PeachyDoodle Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 I'm hesitant to label ds a "struggling speller" since he's only in 1st grade. We haven't done much independent spelling in context -- he does a lot of copywork and when he writes on his own (which he likes to do during school but doesn't do much otherwise), he wants me to spell everything for him. He's a perfectionist and can't stand the thought of spelling phonetically and making a mistake, even when I tell him it's ok. That said, we have been using Spelling Workout, but I think he needs more. He memorizes the words well, but the rules don't seem to stick. He especially struggles with vowels -- in isolation, he knows all the sounds they each make, but in context he gets them confused. This happens with reading too. Any suggestions? I am hoping that as he continues to learn to read his spelling will improve, but I think he may need some additional support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 My suggestion? Wait. I tried starting spelling on first grade. It was a giant waste of my time and my child's. We started it again near the end of second grade. In third grade, he started spelling well (?!! Who knew?). I really believe that in grade 1, he may just not be ready yet and it isn't the sign of a struggling speller, necessarily. Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 Yeah, that's what I'm wondering. I think this is the hardest part of schooling, and parenting in general. Knowing when to wait and when to intervene. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 With a child in 1st grade? My advice is to wait. At least a year, maybe two. If I could do elementary over, one thing that I would do is wait to try and teach spelling until 2nd or maybe even 3rd grade. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 In first grade, perfectly normal for him to ask how to spell everything. I wouldn't worry about spelling so much right now. I probably would work to try to shore up those vowels for him though. Make some vowel flash cards & use the downloadable games in this post on phonograms to work on them in isolation. Then build some words with magnet letters, tiles, or any kind of letter manipulative you might have, and practice reading words where you switch out the vowel--bat-bet-bit etc.... Then you can also practice spelling--let him spell a word like ham and ask how he could change it to make him, and then hem, etc... Change other letters occasionally too and you can go on a whole string of words--cat-bat-ban-bun-sun etc... Have fun just playing with words to get him really used to reading and spelling with those vowel sounds. It's easy to confuse short vowel sounds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Apples and Pears....but maybe waiting til fall to start it. If it is too much writing, it is very easy to do 1/2 lesson a day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Peanuts Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 My DS8 is very visual (he is autistic) and we’ve had great success with Spelling You See. He color codes different letter combos — vowel chunks, consonant chunks, etc. I started my son with the program when he was halfway through first grade (that’s when we started homeschooling), and it’s one of the few programs we’re still doing 2 years later. As an added bonus, the program also gives him practice with copywork and dictation each week, and the passages he practices with cover animal facts (1st grade) and American history (2nd & 3rd grade). I love programs that allow me to work on multiple areas at the same time! Good luck with your research! Carol Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I know the general consensus is that my opinion doesn't count for much since my kids are young, but I don't think it's possible for a 1st grader to be a "struggling speller". Or a struggling reader, but definitely NOT a struggling speller. I wouldn't expect a 1st grader to be able to truly benefit from a rules based program. If the child is learning the words well, than I think that that is enough and that I would continue using that program. You might use the spelling rules as memorization/recitation work, sort of like First Language Lessons has kids memorize and recite the basics of grammar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I'm split between "wait" and use visual aids. We had red/blue letters. It was very easy for my son to spell with the magnetic ones and visually see that a red letter is missing, and that every word needs a red letter (vowel, we even had red and blue 'y's). We used them with phonics and then when he was learning to spell on his own. It was only after that was cemented that we could do spelling - and spelling programs in isolation didn't work. He needed it integrated, so we started Dictation Day By Day which was a natural offshoot from copywork that he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Check out All About Spelling. I started it with DS in K and it’s great. It does a wonderful job teaching the rules behind spelling. I think it was really helpful in laying a foundation for him to understand spelling. It’s the kind of program that you can modify for your student and your needs. You don’t have to do a full lesson at a time. We do about 5-10 minutes a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 If I could suggest, the thing he's struggling with is his perfectionism/anxiety, not spelling. Teach him how to use a spelling dictionary or give him an app for spelling. I would also go ahead and play some fun games for minimal difference pairs and vowels. You could make it simple and make your own homemade version of Amazon.com: Learning Resources Vowel Owls Sorting Set: Office ... As far as the something MORE, it sounds like he's ready for dictation. My dd transitioned around that age. It's a strong way to build automaticity in common words. I would use a super simple read aloud, something from below his spelling level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Most little 6yo persons are still learning how to read and don't really need specific spelling yet, although the spelling can help the reading. I'm a fan of Spalding, which does it all: teaches children to read by teaching them to spell, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, simple writing (it can also be grammar and more complex writing and literature, but most homeschoolers like a break from Spalding for those, lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaGM Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Maybe look at All About Spelling. It's very gentle and you move at his pace. At the same time, its very thorough and teaches spelling rules which works well for my perfectionist. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 My DS8 is very visual (he is autistic) and we’ve had great success with Spelling You See. He color codes different letter combos — vowel chunks, consonant chunks, etc. I started my son with the program when he was halfway through first grade (that’s when we started homeschooling), and it’s one of the few programs we’re still doing 2 years later. As an added bonus, the program also gives him practice with copywork and dictation each week, and the passages he practices with cover animal facts (1st grade) and American history (2nd & 3rd grade). I love programs that allow me to work on multiple areas at the same time! Good luck with your research! Carol Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Everyone knows my obsessive love with SYS but I will second this anyway. One of my sons has ASD too and it has been amazing for him. It is one curriculum that all 3 kids love, it gets done and they have such good spelling skills. Love love love it. If I was forced into using a more traditional spelling curriculum then I would be using R&S or Sequential most likely. I have both and have used them with other kids. I like them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thanks for all the great suggestions! I am looking at either Spelling You See or All About Spelling. I think after looking at some other programs I've further diagnosed the problem: while SW introduces one spelling rule at a time, the word list selections often include phonograms or other rules that haven't been introduced, and that really confuses him. (Ex., this week's rule introduces blends with s and includes the words "last" and "spot" but also "star," "slow," and "small." Neither -ar, -ow, or double consonants has been discussed yet.) It's just too much at once. AAS at least seems to be much more deliberate about introducing one concept at a time. I'm having a harder time getting a read on SYS but plan to keep digging. Whatever I choose, we are going to wait until next year to start. I think some extra time and especially extra reading experience would be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thanks for all the great suggestions! I am looking at either Spelling You See or All About Spelling. I think after looking at some other programs I've further diagnosed the problem: while SW introduces one spelling rule at a time, the word list selections often include phonograms or other rules that haven't been introduced, and that really confuses him. (Ex., this week's rule introduces blends with s and includes the words "last" and "spot" but also "star," "slow," and "small." Neither -ar, -ow, or double consonants has been discussed yet.) It's just too much at once. AAS at least seems to be much more deliberate about introducing one concept at a time. I'm having a harder time getting a read on SYS but plan to keep digging. Whatever I choose, we are going to wait until next year to start. I think some extra time and especially extra reading experience would be helpful. Based on his confusion with word lists throwing in concepts that haven't been introduced I would probably go with AAS. Going back and reading how he is already doing quite a bit of copywork it sounds like you might find the perfect fit in AAS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Thanks for all the great suggestions! I am looking at either Spelling You See or All About Spelling. I think after looking at some other programs I've further diagnosed the problem: while SW introduces one spelling rule at a time, the word list selections often include phonograms or other rules that haven't been introduced, and that really confuses him. (Ex., this week's rule introduces blends with s and includes the words "last" and "spot" but also "star," "slow," and "small." Neither -ar, -ow, or double consonants has been discussed yet.) It's just too much at once. AAS at least seems to be much more deliberate about introducing one concept at a time. I'm having a harder time getting a read on SYS but plan to keep digging. Whatever I choose, we are going to wait until next year to start. I think some extra time and especially extra reading experience would be helpful. Have you looked at Spalding? You can't get much simpler: you just need the manual (Writing Road to Reading) and a set of phonogram cards and you're good to go. (You do add a sewn composition notebook when the dc are 8 or 9yo). "Rules" only exist to further explain something; for example, "a" has three sounds, which is not a rule; Rule 4 says that a, e, o, and u say their second sound at the end of a short word or syllable. C has two sounds, which is not a rule; the rule is "c followed by e, i, and y says /s/." And while you're going to be simultaneously teaching penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing, so Spalding is your whole English-literacy course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 (edited) Spelling Plus also focuses on one rule at a time and the first few years of the book, does not mix words with other types not being taught, it is one book with K - 6 spelling. You can see more samples at her website but can buy from Amazon or CBD. If he needs to practice with the words in sentences, she has a companion book, Spelling Dictation. http://www.susancanthony.com/bk/sp.html The lesson shown in her sample is later on, the earlier lists are simpler with less exceptions. The CBD sample lesson is from early on and shows what the first few years of lists/lessons are like. https://www.christianbook.com/spelling-plus-1000-words-toward-success/susan-anthony/9781879478206/pd/478207?event=ESRCG Edited March 13, 2018 by ElizabethB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahmay Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I like Spelling Plus too. The dictation book is great & provides much needed extra practice and review of previous lists. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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