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What are your favorite spelling programs?


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This is going to sound incredibly lazy, but we use the Simplex Spell Phonics series on the iPad/iPod. I can't say enough about how much my younger daughter's reading and spelling has improved. It feels like a game, so they don't really realize how much they are learning. My younger daughter went from struggling with one syllable words to reading virtually everything, and she's only completed the first app. My oldest daughter could read but her spelling when writing had some trouble. She is much improved. Spelling is now our warm up to homeschool, and the girls couldn't be happier.

 

ETA: The apps are $5 each. I will be buying the sight words app for my son soon.

Edited by mamajag
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Do you have a favorite?

Yes. Rod and Staff's Spelling by Sound and Structure.

 

What do you like about it?

See my answer in post 5 of this thread.

 

Is is progressive for several grades? (does is continue through several grades?)

SSS runs from grade 2 through grade 8.

Is is expensive?

No, ma'am. You can see samples and pricing at http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com (a distributor).

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I like All About Spelling. It's easy to use, teaches sentence structure through dictation with words they should already know, and is scripted for the homeschool mom (like me) who had NO IDEA how to teach spelling. It's expensive but is totally reusable with multiple kids and has a high resale value.

 

Beth

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Not the most popular choice here, but SWB does recommend it: Spelling Workout (SWO). We found it works really well with our kids.

 

DS11 isn't using it right now. He is a natural speller and super voracious reader so we dropped it.

 

DD8 is on SWO D. She is a solid reader but really has trouble with spelling for some reason. It takes approx. 10 minutes a day for her.

 

DS6 is on SWO B. He also reads very well and has done amazing with this. The lessons were really easy for him, until this week. It is a little challenging which I am happy about.

 

Here is how we do it:

 

Monday - spelling test on the words for that particular lesson. If they get a perfect score, then they either move to the next lesson spelling test the following day or they get a break from spelling the rest of the week. With DS6, we had weeks where he was flying through 3 or 4 lessons. Incorrect words are written out 3X.

 

Tuesday thru Thursday - do one page of the lesson

 

Friday - final spelling test. Write out incorrect words 3X.

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Do you have a favorite?

What do you like about it?

Is is progressive for several grades? (does is continue through several grades?)

Is is expensive?

 

Sorry, meant to answer your other questions:

Yes, it is progressive. Take a peek at the MCP website.

No, it is not very expensive. Approx. $15 for each consumable workbook (level).

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My oldest is a "natural" speller. I actually wasn't going to have her do formal spelling study but in 3rd she asked to do it (I had purchased a student planner for her and one of the pre-printed spaces was for spelling). She placed into Level G of Spelling Power, but I backed up and did selected lists from E & F. She zoomed through SP, then moved on to Hexco spelling bee prep materials.

 

My 2nd is bright but seems to need more explicit teaching of the rules, so he's working through All About Spelling. He's almost finished with Level 3 and I will be continuing on to Level 4 with him. Unless AAS stops being a good "fit", I plan to take him through Level 7. If he decides to continue on with competing in spelling bees, I will have him use Hexco materials.

 

SP is relatively inexpensive (particularly if you get a used copy_, but it's basically just lists of words. So a good "fit" for a kid who is a "natural" speller. AAS is fairly expensive, but the instruction is excellent for kids who need more explicit teaching.

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Rod & Staff Spelling

 

I like that it teaches the rules and phonograms much like the O-G programs do.

 

I like that it can be done mostly independently. I just have to give a test once a week.

 

I like that it points out the spellings and has the kids work with the words, so they'll remember the spelling longer term.

 

It's definitely inexpensive! Runs grades 2-8, though grade 2 seems a bit random because they expect the child to be doing their phonics program in that grade. Grade 3 spelling focuses more on phonics and some syllabication. Grade 4 looks a lot like Phonics 2 in explanations.

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Spalding. (Spalding is the method; WRTR is the manual.)

 

Spalding is the most comprehensive, effective spelling method I have ever used or reviewed. And it is a complete English/literacy course: teaches children to read by teaching them to spell, incorporates penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple composition. It can be even more than that if you buy the teacher guides, but most homeschoolers don't do that. :)

 

All you need to teach Spalding is the manual (WRTR)and a set of phonogram cards (you can make your own, but an individual set is so inexpensive that it's worth just buying it). You could add the Spelling Assessment Manual, and the McCall Harby readers, if you like, but they are optional if you're just doing spelling (and, incidentally, teaching someone to read).

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Depends on the student's needs. I have 2 very different students and have used 2 very different programs:

 

SWR: intensive phonics instruction for student who will NEVER see the patterns on their own. $120ish for 2 main books that go from K to logic stage.

 

Spelling Wisdom: Used this one for my son who is a holistic learner. It is studied dictation using graded famous quotations. No lists, no phonics, just incrementally more difficult quotes to study (author has made sure that the top 6000 words are in the passages). I taught my son phonics before we started SW so now he studies the words he does not know using phonetic markings. $30 per book, books 1-3 would do through logic stage. Books 4 and 5 include VERY difficult passages appropriate for high school. My ds loves the quotes and has memorized many of them.

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited by lewelma
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oooh, this thread is the most fun I've had all day!!!

 

I've liked the Modern Speller, and also the Evan-Moor workbooks. Rather different approaches. After Modern Speller, Wheeler's -- but we only did that VERY briefly, was too much writing for Button at 6.

 

FAVORITE ALL-AROUND: The Evan Moor. It is inexpensive and pretty fun, which suits me. It goes to Grade 6. Button likes it. It is not fancy, though; the words are terminally unimpressive.

 

FAVORITE FOR CHARLOTTE MASON: Modern Speller. It is free. It goes from 2nd-4th grades, though there are some badly-copied pages in Year 4 of the version I linked. This is wonderful for giving real sentences that are of interest. When I use it, I assign the lesson as copywork (I enter it into my StartWrite software to make an easily-copied version; StartWrite is not free but there is a Zaner-Bloser program with some free options) in the AM and dictate it in the PM. Button liked it just fine. We're taking a break b/c he's impossible lately and Evan-Moor takes less energy.

 

not good for my child: AAS. Expensive, too.

Edited by serendipitous journey
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Do you have a favorite?

 

Spell to Write and Read!

 

What do you like about it?

  • It contains all levels from K-12, so I don't have to worry about grades.
  • It teaches explicit phonics. No rules that only apply sometimes and that create a myriad of exceptions.
  • It teaches to every type of learner (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
  • Once you get over the initial hump of learning the philosophy, it is open-and-go (but admittedly, it is a big hump).
  • It is very flexible, so it is easy for me accommodate my kids' special needs. (But more flexibility does mean a bit more thaught for me in deciding how to use the program.)
  • It teaches reading and spelling simultaneously, so no need for a separate reading program.
  • It also teaches enough grammar that I am satisfied that I don't need a separate grammar program for early elementary.

Is is progressive for several grades? (does is continue through several grades?)

 

Yes--one package contains everything you need for all children for K-12 (except the book that they will write their words in--$5 each, I think).

 

Is is expensive?

 

The whole package is $100, and I never have to buy spelling again.

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Both of my kids are natural spellers and we use Spelling Workout. I'm not sure either of them even need spelling rules - they don't have to think about it when they spell a word.

 

I just wonder if good phonics instruction helps children become better spellers. It seems so backwards to me to have a child learn to spell first! We used TOPGTR, and there has never been a struggle with spelling.

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I'm using How to Tutor right now. I like it because it works so well with the cursive first approach, and it's easy to include sentence composition and grammar. I like to integrate other language arts into the spelling lessons.

 

If I needed to get a student reading real books as fast as possible, I'd use Writing Road to Reading 4th edition. I like the cursive handwriting in the 6th edition, but otherwise I much prefer the 4th edition. I'd teach manuscript first with WRTR, so I wouldn't need the 6th edition until later.

 

I like How to Teach Spelling best if spelling rules, were my first priority.

Edited by Hunter
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I'm a natural speller so I was completely baffled when my two oldest seemed to really struggle. I thought spelling just came with reading more!

 

After trying several different programs, we landed on Spelling Power: http://spellingpower.com/

 

We used it all last year and are continuing with it this year. Both my boys have perfectionism issues so they do get frustrated when they miss a word, but there has been marked improvement with Spelling Power. I love how it's laid out and I love that you only need the one book for all of your homeschooling years.

 

A woman in my co-op was selling Level 1 of All About Spelling complete with all the student cards and magnets, so we picked that up. I'm trying it this year with my 1st grade daughter, but the older boys like it as well. I'm not quitting Spelling Power, but so far we like All About Spelling too. http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-spelling

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This is going to sound incredibly lazy, but we use the Simplex Spell Phonics series on the iPad/iPod. I can't say enough about how much my younger daughter's reading and spelling has improved. It feels like a game, so they don't really realize how much they are learning. My younger daughter went from struggling with one syllable words to reading virtually everything, and she's only completed the first app. My oldest daughter could read but her spelling when writing had some trouble. She is much improved. Spelling is now our warm up to homeschool, and the girls couldn't be happier.

 

ETA: The apps are $5 each. I will be buying the sight words app for my son soon.

 

 

we have simplex phonics 2. we also love it :) aside from that, i own spelling power, but we are new to it, so i can't say anything about it really. so far so good though.

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We used to use Spelling Workout (for 1-3rd grades), but this year switched to Sequential Spelling. LOVE IT! Every day, it's a 25-word "test" which the student self-corrects as we go through the list (they spell it wrong, I hold up the correct spelling and they write it the correct way right away). It builds up from a single small word (like "in") and adds in ever more complex words (ending with "beginning" at the end of week 1). The words essentially evolve from one to the next in a very natural manner. It's very efficient and logical, and is supposed to be especially good for dyslexics (which I don't have). I like it so much better than the exercises in Spelling Workout, and I find they internalize spellings very quickly.

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Do you have a favorite?

What do you like about it?

Is is progressive for several grades? (does is continue through several grades?)

Is is expensive?

 

I love Steck-Vaughn spelling! It is colorful and has plenty of practice pages per chapter. My kids are actually learning. It does not take the fun out of spelling, and my kids do not dread it.

I have heard that it may run a little on the easy side, but it looks right on to me. My daughter went from making C's on her spelling tests last year with BJU, to acing them this year! It has boosted her confidence, and that means the world to me!

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Even though just sold it and have moved on to another spelling, Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading was wonderful! I moved on because it is an all-in-one LA and I didn't want that. However, what my children learned about spelling from level 1 was invaluable. I will use what I have learned and teach it to all my kids.

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