How are the PZ spelling words chosen?

[Magic Wand]

I'm very curious. I watched Mr. Pudewa's blurb on PZ and looked in the FAQ section, but I never read or heard him say how their spelling lists are selected.

 

Furthermore, did I hear him correctly when he said that the lists cover about through eighth grade? The diagnostic tests give high school level spelling words.

 

Does anyone know?

 

Thanks.

[PeterPan]

I wrote Pudewa a while back, maybe a year or two ago (I forget) and asked him. I've lost his original email, but basically he chose words he thought were interesting. He was very gracious in responding personally, so I wish I had his exact words. It's not like SWR or WRTR where they are based on frequency or something. With PZ you have the rules and he has chosen interesting words that he felt the students would find useful. Remember IEW is going to make a big deal out of using the thesaurus, expanding your vocab, etc., so now that that has clicked in my mind, I'm assuming that factors into it, the idea that they're learning words that kids might really want to use to write things they really want to write. In any case, if you look at his lists, they certainly are picturesque!

 

No clue on the grade level thing. That's all so relative anyway. You could have a dc who tests on a certainly level but can't spell certain incredibly common or useful words that a person her age would want to spell. If they're learning new words and finding it satisfactory, then that would be enough to me.

 

One thing to ponder. I would distinguish between the way it covers spelling conceptually and the words it uses. I think the words are cool and really well chosen honestly. But as far as a way to make spelling rules sink into the brain, I'm not sure it will do that for certain kids. I've always been concerned with my dd (who is rather like your older, seems to me) would just turn off her brain like that, memorizing the order of the letters but totally turning off the part of her brain that thinks about phonograms, reasons and components. I don't know. I know she came to a point this year where she was really interested in letter orders and I had to sort of work against that to maintain more analytical thought of words as having components rather than words just being strings (illogical, unreasoned strings) of letters. In other words, I think all the progress of SWR could be lost in a snap.

 

Just as a suggestion (not having used it but having opinions), I think PZ might be really fun for your younger dd. For your older, have you seen Spelling Plus with its dictation sentences? When I looked at it at the convention in Cincy in March, I was totally impressed. I don't know about level though and whether it would fit your older. It would be easy to implement, uses lots of dictation (which seems to help my dd a lot), and is something you could carry your SWR approach over with while still keeping things easy to implement.

 

Remember, with the IEW stuff, you have that terrific guarantee: use it, even for a year, and send it back for a full refund if it didn't work for you. In that sense you'd have nothing to lose.

[Magic Wand]

I would think the words would be selected similarly to SWR, or most frequently used, etc., with some "picturesque" words tossed in for flare.

 

I have seen Spelling Plus - actually, I ordered it and I have it. I talked with Susan Anthony, a fellow Alaskan, and she suggested I use SpellWell for both girls and the Spelling Plus lists.

 

Her suggestion was to pre-test them on the Spelling Plus lists and use the words they miss as the "extra" words in Spell Well. I love, love, the personal dictionaries. I should have thought of something like that myself long ago.

 

I also ordered PZ, but I was thinking of it to try with my older, as Mr. Pudewa says it's really for kids who struggle with spelling and need to hear it sequentially.

 

I'm still kind of fishing around to find just the right mix. We've got Megawords, Spell Well, PZ coming, and R&S. My youngest would use all Rod and Staff if I'd let her. She loves it all - except English which is the one component I won't let go of...go figure.

 

I'm letting the kids have a significant amount of input this year, and trying to adjust the programs to their learning styles and needs. My younger can spell just about anything and probably really doesn't need a spelling program. I think SpellWell will be great for her and for my older.

 

I wasn't sure about PZ, but b/c of that great return policy, I went ahead and ordered so we could try it out. It's feels so good to be getting an early start of things so we have a chance to try some new things out before we're ready to officially start school.

 

When is your due date? I bet your older dd is getting so excited. I highly doubt you're big as a whale, knowing the way you eat, although you may feel like it. How well I remember that feeling. I'm so excited for you!