spelling question

[lgliser]

One of my 9 year olds recently had a complete exam (for ADHD and other issues).  This included an IQ test.

 

Academically she scored above grade level except on spelling.  She scored like below a kindergarten level.

 

I explained to the doctor how we used All About Spelling and how it worked and he was actually really impressed with the sound of it and said we should keep it up. 

 

Compared to her two 9 year old siblings, she seems like a good speller to me.  She always does well with All About Spelling, and when she writes for other subjects, she does well too.  At least it seems that way to me... someone who only sees her own 3rd graders and only has them to compare. 

 

So I'm not worried.  I have faith in AAS.  But I am very curious what kinds of words other 3rd graders can spell these days that she apparently didn't know how to spell when they tested her.  I'm especially curious because a lot of people I talk to say that they don't focus a lot on spelling in school these days.

[bluejay]

You mean they won't even tell you what words were misspelled?  Can't you ask?  Or are you not allowed to see the test results?

 

My eldest is only first grade so I am not the best person to give advice, so please take this for what it's worth.  You can get an idea if you refer to spelling books like "Spelling Workout" and also "Writing with Ease" by Susan.  Susan says many students can finish Spelling Workout A and B in the first grade, so you can go from there.  WWE takes you through it year by year, so the copywork exercises should help you gauge skill level.  But remember, that's COPY work.   I've found that a child tends to read better than he can spell.  Meaning, he may know what a word means and how to pronounce it when he reads it, but he may not necessarily know how to spell it.  I"m guessing it is normal to read at grade x level, and then spell below that level.

 

The spelling skill level will also depend on the amount of spelling and phonics practice he has had to begin with.  Sorry, I'm not familiar with that book you mention.  Also on the amount of dictation he has been doing. 

 

I hope that helps! 

[NatashaBrady]

Well, my 2 daughters did just fine with all about spelling, but it did not translate into their real world writing at all, so we dropped it. But, if you think it IS translating to his real world writing I wouldn't worry too much. What level AAS is he on?

[MerryAtHope]

AAS is not in grade-level order, so it doesn't surprise me. There may not really be a spelling issue at all. AAS level 7 goes up to high school level words, so they eventually get it all, just in a different order than "grade level" might be.

[lgliser]

AAS is not in grade-level order, so it doesn't surprise me. There may not really be a spelling issue at all. AAS level 7 goes up to high school level words, so they eventually get it all, just in a different order than "grade level" might be.

 

Right, I'm not surprised either!  And like I said, the doctor actually thought AAS sounded really great.  So yay!

I do sometimes wonder if I should have them just memorize word lists at all just supplementaly.  I wouldn't want to undo anything they're learning in AAS though.

[EKT]

AAS is not in grade-level order, so it doesn't surprise me. There may not really be a spelling issue at all. AAS level 7 goes up to high school level words, so they eventually get it all, just in a different order than "grade level" might be.

 

I agree with this. My daughter has made SO MUCH progress with AAS, so I definitely plan to stick with it. (I really love it as a program. We tried Spelling Workout initially and it did absolutely NOTHING for us. AAS is so much more comprehensive and interesting to my child.) So, I have total faith that by the time my daughter is done with all the levels, she will be an excellent speller. I'm sure it just doesn't line up with what was on that particular test. I'd stay the course if you're seeing progress in your children and not worry about it. Good luck!

[MerryAtHope]

Right, I'm not surprised either!  And like I said, the doctor actually thought AAS sounded really great.  So yay!

I do sometimes wonder if I should have them just memorize word lists at all just supplementaly.  I wouldn't want to undo anything they're learning in AAS though.

 

Maybe an occasional sight-word, but I wouldn't do a lot. One, AAS gets those words in eventually (it covers 3000 of the most common words, combining several common word-lists like Ayers, Dolch etc...), and two, doing too much can undermine what kids are learning--if the patterns don't stand out, they start to think spelling is completely arbitrary.

 

Sometimes we included words they needed for history or science, for example (like the planets when we studied Astronomy). Usually I walked through the spelling patterns if I did that though.  

[UCF612]

Was it a written spelling portion or verbal? I would probably do significantly worse on a verbal spelling test than a written one. I need to see the word.