Is the Spalding method really worth the time? WRTR, LOE, etc.

[abrightmom]

NM ... Talking to myself here. ;)

[abrightmom]

Ditto. ;)

[littlebylittle]

I have friends that do the Writing Road to Thinking and Reading - Riggs - and they swear by it.  I know someone who has used it for all her kids with different learning styles and they have all learned to read and write well using it.  We are planning to use it this year, too.  Yes, it does take a lot of time, from what I have observed but worth it as it is kind of a few types of curriculum in one.

[Hunter]

I don't think it is worth it to all families.

[lorisuewho]

I don't think it is worth it to all families.

I agree.

 

I do think learning the sounds of the phonograms and spelling rules is of a benefit to most if not all children.  However, there are plenty of people who learn to read and spell just fine without using this method.

[edeemarie]

What kind of time are you talking about...learning the method or teaching it? For me, it is worth the time. I never had a spelling program where my kids have had so much improvement in their spelling skills. But I also try to make it easy on myself by using the following routine:

Day 1: introduce 30 spelling words and writing them with the markings in the notebook

Day 2: they enter their spelling words into Spelling City (typing practice too:))

Days 3-5: they practice their words with the games on Spelling City (I usually let them do this until they are very comfortable with the words

Day 6 (give or take a few days): they take their spelling test on Spelling City

I know this doesn't work out to be an even week's worth of work, but we only school Mon.-Thurs. anyway. So really I only have 1 day per week at the most where I have much involvement in their spelling. This might not be Spalding approved, but it works for us:)

[lorisuewho]

. This might not be Spalding approved, but it works for us:)

 

I don't really think this qualifies as the Spalding method, but I LOVE that you have found a system that works for you and your family!  Do what works! :o)

[Farrar]

I don't think it is worth it to all families.

 

Or, more specifically, to all kids.  It's worth it to one of my ds for me to put in the teacher-intensive time.  Not so much for his twin, who is more of a natural speller.

[Ellie]

Yes. :D  (even though LOE, SWR, PR, et al, are not Spalding, they are still worth it, as well). OTOH, millions of children have learned to read and spell with methods other than Spalding/Spalding-spin-offs, so...worth it? Yes. Necessary? No.

[FO4UR]

I can't read the OP.

 

That said, Spalding doesn't work for everyone.  I'm rather partial to Sound Foundations Dancing Bears for Reading and Apples & Pears for spelling. 

 

I used SWR for 2.5 years when I started HSing.  I am using the Wise Guide again, but so not actually doing SWR or Spalding with it.

[EmilyGF]

When I was doing Spalding, I felt like I was using a hammer (WRTR) to get a tack into a corkboard.

 

My kids are "natural" spellers who have picked up (fairly) good spelling by reading. If they were struggling, I'd use it.

 

Emily

[Twilight Woods]

Does it really take a lot more time compared to the other programs? Granted I only have one student and we have not hit the spelling portion of WRTR.. we will hit that in a couple weeks........ I was assuming it wont take more than 30 mins when I add in the spelling part? 

 

For me if it takes an hour or other amount of time is worth it b/c DD is a struggling reader and I want her to know the phonograms inside and out and how to break down a word to spell it along with knowing all the rules...... 

[dbmamaz]

My first two were early readers and natural spellers - and in school, so i didnt have to worry at all.  My younger was late to speak, late to read, late to write.   i didnt start spelling untli he was frequently asking 'how do you spell' . . .i started with SP and it was a complete and utter failure.  by the first unit test he had retained nothing.  

 

We are about halfway through LOE and I LOVE it.  Its not really that time consuming and i'm totally flabbergasted at what I'm learning . . . like about when you can and cannot drop the silent e to add a suffix that starts with a vowel . . . i have always just randomly guessed these and NOW I KNOW!  

 

Anyways, my son cries about the dictation passages because he simply hates writing, but overall LOE is improving his spelling and its also giving me better language to cue him with when he mispronounces a word he's reading.  

 

My impression is that LOE is less teacher-intensive than some of the others? 

[abrightmom]

Thanks everyone. I deleted my OP because I felt that it was whiny and I was talking to myself. ;) I am assessing the time required to teach WRtR or LOE to 2 of my kids and feel disheartened. I am a big fan of R&S spelling and wonder if in the long run it would be enough. Ido like memorizing the phonograms and applying that to spelling as we go (I.e. Mom, how do you spell ???? I answer with the phonograms rather than letters.). Another option is to use R&S and have each kid keep a spelling journal in which we tackle trouble spots and that would be the time to learn and practice a specific rule.

 

 

Sighing loudly.

[abrightmom]

Does it really take a lot more time compared to the other programs? Granted I only have one student and we have not hit the spelling portion of WRTR.. we will hit that in a couple weeks........ I was assuming it wont take more than 30 mins when I add in the spelling part?

 

For me if it takes an hour or other amount of time is worth it b/c DD is a struggling reader and I want her to know the phonograms inside and out and how to break down a word to spell it along with knowing all the rules......

Possibly not except the teaching time required of me across subjects and grade levels is a lot in this season. If spelling can be run with more independence and less teacher time that is a big help. But I worry about it ....

[lorisuewho]

 

My impression is that LOE is less teacher-intensive than some of the others? 

 

 

I did Essentials all the way through and we are now doing Foundations.  I would say the program is very teacher intensive, in that I am involved most of the time, dictating, teaching, etc.  However, LOE is extremely well organized and very step by step.  There is really no planning work for the teacher in that everything is written out that one should do.

[lorisuewho]

Thanks everyone. I deleted my OP because I felt that it was whiny and I was talking to myself. ;) I am assessing the time required to teach WRtR or LOE to 2 of my kids and feel disheartened. I am a big fan of R&S spelling and wonder if in the long run it would be enough. Ido like memorizing the phonograms and applying that to spelling as we go (I.e. Mom, how do you spell ???? I answer with the phonograms rather than letters.). Another option is to use R&S and have each kid keep a spelling journal in which we tackle trouble spots and that would be the time to learn and practice a specific rule.

 

 

Sighing loudly.

I actually really like your plan.  We are doing dictation day by day this year and marking difficult words in an LOE fashion.  Why couldn't this be done with R&S?  I plan to switch to R&S eventually.  I think it is a solid program.

[Ellie]

Thanks everyone. I deleted my OP because I felt that it was whiny and I was talking to myself. ;) I am assessing the time required to teach WRtR or LOE to 2 of my kids and feel disheartened. I am a big fan of R&S spelling and wonder if in the long run it would be enough. Ido like memorizing the phonograms and applying that to spelling as we go (I.e. Mom, how do you spell ???? I answer with the phonograms rather than letters.). Another option is to use R&S and have each kid keep a spelling journal in which we tackle trouble spots and that would be the time to learn and practice a specific rule.

 

 

Sighing loudly.

 

Spalding is the method--what you teach; WRTR is the manual. :-)

 

You should be able to spend about an hour a day on Spalding, and not all at the same time. Oral and written drills require only a few minutes; it's the spelling lesson itself that takes time. It might or might not be worth it for *you.* :-)

 

Memorizing the phonograms can be helpful, but it's the Spalding Method itself that makes a difference. Merely memorizing the phonograms or applying them isn't the same as analyzing words and marking the phonograms and seeing if any rules apply (knowing the rules is also helpful). The crutches that go along with the phonograms are beneficial; e.g., (ai) /A/ never used at the end of a word; (ck) /k/  used after a single vowel that doesn't say its name; (dge) /j/ used after a single vowel that doesn't say its name.

 

A friend once complained to me that doggonit, she was doing Spalding with her children, but their standardized test scores were not showing any improvement. As we talked it came out that she was using the spelling lists from another publisher and applying the Spalding rules to those words. I encouraged her to, you know, actually DO Spalding with her children the next year, and what do you know--her children's test scores improved dramatically the next year. I suppose they might have improved anyway, because sometimes it just happens that way, lol, but still, she was able to see the improvement in her children's daily spelling and usage.

 

Spelling by Sound and Structure is my favorite non-Spalding spelling series. You can't really go wrong with it. :-)

[FO4UR]

 Another option is to use R&S and have each kid keep a spelling journal in which we tackle trouble spots and that would be the time to learn and practice a specific rule.

 

 

Sighing loudly.

 

 

Do it.  

[Soror]

I actually really like your plan.  We are doing dictation day by day this year and marking difficult words in an LOE fashion.  Why couldn't this be done with R&S?  I plan to switch to R&S eventually.  I think it is a solid program.

I agree. If using Essentials it is not something you do forever but at some point, after 1 or 2 yrs, if using advanced lists, you move onto other programs. The objective is to give them all the tools to analyze words, from what I've read R&S would be a great follow-up.

[Hunter]

One thing I have learned--math, Spalding, whatever--is that just because *I* am learning something, doesn't mean that I should use the curriculum with students. Sometimes the very fact that I did just fine in life NOT knowing the things in the curriculum--even if it's a 1st grade curriculum--means it's not essential.

 

Phonics fascinates me. Phonics is useful. Intensive phonics instruction is NOT essential for all students though, and completing an intensive phonics program with a student means less time, money and other resources devoted to something else that they could be doing. Intensive phonics is not always "better", never mind not essential.

[abrightmom]

Would you attempt to multi teach Essentials with kids at different levels? I honestly don't see how this would work but I could be missing something. I know DS9 will move faster than DD7 so I could NOT teach her right now and focus on working thru the entire program with "just him". Or, I could slow it down and devote a set block of time each day to LOE with them together giving her time to stay up with her brother. She is a fast learner and I think her spelling abilities are only a tad behind his at this point. But, she is still just 7 and he is 9, ready to blossom this year.

[gratefulmother]

I don't think everyone has to use this method, but I just have to say that I do believe in it so much that it is the reason we first started homeschooling.  Seven years ago seems so long ago!  My seventh grader is now a wonderful speller, though she probably would have been anyway.  But, I really believe in this method, especially for struggling readers.  It is just so thorough and gives them everything they need to be successful.  We used Johnny Can Spell which is another curriculum based on the Spalding Method.  

[dbmamaz]

I spend about 20 minutes a day on essentials - because thats just how i do it.  i get as much done as I get done.  thats the same way I approached MCT.  i dont let the curriculum dictate my schedule.  I think if i was doing different aged kids, the younger would need more practice with phonograms, probably more games, and the older could do independent writing (journaling, free writing) during that time.  or play together because its more fun.  and i think i'd skip the grammar portion with the younger one, maybe, or have younger watch but make  older do the writing?

[A home for their hearts]

For Logic of English Essentials, when we were doing a lesson a day it took us at least an hour, if not more.  However, that was at the beginning of the year when we did the grammar, and vocab portions as well.  After a few weeks, since we already had a grammar program we were using I decided to drop the grammar, I didn't like the vocab very well so we dropped that as well.  My dc are older so the suggestion was to do a lesson a day.  When we started doing just spelling it took 40mins-1 hour per day on each lesson.  It became too time consuming for me, and my dd13 didn't seem to do well with such a long time spent on spelling, so we started doing less and less spelling.  We only made it through lesson 30 then we stopped.  I just couldn't take it anymore.  My dd did ok memorizing the phonograms, and spelling rules but I didn't see her applying them outside of the spelling lesson.  I learned a lot as well.  One of the things I didn't like about LOE was how some of the rules were worded.  I much prefer All About Spellings wording.  But that's beyond the point.

[kirstenhill]

Would you attempt to multi teach Essentials with kids at different levels? I honestly don't see how this would work but I could be missing something. I know DS9 will move faster than DD7 so I could NOT teach her right now and focus on working thru the entire program with "just him". Or, I could slow it down and devote a set block of time each day to LOE with them together giving her time to stay up with her brother. She is a fast learner and I think her spelling abilities are only a tad behind his at this point. But, she is still just 7 and he is 9, ready to blossom this year.

 

I may teach Essentials at two levels this year.  My DD (4th grade) is getting ready to start her second year of Essentials (w/advanced lists this year).  DS (1st grade) is going to do a bit more work with Foundations, but I think he will really be beyond it before the year is out.

 

Last year (1st time through), I pretty much only did the spelling.  I think we'll add in the grammar for DD this year.  She practiced through the week pretty much on her own, then I used spelling city for an assessment at the end of the week.  I might throw a game in there (or not -- we weren't always very good at doing that).

 

If I end up with 2 in essentials this year, I think my weekly schedule would be as follows:

 

Monday:  Spelling with DD -- review phonograms and rules in the lesson (briefly) and go over the list (dictate or watch the video for the advanced lists that have the video)   Spelling with DS -- just do the "lesson" portion (phonograms and rules)

 

Tuesday: DD works on spelling independently (games on spelling city).  Dictate a list to DS -- if he doesn't have the stamina to do it all in one day, we might have to break it up over two days.

 

Wednesday: Do the grammar portion with DD (maybe fairly independent for her?) + she practices spelling independently.  Finish list dictation with DS if needed

 

Thursday: Maybe a game all together or spelling city practice for both (many Thursdays we have afternoon co-op or a field trip, so it's a light day for us).  If we have time, I would do some sentence dictation perhaps as well for DD. That still stresses her out so, maybe not.

 

Friday:  Assessment on spelling city for DD.  Not sure if DS will do the same, or if we will just do some other practice or reinforcement activity.  I don't know if he is ready for "spelling tests" yet as a six year old. 

 

ETA: Obviously this means doing back to back lessons with them rather than together unless they are playing games, since they will be on totally different lessons.