Wanted: A Spelling Turn-Around

[mommymonster]

I'm looking for some spelling advice for DS8. DS8 reads at a 7th grade level, but spells at a 1st grade level. We started first grade with AAS, which didn't make sense to DS at all. At the end of the year, we gave up on it, as he retained nothing (yes, I know, continuous review, it still didn't stick). Last year, we did Apples and Pears, which seemed to stick better than AAS, but DS has writing challenges and can only write about 1/2 of a page before experiencing hand pain. I'm thinking that if we did A&P again this year, we might get to the end of book A by the end of the year.  :huh:  I also am looking at Dianne Craft's method for teaching spelling to a right-brained kid (the taking photos with your mind thing). 

 

At this point, I'm not looking for a magic "fix," but I am looking for something to move spelling forward. It seems that if we stay with Apples & Pears, DS gets bogged down with writing so that he's not focused on the act of spelling. I'd like to disconnect spelling with writing for now. I seem to remember that A&P needs to be written. Is that true or am I making things up? Has anyone used A&P orally or does that compromise the method?

 

In the alternative, has anyone done the Dianne Craft method for spelling with right brained kids and had success? 

 

Any other ideas for spelling? I hate to curriculum hop, but we don't seem to be making progress with our current efforts. We're using MCT for the rest of language arts next year. 

 

Thanks so much for your time!

[Ellie]

He's just 8, yes? That's not that bad for an 8yo, regardless of his reading level. Reading and spelling are two completely different skills. :-)

 

My answer for all spelling and reading questions: Spalding. :-)

[mommymonster]

OK, Ellie. I'm going to say it: I'm intrigued by Spalding because I have a 5 year old I need to teach to read, and the thought of going through OPGTR makes me want to cry. If I can do spelling with DS8 and reading/spelling with DS5, then that sounds like a good option. I even have Writing Road to Reading. I've read through it. But I just don't get it. I know that makes me sound ignorant, but how do I get it done?  I'm sure you've written this out dozens of times in the past... but, please talk me through it. Or link me to your post that talks the crazy, freaked-out momma down. I'm pulling out WRTR now in hopes of flashes of insight, as well.

[SilverMoon]

Have you tried having him write on a whiteboard instead of in the book? Whiteboards have magical properties that made my most reluctant writers content to keep trying.

 

Or even those fiddly tiles. Written is best, but not a requirement.

[Ellie]

OK, Ellie. I'm going to say it: I'm intrigued by Spalding because I have a 5 year old I need to teach to read, and the thought of going through OPGTR makes me want to cry. If I can do spelling with DS8 and reading/spelling with DS5, then that sounds like a good option. I even have Writing Road to Reading. I've read through it. But I just don't get it. I know that makes me sound ignorant, but how do I get it done?  I'm sure you've written this out dozens of times in the past... but, please talk me through it. Or link me to your post that talks the crazy, freaked-out momma down. I'm pulling out WRTR now in hopes of flashes of insight, as well.

 

which edition of the manual do you have?

 

And you know that I will require you to read it cover to cover at least three times, right? :-) The first time you just read it, as if it were a novel. The second time you can make some notes, or highlight things that are interesting. The third time you make notes to yourself on exactly what to do.

 

The short story is that you begin by teaching the single-letter phonograms that begin with circles, then the single-letter phonograms that begin with lines. You do oral and written drill daily, and you begin teaching the next phonograms until your dc knows the first 54 (or 45, depending on which edition you have). There is a script for teaching the single-letter phonograms; you just do the same thing for the rest of them. And then you begin teaching the words in the spelling list (script for those, too). Continue teaching the phonograms until your dc knows all 70. continue teaching the spelling words. Rinse and repeat. :-)

[mommymonster]

Sorry for the delay in responding. I have the fifth edition of WRTR. I've read the instructional part of the manual again (just a quick skim). My concern is the writing component of the program, and how it seems to be pretty integral to the program. The underlining and small notations will be a huge source of frustration for him. I can see the value of the notations, though. 

 

One thing I saw was a recommendation that I build a spelling notebook to see how the program works. Perhaps I start there?

[Ellie]

Sorry for the delay in responding. I have the fifth edition of WRTR. I've read the instructional part of the manual again (just a quick skim). My concern is the writing component of the program, and how it seems to be pretty integral to the program. The underlining and small notations will be a huge source of frustration for him. I can see the value of the notations, though. 

 

One thing I saw was a recommendation that I build a spelling notebook to see how the program works. Perhaps I start there?

 

You'll want to do more than a quick skim. :-)

 

The underlining and notations really are integral to Spalding. Perhaps you are overanticipating how your dc will react, because they aren't really that fussy, lol. You and he discuss each word to see if there should be any notations or underlining of phonograms and whatnot--easy peasy. :-)

 

Doing your own spelling notebook can be helpful, but you can't start that until you read the manual.

 

Most homeschoolers don't do the Reading or Writing lessons; they mostly just do the Spelling Lesson, which is where penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing come in, and where dc learn to read (if they don't already) or improve their reading skills.

[Momling]

It might be developmental issue. My 10 yr old was a hopeless speller until the time was right for her to learn... She's picking it up so quickly now! We're using apples and pears. My point though, is that it might be less about the materials and more just about readiness.

[FloridaLisa]

I agree that 8 years is still young to lose hope for his spelling. :)  I've had at least 2 unnatural spellers so far.  I tried a few different programs with the first one. Spelling Power and Calvert and possibly another that I can't remember right now? Spelling Power really worked for her b/c she was such a diligent student and would do the follow up activities. What really worked for that child though was maturing a few years and me continuing to make her word aware and spelling aware. Things like reviewing the main spelling rules, overemphasizing weirdly spelled rules, having her pay attention to spelling in her writing. 

 

For the next child, we used Sequential Spelling.  The word family approach really helped. Again, this child both learned to spell better and became more word aware. He's a pretty good speller now.  

 

I have another unnatural speller coming up and I think we'll be using Sequential Spelling. 

 

Lisa

[Hunter]

Before you give up on Spalding, buy a nasty used copy of the 4th edition for a penny. Write in it. Cut out the flashcards and use them. Write out your OWN student notebook. The 5th and 6th editions are a mess!

 

Explicit spelling instruction doesn't appear to improve student spelling much. The students who need it the most, seem to make even less improvement. The difference between natural spellers and struggling spellers grown exponentially each year, and instructors look on powerlessly. Do not let spelling take over your homeschool, no matter how bad it is. O-G is famous for teaching dyslexics to READ. Dyslexics continue to spell badly after even having been taught O-G by experts.

 

If you are fascinated by phonics and enjoy learning it YOURSELF, then by all means learn Spalding. But if you do not find phonics and O-G fascinating, it's okay to skip it.

[Tracy]

The nice thing about Spalding (and SWR, which we use) is that you can do the written work on a whiteboard.  We did dictation in the log book and quizzes and tests on a white board for a long time.  Writing is a very important component to remembering spelling.  If you have a child who struggles with spelling, you cannot skip the written work.  But you can use a program, like Spalding, which makes it easy to tweak the writing.  

[...................]

Why not stick with apples and pears at half pace. He needs to strengthen his writing anyway so it'll solve two issues. ;)

[Guest]

Logic of English Foundations for the younger. Essentials for the older. Easiest Spalding based there is.