A 5th Grader With Poor Spelling~Which Program?

[Wildiris]

This child resisted learning phonics from the beginning. Now this resistance has shown itself in poor spelling skills and a reluctance to read. She does read, but not as much as I would like.

 

I am looking at three programs for this older speller.

1. Spell to Write and Read
   
2. Uncovering to Logic of English--i.e., The Logic of English
   
3. All About Spelling
   

Any insight into which program would suit an older student needing a refresher on phonograms. Which program uses both simple words and complex words?

[RootAnn]

All three are good programs! The question is how much do you want to spend and how much hand-holding do you need?

-Most expensive for all levels would be AAS, then LOE, then SWR.

-AAS & LOE hold your hand (scripted). SWR requires the teacher to do some studying & prep to learn how to teach it.

 

I believe they used to recommend starting All About Spelling at Level 1 regardless of the student's age. If so, it would start very simply.

I think you could do LoE Essentials & then work through their High Frequency Word list.

SWR has a sort of "placement test" so you could work on words at the level your kid can spell.

 

... Just as an aside, have you had her eyes tested by a developmental optometrist (not the same as a regular eye test)? One would want to rule out issues with reading/spelling due to eye/brain connection issues.

 

And, as I'm sure Elle will chime in, two of the programs on your short list (SWR, LoE) are spin-offs of the Spalding Method. Have you ruled out the Writing Road to Reading (the manual on how to implement the Spalding Method)?

[chasingbutterflies]

I was down to almost the same list as you (except I also had Barton on my final list) ... after months of research, I went with The Logic Of English Essentials. I ordered it last night; it feels to have finally decided. My kids are also older and struggling readers - 9 and 10.5 yrs old reading a year and a half below grade level. The school insists they do not have a learning disability.

[Ellie]

And, as I'm sure Elle will chime in, two of the programs on your short list (SWR, LoE) are spin-offs of the Spalding Method. Have you ruled out the Writing Road to Reading (the manual on how to implement the Spalding Method)?

 

'Tis true--both SWR and LOE are Spalding spin-offs (although I would have phrased it a little differently, asking whether she had ruled out Spalding, not whether she had ruled out WRTR. Spalding is the method; WRTR is the manual). And as far as I can tell, AAS has Spalding roots, too. I might nor might not have chimed in, though, lol.

 

So if the three methods under discussion are spin-offs, seems as if the original really should be in the running. :-)

[Mom in High Heels]

Indy is a terrible speller (dyslexic) and an auditory learner. We skipped AAS (because I didn't know about it!) and went right into Phonetic Zoo. It was really good for him and I've noticed his spelling has greatly improved. It's pricey, but worth it IMO.

[Tenaj]

Dictation, dictation, dictation and more dictation. Have them study the passage, then dictate it and then repeat it the next day until they get it completely right. I have a 10th grader who was a terrible speller (still is on a bad day) and I'm convinced that dictation did more than all the programs I tried over the years.

 

I use Dictation Day by Day (which is what HOD uses) and it is available from google books.

[Wildiris]

Dictation, dictation, dictation and more dictation. Have them study the passage, then dictate it and then repeat it the next day until they get it completely right. I have a 10th grader who was a terrible speller (still is on a bad day) and I'm convinced that dictation did more than all the programs I tried over the years.

 

I use Dictation Day by Day (which is what HOD uses) and it is available from google books.

 

 

What an amazing find. Thanks for posting! :hurray: :hurray: