kagmypts Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 My son is in second grade, and to put it very bluntly, he's a terrible speller. He is using R&S Spelling 3 this year as well as R&S Phonics 2. Neither subject comes naturally to him. In fact, I often have the urge to bang my head against the wall because I am not sure if he has retained a single thing from the entire year of phonics. It's a good thing that he is such a kind, sweet child. :-) Anyway, I am leaning toward changing our spelling program next year. While he seems to do okay with the spelling exercises and on his weekly tests, his spelling has not transferred to any of his other work. However, I think that continued phonics would be very beneficial to him. Any recommendations? I am open to any advice regarding spelling programs or a teaching method that may yield better results.ETA - I originally decided to revisit R&S because the spelling words are printed exclusively in cursive beginning in level 4, and he won't be ready for that at the beginning of next year. However, I can just as easily type the words and tape them over the ones printed in cursive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a27mom Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Check out Logic of English. It is an excellent program. The Essentials program is aimed at 8 y/o's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kagmypts Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Check out Logic of English. It is an excellent program. The Essentials program is aimed at 8 y/o's. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Apples & Pears has helped two of my children tons. Otherwise, I swear by All About Spelling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Apples & Pears Do not choose a program that is too similar to what you already use. If it worked...it would be working. Choose something that comes from a different angle. If memorizing phonograms and rules is not working, try something that works through visualizing the words and morphemic patterns. (croud - crowd....both are phonetically correct. Kids have to put "crowd" into their visual memory.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 My "unnatural" didn't have success with a rule/phonogram based program. He's made a lot of progress with Apples and Pears. It's a different approach. I wish I had tried it earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Sequential Spelling, hands down. It made a world of difference to my terrible speller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 All About Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Apples & Pears Do not choose a program that is too similar to what you already use. If it worked...it would be working. Choose something that comes from a different angle. If memorizing phonograms and rules is not working, try something that works through visualizing the words and morphemic patterns. (croud - crowd....both are phonetically correct. Kids have to put "crowd" into their visual memory.) Implementation makes a difference though too. We tried to do "How to Teach Spelling" when my DD was in 2nd and it was a total flop. BUT, I didn't teach it very well. I needed something with more hand holding for me so I really knew what to do, and my DD who is really poor at spelling has made a lot of progress with Logic of English, and both are phonogram/rule based programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 We use Spell to Write and Read, which is a multi-sensory explicit phonics program. Here is a blog post from a friend of mine who used this program to remediate her then 14yo's reading and spelling. He is now an English major in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguistmama Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I really love AAS and other OG type programs, but they did not work well for my oldest. Spelling is a struggle for her and Apples and Pears is what is finally working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Another recommendation for Apples & Pears. If he were older, I'd recommend Phonetic Zoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Spalding. It teaches children to read by teaching them to spell, and it includes penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing. IOW, it's a whole English literacy course in one fell swoop. And it's less than $40. :-) 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.