sagira Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 What did you think of it? What did your dc think? Has it improved their spelling? I'm debating between Spectrum Spelling, Natural Speller or just collecting misspelled words by ds and doing the "look and see" Charlotte Mason method. I will be using this in either first or second grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaby Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 We used it briefly but the word lists were too easy for my bunch. I think it's a great program for the really reluctant speller. I have one not-so great speller and the words were easy for him so we put it away. We decided to continue our old spelling program til we start Spelling Wisdom in our new year. Natural Speller contains groups of words based on their phonetic pronunciation according to grade levels. There are rules in the back of the book and daily activities suggested according to grammar, vocabulary, latin roots (upper grades), dictionary skills, etc. Donna Young uses this program and gives suggestions on her site. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I've used Natural Speller for 3 years now (going on 4!) and it's wonderful!! It was the first spelling book / program that worked for my oldest son. I highly recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Kelly, Can you describe how YOU use natural speller? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Sure! For my 4th grader, I use the 4th grade lists. Most of them are fairly short. I give a spelling quiz on the 1st list and, if he doesn't miss any, then we go to the next list on the 2nd day, for example. If he misses a word, then I have him write it down properly and then add that word to the next day's list. (He's usually finished with each grade by December / January. Then, of course, there's correcting spelling in his grammar and writing assignments, etc.) My 9th grader started using Natural Speller in 6th grade and he was a terrible speller! He started with the 2nd grade list and did 2 grades each year. So in 6th, he did the 2nd and 3rd grade lists; in 7th, he did the 4th and 5th grade lists; in 8th, he did the 6th and 7th grade lists; and this year, in 9th, he's doing the last list - the 8th grade. I used the same plan as I listed above for my 4th grader: 1 list a day, with any missed words written down correctly and added to the next day's list, and then correcting any misspelled words in his regular assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 Thank you! Natural Speller sounds good. I'll make it a point to check it out at next year's convention in May. I guess I'll have to see what kind of speller my ds is before I make a decision. In third or fourth I was going to switch to Spelling Power (I know, I like to plan waaay ahead :001_smile:), but if ds is a good speller (like me), why bother? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaby Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Here's a guide that I used when we used Natural Speller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jami Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I'm using it orally with my 2nd graders this year. On the IEW lectures Andrew Pudewa recommends spelling being done orally...I can't remember why now, but it made sense to me at the time. ;) We'll probably go on to use Simply Spelling next year in 3rd grade with spelling folded into copywork and dictation. But I like Natural Spelling to see where they are and where they need work this year without adding to their writing work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Thanks, Kelly! So you did see improvement from your oldest with this method? My oldest (10) is a terrible speller too. We've been doing 1-2 sentences of dictation 3x a week, but I'm not sure dictation will be enough. I have Natural Speller and Sequential Spelling. I'd like to use one of them along with the dictation. Many people think SS really helps a poor speller, but the lists are so much longer. I'm more drawn to using NS, and I don't think it would take as much time. Tanks, again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Natural Speller helped him tremendously!!!! It really did. The lists are broken down by phonetic or spelling rule, so he learns to understand why certain words are spelled as they are. With other spelling programs, it was just lists of unrelated words...and that made no sense to him. Also, the lists are fairly short, so it helps him to pay attention! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmac Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 We tried it, but I felt like it just wasn't meaty enough. We're now doing SP and loving it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.