pjssully Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I am looking for an independent type of spelling program for my 4th grader. She is probably at a 3rd grade level spelling and can not do much writing either. Any suggestion(not All About Spelling) thanks pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 My ds10 is a struggling speller and we are starting to use Spelling Power. It seems to be working well for him. For writing, if you're interested, I would just start with daily journaling. It's a relaxed way to really see what she can do and what she needs work on. Here's some sites to help you with that: Journaling for Kids Writing Prompts Creative writing for Kids These are just a few, there are so many if you google it! Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Probably spelling power or Apples and Pears (prometheantrust.org) A great root word vocab program like Megawords could also absolutely fit the bill (phonics, spelling and vocab all in one...makes sense they're all different parts of the same thing) http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonly=1825M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byhisgrace Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Spell to Write and Read is awesome!! Check it out and other information at http://www.morningstarlearning.com and http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MorningStarLearning/ The training is awesome too! As well as the Yahoo group!!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Yeah, but SWR's not independent, right? Isn't it teacher intensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I've used Spelling Power and Megawords and they both require a great deal of parental involvement. Since your child isn't writing a lot, maybe you could use a computer program like this: http://www.smartkidssoftware.com/nddav8.htm My kids have used this for fun, but it could definitely be used as a spelling program. Other programs that come to mind, but with which I have no experience, are IEW's spelling (I think it's called Phonetic Zoo and it is not computer based) and Calvert's computer based spelling program. Maybe someone would be willing to chime in on either of those. Best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Calvert spelling can be done independently by the child. It works if your child is an average speller. My unnatural speller needed more and my natural speller topped out before I ever found Calvert. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanna Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 We are doing megawords, and I believe that it is not teacher intensive at all.....I mean there area a few pages where you dictate....but, all other pages are very independent. I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyt Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 My dd6 and dd8 both do Spelling Workout entirely independently, except for when I give them a spelling test. I love the program - the proofreading skills and story writing with the words are both very useful skills. My dd's are doing B and E and are very happy with it. Cheers, Jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 We are doing megawords, and I believe that it is not teacher intensive at all.....I mean there area a few pages where you dictate....but, all other pages are very independent. I love it!I agree. I don't find it in the least teacher intensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 My 4th grader is using Phonetic Zoo, and it's going well. She works independently,she even corrects her own tests. I haven't heard any complaints,and she is trucking along in the program. I also like the animal images, and the overall look and feel of the program. It's kind of natural,straight forward, and smart. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I've used Spelling Power and Megawords and they both require a great deal of parental involvement. . different experience over here with SP.... I use Spelling Power and find it takes per student about 5-7 minutes of my time each day. There was a bit of help to get them started to learn how to study the words and transition them to independence. But, at 3rd or 4th grade that should be expected. My 9 year old is not ready/able to be fully independent in studying spelling. So there was my involvement in learning the program (it is not a do this workbook page kind of program), but on a daily basis it is not that time intensive. The "biggest" part of the time for me with my 9 year old is to sort the list so that we only study one spelling option per sound at a time. Takes about 90 seconds of my time. :) the lists aren't that long. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clane Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 My ds10 is a struggling speller and we are starting to use Spelling Power. It seems to be working well for him. For writing, if you're interested, I would just start with daily journaling. It's a relaxed way to really see what she can do and what she needs work on. Here's some sites to help you with that: Journaling for Kids Writing Prompts Creative writing for Kids These are just a few, there are so many if you google it! Hope this helps! Oh! Thank you for the writing links! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Pam, I meant to write earlier, but the baby started crying. So now I'm back! I haven't read many posts by you (sorry), so I looked through your posts trying to understand your situation. I know it's not what you asked, but could I toss out a few thoughts? (and watch the baby start crying before I finish!) My thought, as I read your post and noticed some of the other topics you've written about, was to encourage you to put your time into the basics and let be more independent the things that are more gravy. You're going to get better results where you put your time in, even if it's not a lot of time, and putting that time into the basics (math and LA), will make for better results and a better foundation to move forward. For instance I noticed you're drawn to TOG. I'd spend that extra time doing LA, not TOG. As for what I suggest you use? Well everybody has their pet programs and what has worked well for their kids. You don't have your sig filled in (you should, you should!), but from your other posts I gather you have some 6.5 yo's as well. If you do the dictation sentences from Spelling Plus, they would be on-level for both your 6.5 yo's and your struggling 4th grader. Does your 4th grader have a physical issue with writing, or are the poor spelling skills resulting in an aversion to writing? If it's the latter, then I suggest you do MORE spelling, and a multi-pronged approach at that. My dd was at that stage a couple years ago, and what worked awesomely for us was a combo of multiple programs (SWR and calvert spelling cd's and a spelling workbook) ALONG WITH increased daily writing and lots of dictation. The cure was more work on it, not less, and one thing alone wasn't going to get the job done. If there's a physical issue with writing but the 4th grader can type, then by all means do the calvert cd's. My dd enjoys them a lot and they are somewhat beneficial. But for us, increased daily writing, especially daily dictation, was essential. And when you combine spelling words with dictation of sentences, you're making it even more potent. See I think some kids need CONTEXT and a reason for things to stick. Dictation gives those words interest, a story, a context. For my dd, it seems to make a huge difference. We used the sentences in SWR for dictation, but I like the spiraling sentences in the Spelling Plus dictation resource book as well or even better. And if you can combine your 4th grader and the 6.5 yo's, all the better! Then it's time well spent. It won't take long, but even 10-15 minutes a day on your part, done consistently, every single day, dictating those sentences, would add up and make a HUGE difference and improvement. Other things that are easy to do and helped us? -Take 5 Minutes Daily History Editing. If you don't like history, any form of editing will do. I had my dd do the editing and the rewrite the corrected selection as copywork. -calvert spelling cd's--highly recommend. If nothing else, they're good for improving typing speed. -anything that increases their amount of daily writing--literature guides with comprehension questions, written narrations for history, free writes, Anti-Coloring Books, story prompts, anything that gets them writing daily -Writing Tales--Put your 4th grader into WT1. Ok, the baby is awake. Just wanted to toss that out, to make sure you're spending your time where it gives you the most bang for your buck. You'll never go wrong putting your time into the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.