spelling - how DO you know?

[mamamindy]

Forgive me, as I'm just SURE this has been asked…  How DO you know if spelling is an "issue" for your children?  Like, for example, DD2 sometimes flips the c & k in ck words (bakc for back); DD1 RARELY misspells anything.  I should note that I don't ask for original work at their ages, 6 & 7 yo.  I have gone BACK and FORTH on deciding on a spelling approach for these children.  O-G just makes SENSE to me….but I am trying to work in 3 levels each day…and I just don't know if it's worth it.  I was hoping it would fill in any gaps in the phonics that I may have missed.  It just makes sense in my head…but it may not be practical.  How would I know if my children NEED explicit instruction?  My fear is that I won't really know until they start writing their own compositions in earnest…  (I know it seems to be universal, but I have very little extra time!!!)

[MotherGoose]

I am not an expert in any way, but I'll tell you my thoughts. My oldest is 8. She will regularly do things like "hlep" for "help" and "bakc" for "back" but when I make her sound it out or look at it again, she knows it's wrong. She reads very well--it's because she's hurrying that she does it. If I were in your situation, with lots of littles and the oldest two so close in age, I'd do one spelling program for the both of them, maybe teaching to the youngest and letting the oldest maybe work ahead a little, maybe require a little more of her or something. I believe in explicit instruction of spelling. What are you using for curriculum?

[Tracy]

To me, those are spelling issues.  My kids have never reversed CK to KC, because they know that the phonogram is CK and that KC doesn't even exist.  

 

I am not familiar with the program you are using, but if my kids were your kids' ages, I would combine the 6yo and 7yo for spelling.  And I would make sure that they could write their phonograms, sight unseen.  With my 6yo, he has a phonogram quiz every day before we do spelling.  If I knew, for example, that CK was an issue for him, I would make sure he could write that by itself from memory before expecting him to write it in a word.  

[mamamindy]

I am not an expert in any way, but I'll tell you my thoughts. My oldest is 8. She will regularly do things like "hlep" for "help" and "bakc" for "back" but when I make her sound it out or look at it again, she knows it's wrong. She reads very well--it's because she's hurrying that she does it. If I were in your situation, with lots of littles and the oldest two so close in age, I'd do one spelling program for the both of them, maybe teaching to the youngest and letting the oldest maybe work ahead a little, maybe require a little more of her or something. I believe in explicit instruction of spelling. What are you using for curriculum?

This is what I was wanting to do - combine my two oldest - but I am also trying to teach DD2 cursive (DD1 already knows cursive) so that is why they were split up.  I am teaching her cursive while she learns the phonograms.  We are using Reading Lessons through Literature.  It's O-G.  I like it a lot.  Just not 3 levels each day!  (I'm teaching DS to read- but this doesn't take much time - he's not really doing anything else.) 

 

To me, those are spelling issues.  My kids have never reversed CK to KC, because they know that the phonogram is CK and that KC doesn't even exist.  

 

I am not familiar with the program you are using, but if my kids were your kids' ages, I would combine the 6yo and 7yo for spelling.  And I would make sure that they could write their phonograms, sight unseen.  With my 6yo, he has a phonogram quiz every day before we do spelling.  If I knew, for example, that CK was an issue for him, I would make sure he could write that by itself from memory before expecting him to write it in a word.  

Thank you for your suggestions.  I do think I'll continue, but combine them, even though it may be slow-going for while DD2 learns cursive.

[Tracy]

This is what I was wanting to do - combine my two oldest - but I am also trying to teach DD2 cursive (DD1 already knows cursive) so that is why they were split up.  I am teaching her cursive while she learns the phonograms.  We are using Reading Lessons through Literature.  It's O-G.  I like it a lot.  Just not 3 levels each day!  (I'm teaching DS to read- but this doesn't take much time - he's not really doing anything else.) 

 

Thank you for your suggestions.  I do think I'll continue, but combine them, even though it may be slow-going for while DD2 learns cursive.

 I think that is a very good plan.  It doesn't take that long to learn cursive at 6yo.  My dd did it at 5.5yo over about 3 weeks during the summer.  You could even stop spelling for a just a couple of weeks to focus solely on bringing your 6yo up to speed in cursive.