Ariston Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 This is a crosspost from the K-8 forum... If you use Barton, do you use something different for spelling? Or do you do anything extra for spelling? Or do you just go through the script and do spelling as it is addressed in the curriculum? FYI I am using it for one dyslexic 9 year old in Level 4, and one NT 7 year old in Level 3 (speeding through it...will probably overtake brother due to her neurtypicalness :) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 If you are doing well with Barton for spelling, then I wouldn't do anything else. About level 4, my daughter started moving much quicker through the reading portions, but not mastering the spelling at all. We kept moving and we do the spelling of Barton, but I only worry if she can read it. We use All About Spelling for spelling instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 I think it depends on the child, definitely. Some kids grasp the spelling just from Barton (my daughter definitely did and her spelling, which was absolutely atrocious, is worlds better now), but others need additional reinforcement and possibly a different approach. My son just started Barton this year and seems to grasp the concepts much quicker than my daughter did, but the application of the spellings is not working as well for him, yet, as it did for her. Of course, he is not as far along as she is. If you can find one on-line, you might periodically administer criterion referenced spelling tests to see how well the system is working in the grander scheme of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Reads a Lot Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 We're only at the end of Level 3, so I'm no expert, but so far Barton has worked miracles on my son's spelling. I am amazed! We slogged through AAS 1 and part of 2 before I figured out ds was dyslexic. I thought he had learned to spell the words and was learning the spelling rules, but as we relearned them with Barton it became apparent that he had not retained the words or the rules. Don't know why but he seems to grasp the rules much better with Barton and is actually applying them. Maybe it's the nonsense words that force him to use the rules? For whatever reason, I am thrilled with his spelling now and don't see the need for any other program. I hear that Level 4 steps it up quite a bit, and he's already made tremendous progress. So for now, Barton is all we need. HTH, Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 We hit a rule in the later part of Level 3 that I was having a bit of trouble with myself and was kind of doing a lesson for me before doing it with my kids. The nonsense words were great, because I was really having to know the rule. I know that I have to review and go slow to make certain that my kids are retaining the info, though. I can't just go through a lesson in a couple of days and expect them to remember the rules the next week. We do a short session of Barton every morning (about 30 min tops) Monday through Friday and my son actually does a lesson on Saturday mornings sometimes. The kids are so used to the system and they know that the session won't be too long that they rarely complain ...My daughter takes 2 weeks per lesson and my son, so far, covers a lesson in one week (but he is not as far along in the system as his sister). What is great is that when we go that slow and take it in small chunks with plenty of review, the rules seem to internalize so they don't have to think about them anymore, they just KNOW what looks and sounds right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myboyluvsdinos Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 The program is mastery-based, and advises not to advance until each lesson has been mastered. Games are a great way to continue practicing the concepts, if the student does not master them during the lesson. Make sure you don't go too quickly -- that's one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Give the post tests at the end of each level to ensure your student is solid. If they are not, go back and reteach those lessons that they have trouble with. One of the strengths of Barton is that it teaches spelling and reading at the same time, so when a child is learning how to read a certain vowel team, they are also learning to spell with it. Teaching both at the same time is very reinforcing. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Do I? Yes. Do I need to? No. :laugh: I used Seeing Stars to try to teach spelling of common words. In the beginning it pushed my son along faster, but as we've moved up in Barton I see that it was very redundant. The Barton sight words plus the rules duplicated most of what I did. It probably would have been easier and might have been just as effective using only Barton. Barton has spelling lists available for tutors to give their students that go along with the lessons. I don't learn. :lol: This year I'm going back to a spelling workbook that I used in the past with my other children. I want to see how he will do with it. Plus I'm tired of teacher intensive materials and I miss some of the religious based materials and workbooks we used when we began homeschooling. Just yesterday I saw the exact speller my son struggled with so terribly in second grade before I'd figures out he had dyslexia. Now, thanks to Barton, the seventh grade speller looks like something he may be able to tackle. The first lesson covered several concepts in the same spelling lesson but they were concepts we've covered in Barton. We'll see how this goes. (We have been stuck on level 7 of Barton for a while. I've lost some of my motivation and we hardly worked on it at all this summer. With the start of the school year, I've decided to formally set Barton on hold for a bit while I get back on my feet with homeschooling.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Ariston, I guess the bottom line is that NO you don't need any other spelling curriculum, especially if you intend to stick with Barton all the way through to the end. Other people who have used the system through Level 10 found that their children did great on ACT/SAT testing because of how advanced those levels are, both for reading AND spelling... It IS teacher intensive, though, so you may end up getting burned out at some point. Switching to a different program might be warranted at that juncture. Maybe just cross that bride when you come to it...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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