spelling recommendations for 5th grade dyslexic

[caedmyn]

I'm trying to decide what to use for spelling for DD next year.  This year we used a combination of studied dictation + Spelling You See methods (didn't use the program but she wrote the dictation passage out every day and marked the vowels blends, consonant blends, etc with different colored highlighters for one term) and her spelling improved a great deal.  She seems to have figured out how to look at words and remember how they're spelled.  I would say she's an average speller at this point.  She does have some trouble with common words when writing a narration or a letter to someone, like using off instead of of, or mixing up where and were, and recently she's been spelling went as when't.  If I ask her how to spell them she can usually tell me, but knowing how to spell them doesn't necessarily carry over into her writing.  She does have more trouble spelling words when writing something than just spelling them when being quizzed.  I don't know if this is typical for her age or typical for a dyslexic kid.  The Rewards program we're doing for reading has 4 words of dictation per lesson, and she's been having some trouble with some of the suffix spellings and how spellings change when adding suffixes, so I think she would benefit from a spelling program that focuses on that.  Is there anything out there that fits that description?  It needs to be something she can do independently other than quizzes/tests.

[hornblower]

I'm an Apples & Pears fan. http://www.soundfoundations.co.uk/

[Incognito]

Well, like you we've seen progress with Spelling You See (but we have used the actual books).  The coloring seems to really help my child pay attention to the spelling.  I was going to come on and recommend SYS, and since it is working for you, I recommend continuing with it.

[kbutton]

If you don't want to continue with SYS, you might want to do Sequential Spelling. It's based on patterns, and you build words all week. So, you start with a root word, and then each day, you add prefixes or suffixes (or if it's a verb, you use different tenses sometimes). 

[1shortmomto4]

I've found great success after trying everything else under the sun with Spelling You See.  I might recommend that you use it as written as you might see even more improvement.  Those common words are practiced a lot throughout the various passages.  My ds had a problem with "then" and "people" and those words were used week after week and now he's doing great.  My ds had previously worked with All About Spelling but all the rules, letter jail, etc. was just too much.  Lists of words out of context didn't make any connections in my ds' brain.  I know many people believe in word patterns/families and actually some of that is integrated in the SYS but just not very obvious.  Not sure which level you used but it sounds like it was on track for where your child is in spelling - just don't be tempted to move too fast.  Spelling is a long, challenging process for these learners and takes a lot of patience and repetition.  I think of it a lot like a math program and if you do a lot of switching you make big gaps in their learning.  Slow and steady tends to produce the best results with retention. 

[pitterpatter]

We have been using All About Spelling for several years. DD is going into fourth. I like that she has all of the rules to fall back on when she doesn't know how to spell a word, but she's reluctant to use the rules without prompting. I wish there was something to get her more automated. It takes her so long to write anything because she has to stop and think how to spell so many words. It's frustrating and puts her behind in writing, which stinks because she's good with grammar and oral composition.

 

I want to try something else, but am afraid to mess up what we have going thus far.

Edited June 17, 2016 by pitterpatter

[faithmama]

I am loving apples and pears spelling!

[Ottakee]

Apples and Pears

[Black-eyed Suzan]

Just a note: Apples and Pears has a lot of writing. It did not work for my reluctant writer.

[Hilltopmom]

We loved apples & pears but yes, lots of writing & NOT student independent.

[Cynful]

Another huge fan of Apples & Pears.  Nothing else worked for my dyslexic - Sequential, Barton, Spelling Workout, Spelling Wisdom, Rewards, etc.  

[KSinNS]

Love apples and pears for my daughter with add. We did half a lesson a day until her writing tolerance improved.

[caedmyn]

Sounds like apples and pears would be more teacher intensive than I want. I think I will stick with doing studied dictation + markings like in SYS since that worked well last year, and do parts of the Abecedarian level C spelling patterns book too. I don't want to spend $50 for one, mostly non-reusable level of SYS when our DIY version worked fine, and plus it's written for 5 days a week and we school 4 days a week so I'd have to modify it to use it.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Phonetic Zoo.  Pricey, but worth every penny!!