we did 5 one day and 5 another),and practice using games (I used Kidsspell.com, spellingtime.com would be even better but it's a pay site now). IMO a spelling workbook isn't needed in grade 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I just did ETC with both, and added spelling in 2nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelzNH Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 ETC is plenty for a first grader. I think you are wise not to push. Work on reading. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 My dd is a natural speller, so a full spelling program would have been overkill for her. We used copywork instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 No spelling for my 1st grader either. He copies words & sentences from Phonics Pathways and sometimes I dictate the sentences to him:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aletheia Academy Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Instead, my intention is to address spelling issues as they arise (in dictation exercises, when we begin those) by creating word lists and consulting the exercises in Phonics Pathways and/or info inThe ABC's and All Their Tricks. I am trying to avoid unnecessary busywork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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