Abeka Spelling 1st grade

[Elizabeth86]

We are just getting to our first lesson for spelling. I was curious how you handled spelling with Abeka. Did you do it as the teachers manual suggested? Ive only skimmed over it, so Im not sure if there is a rhythm to the lessons. I was hoping for some simple pattern like day 1 do the seatwork day 2 spell out loud, day 3 copy words, day 4 i dont know? day 5 test. My son is naturally a good speller, so Im thinking copying and or spelling out loud daily is going to be major over kill. I know I am free to do as I please, but I just wantec to know what others did.

[Elizabeth86]

bump

[almondbutterandjelly]

It's been so long, I don't really remember.  I have a natural speller, too.  I'm pretty sure I made her do the workbook exercises.  If there were two, she would do one one day and the other the next day.  Then the day before the test (probably test on Friday), we would do an oral test and practice all the words.  No unnecessary other stuff.  Really, a good stare at the words and some oral practice, and she would have been fine.  But it's so satisfying having the workbook pages complete.

[nixpix5]

The spelling book lists lock step with the phonics rules being taught. So spelling list 1 corresponds to lesson 21 for example. Spelling list 3 day 1 is lesson 31 and fits with "k comes before i and e C goes with the other three a, o ,u. If you use the phonics tests you will notice the spelling words popping up on there as well. There is tons of overlap. What you can do is weave in the spelling list words during the phonics lesson. If you use a dry erase lapboard have your student spell the words for you using the rules they have learned. Just revisit the ones they miss throughout the week. The pages can be overkill because they also spell the words in the 2 phonics workbooks. Natural spellers rarely need that much repetition. Just have your student do a page when the words need practice, or have them spell them with magnets, fingerprint them...whatever works. If you have a kiddo who loves workbooks then by all means, leg them go to town :)

Edited September 6, 2017 by nixpix5

[Junie]

I am using Abeka Spelling 1 for the 6th time!  I am a total cheater, though, in how I use it.  (I'm not advocating following my example; I'm just sharing how I use it.)

 

I start 1st grade spelling in 2nd grade.  Dd7 will study the words for a few minutes and then take the test.  If she passes, she moves on to the next lesson.  If she doesn't, she studies them again and re-takes the test.  (Repeat as often as necessary.)  I will sometimes give tips about spelling patterns.

 

Also, we often break the lesson into smaller chunks, especially at the beginning.  Dd7 usually does the first row of words one day and the second row of words on another day.

 

We school year-round, so they usually finish the 6th grade book before they get to 7th grade.  We don't do spelling after that.

 

Some of my older kids actually did the workbook pages, but as they did not seem particularly helpful, I stopped buying new books for each child.  Dd7's book is partially done, but I don't know who did which pages.

 

Five of my six kids are good spellers.  The other one is my (very) auditory learner.  She has very ... creative ... spelling.  

 

ETA:  Actually only four kids are good spellers.  One is creative.  And one is just getting started. 

Edited September 6, 2017 by Junie