Sk8ermaiden Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 We'll finish book 8 of the Explode the Code series by Christmas. This has been a good curriculum for her (though I am over it at this point! Lol!) and got her reading. She is obviously absorbing the lessons somewhat because her decoding and reading continue to improve at a good rate. She likes it OK to a lot, depending on the exercise. She seems to be reading at an early second grade level. But she can't spell for beans. Words that she can read very easily, she can not spell when asked. In a writing exercise today, I swear she misspelled nearly every word - including things like "her." Do I continue in phonics or go to a phonics-based spelling? Any recommendations on that? I think a decent part of her spelling problems come from the fact that she is not auditory at all. She literally can not hear the minor differences between many of the vowel sounds. The rest is lack of knowledge of trickier grammar rules - c vs. k vs. ck - j vs. g. She can pick the correct spelling if it's multiple choice, but she can't pull it out of her head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northwoodsmama Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 You might look at Spelling U See- we did ETC also then switched to CLE language arts. However, one of mine was having the issues you describe, along with hating any and all writing. I added Spelling U See last year and it seems to help her. Her spelling is still poor despite her love of reading, but I do see improvement, especially in the common words. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 That's what happened with one of my ds. We eventually did AAS, and it did help, but I also just have to admit that he's probably always going to be a rotten speller. There's just something that stops him from memorizing which of the possible choices is the right one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Thanks guys. I'm looking into both of those now. In my house growing up, spelling was the source of every homework meltdown yelling fight with my mom. She just did not believe someone so "smart" could be SO bad at spelling if any effort was put forth at all. It clicked sometime in late junior high and I grew up to be a copy editor. So... We'll just keep plugging away, but I'm going to try to be zen about it. :closedeyes: I honestly think reading, reading, reading was probably what did it. My nose was always in a book. I know that's what made me so good at grammar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 She's only in Grade 1? How does she do in the spelling sections of ETC? For spelling words, did you pick previously taught words from ETC, or just random words you want her to know? I wouldn't expect her spelling to be much at this age. The fact that she picks the correct spelling when given a choice is a very good start. I'd go with copywork and/or AAS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 1st grade is way too young to have spelling woes :-). Spelling is harder than reading and requires more skills, so it's natural at her age that she wouldn't be proficient in spelling all the words she is able to read. ETC is more phonics than spelling so it's not really a subject she's worked on much (or could have at her age). I wouldn't be concerned at all yet, but would start a spelling program since she does some writing. All About Spelling has tools that can help you work on strengthening those auditory pathways, so that's one worth considering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 She's only in Grade 1? How does she do in the spelling sections of ETC? For spelling words, did you pick previously taught words from ETC, or just random words you want her to know? I wouldn't expect her spelling to be much at this age. The fact that she picks the correct spelling when given a choice is a very good start. I'd go with copywork and/or AAS. She would not be able to do many of the spelling sections beyond short vowels and long vowels with silent e. I let her look up the words she can't spell in hopes that that will help it stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 We'll finish book 8 of the Explode the Code series by Christmas. This has been a good curriculum for her (though I am over it at this point! Lol!) and got her reading. She is obviously absorbing the lessons somewhat because her decoding and reading continue to improve at a good rate. She likes it OK to a lot, depending on the exercise. She seems to be reading at an early second grade level. But she can't spell for beans. Words that she can read very easily, she can not spell when asked. In a writing exercise today, I swear she misspelled nearly every word - including things like "her." Do I continue in phonics or go to a phonics-based spelling? Any recommendations on that? I think a decent part of her spelling problems come from the fact that she is not auditory at all. She literally can not hear the minor differences between many of the vowel sounds. The rest is lack of knowledge of trickier grammar rules - c vs. k vs. ck - j vs. g. She can pick the correct spelling if it's multiple choice, but she can't pull it out of her head. I used ETC as a reading and handwriting tool, not necessarily spelling. It is also heavily phonics based. In your example above, the word "her" is more of a sight word, in that using only audible skills it could be spelled hur, hir or her. ETC doesn't cover sight words in any great depth, certainly not for the student to reproduce the words all on their own. It sounds like you have different expectations of your dd than are realistic with the curriculum you are currently using. As other posters have mentioned, spelling is much more challenging than reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 1st grade is way too young to have spelling woes :-). Spelling is harder than reading and requires more skills, so it's natural at her age that she wouldn't be proficient in spelling all the words she is able to read. ETC is more phonics than spelling so it's not really a subject she's worked on much (or could have at her age). I wouldn't be concerned at all yet, but would start a spelling program since she does some writing. All About Spelling has tools that can help you work on strengthening those auditory pathways, so that's one worth considering. Just to clarify, it's not that she can't spell all the words she is able to read - it's that she can't spell almost any words she is able to read. Nothing past CVC is likely to be right. And I also want to put out the disclaimer, that I haven't made an issue of this in any way. I really want her to love to write (because I do) and I feel like making spelling an issue is a fast track to making her hate writing. She just wrote a (page long!) story yesterday, and I was kind of shocked by the amount of misspelling. She's picking up grammar and punctuation really well though and even used a possessive apostrophe. :) And all her words are spelled phonetically...just not correctly. It's not that I'm particularly worried. It's just that given that she's not taking to it easily, I want to do my best to make sure our next step is the right one for her. I can get my hands on AAS at the local homeschool store, but I doubt they have Spelling You See and I'd like to look at it. Hmm... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 I think people are reading something into my post that isn't there? I am not upset or expecting anything out of ETC (except teaching her to read, which it did.) I just want to know what to do next for a child who is not picking up spelling at all and is not auditory. I appreciate all the curriculum advice. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Just to clarify, it's not that she can't spell all the words she is able to read - it's that she can't spell almost any words she is able to read. Nothing past CVC is likely to be right. Honestly, that's pretty age-appropriate though :-). I think you have the right attitude to not worry about her spelling in her writing for now, and to focus on spelling separately. Look at some programs and see what's a good fit for her and for your teaching style. People are probably responding to the term "woes" in your title, and we're just saying that first graders don't spell well. No worries--it's not a sign she'll be a bad speller or struggle with spelling, though those things may happen--it's just a sign that she's in first grade :-) Some kids do get spelling earlier and are able to incorporate good spelling in their writing, while many other kids are not ready to put all of the skills needed for writing together until about junior high. They'll misspell words they've studied over and over in their writing because their minds are focused on content, creativity, organizing their thoughts and so on. (It's common even for adults to have errors at that point--until they go back and edit their work.) So...just know this is very common for "baby" writers. Anyway, I didn't get the impression that you were overly-stressed or anything--I figured "spelling woes" was kind of tongue-in-cheek, and wanted to communicate that back, and also to say that what you're seeing is normal. (I'd even say she's ahead of the game, reading ahead of level, writing page-long stories--she's going to do great!) Think of all the misspellings the same way you thought of her speaking errors when she was a baby and was learning to speak. You thought they were adorable, maybe even called grandma or told friends her cute little sayings. Save her wonderful stories with all the misspellings and know that they are cute too. It won't always be this way :-). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Thank you! I edited the title. Being misunderstood, or thinking I'm misunderstood, bothers me way more than it should for some reason. I appreciate you posts. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I think people are reading something into my post that isn't there? I am not upset or expecting anything out of ETC (except teaching her to read, which it did.) I just want to know what to do next for a child who is not picking up spelling at all and is not auditory. I appreciate all the curriculum advice. :) Your dd moved through the ETC books very quickly, probably as she could read and write well. Just to put it into perspective, many students only get through ETC 1, 2 and 3 in first grade. The capacity to spell the words oneself develops slower. This is completely normal, whether a visual or auditory learner. It takes time. Also, being able to spell a word in isolation (e.g., on a list) is usually easier than spelling a word within a story. Don't be worried that spelling takes time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Thank you! I edited the title. Being misunderstood, or thinking I'm misunderstood, bothers me way more than it should for some reason. I appreciate you posts. :) LOL, I've been misunderstood more times than I can count on message boards. I do get it though. But hey, look at those adorable little faces in your avatar, and that should melt any bad feelings right away--such cuties! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 When she's ready to tackle spelling, I'd give Apples and Pears book A a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKWAcademy Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 My first graders are in AAR 3 and have only done a bit of ETC. I started Apples and Pears this year for their spelling. It's too early to pronounce it wonderful but they like it so far. I think I recall sample pages you can view (or maybe the whole thing??) on their website. Worth a look. As much as we love AAR I was turned off by AAS for some reason. Plus, I know at least my son with Apraxia struggles with auditory processing. That's why I picked Apples and Pears because of the mention that it is good for dyslexics (and I made the leap to include my kid with Apraxia). But both kids are enjoying it (and they enjoy ETC which I only recently added to the mix much to their delight). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulalu Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Not a curriculum suggestion- To help with the hearing all the sounds play with rhymes. Use index cards and make lists of words that start the same or end the same adding in a few odd balls. Then play a game of matching the ones that sound alike. Do this several times a week for a while. Have her call out the letters too. Also find some rhyme books and mother goose and read some from them everyday and choose some to memorize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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