LOE - separating reading from spelling

[macmacmoo]

eldest son is 8. We have gone through lots of curriculum to teach him to read. We've tried ordinary parents, phonics pathways, 100 Ez lessons. Explode the code workbooks work for awhile but things fell apart with book four. We curriculum hopped for awhile and found success with logic of English essentials.

 

We started at the beginning and his reading has really improved. His spelling however isn't keeping up. We are really enjoying the curriculum and don't want to switch to something else but we'd like to progress the reading and slow down the spelling

 

Any advice on how to do that?

[EKS]

What grade level is his reading at right now?  If it is at a about a 2nd grade level, you could continue with Logic of English at a pace that works for his spelling and have him work on fluency by reading leveled readers from the library for a while.  I'd start with books that he is able to read easily and then gradually increase the difficulty level.  If he comes to a word that he can't decode, just tell him what it is.

[Tanaqui]

You've been trying to teach him to read for - one or two years? Three years? And now he's found success in reading, but his spelling isn't where you think it should be?

 

I have a few thoughts, and they don't necessarily agree.

 

The first is that it's usual for spelling to lag behind reading. It's a more difficult task! That in and of itself is not a concern, really, though I suppose it depends on how good his reading is and how bad his spelling is.

 

And that IS my second thought. Some children are slower to read than others, and of course, I don't know when you started reading instruction. However, eight is a little late, and if he's really struggling with spelling those two things could point to dyslexia. But only you have the context to know if this makes sense or is crazy. If he's reading now at a good level, then maybe his trouble with reading before was just a curriculum that didn't work for him, in which case the spelling should catch up.  But if you have any doubts at all, listen, you should get him evaluated. If you're in the US it's legally required that the school district perform an evaluation for free upon your request, so all it does is give you information and possibly some peace of mind. LOL, I always say people should get their kids evaluated, though. It's a thing of mine.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Tanaqui

[smarson]

Are you going through the spelling analysis with every spelling word you do together? And finger spelling it for him?  I know this is something they stress very heavily on their site (and their forum is a great place to ask questions and get great suggestions!!).  I agree that spelling lags behind the reading.  

 

Do you know if he has mastery of the phonograms?  My daughter can read me all the phonograms with no troubles, but if I try to quiz her on, say 10 phonograms, where she has to write them without any prompting other than the prompts on the cards (three letter /i/ (igh)) it's more challenging for her.  So I add this quiz to her English lesson every day.  We start by having her read all the phonograms to me, then we do 5-10 minutes of me quizzing her on the phonograms as she writes them on her whiteboard (I do not show her these).  There are many that she has absolutely mastered but there are some trouble ones - I make sure to add the trouble ones to a list or to the top of the pile and go over them every day.  This has really improved her mastery so that when I finger spell a word using the spelling analysis I can just say "use a-e-i" and she knows that's /ei/.  

 

In Foundations they also provide a number of fun ways to reinforce the spelling lists provided each day.  I let her do these on her own time, as she doesn't need me to practice using stamps to write the words or something.  I do feel like she needs more practice on the words before we get to the 5-lesson review (not sure if Essentials has these reviews every 5 lessons like Foundations?) and I may just assign 'homework' daily by continuing to add to her spelling list so that by the time she gets to the review, she's reviewing all 50 or so words that have been practiced before the review 'test'.  On these review days, I don't finger spell or do the analysis for her - I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do it or if by then she's supposed to know it, but without finger spelling it for her, it's a good way for me to test if she can sound the word out or recall it from her prior spelling practice activities.  

 

If you're having a lot of trouble I'd recommend you post a question on LOE's homeschool forum page and one of their staff folks will reply with some really great ideas of how to switch things up and perhaps help your son with his spelling.  It's a good place to start, at least. :)

[MerryAtHope]

 We are really enjoying the curriculum and don't want to switch to something else but we'd like to progress the reading and slow down the spelling

 

Any advice on how to do that?

 

I think I'd keep going in LOE for reading since that's working, and add on All About Spelling, which also uses the phonograms and would be very compatible. That way you could progress in each subject at your student's pace.