Spelling help -- possibly dyslexic?

[happypamama]

My 4th grader may be mildly dyslexic.  It took him a while to be able to read fluently, but at this point, he seems to be doing pretty well.  I have him read to himself for a while every day, as well as to me, and I'm pleased with where he is.  I haven't gotten him tested for dyslexia because it hasn't been enough of an issue to bother.  I can ask our doctor about testing at his upcoming checkup if y'all think having some sort of official diagnosis would be good, although realistically, it very well may be next spring before I can squeeze another appointment into my very packed schedule.

 

Right now, I am trying to work on his spelling.  I started with Spelling Power, at the very beginning; that really didn't seem to work very well once we got past the very basic words.  I started on the EvanMoor spelling book for 4th grade with him this year, thinking that maybe seeing the words and working with them over several days would help cement them in his head.  He did all the exercises for the week, did very well with them, no trouble, but then he just had no clue on the final test for the week.  Things I had just gone over with him, he really didn't know.  He can read a word in a book and pronounce it correctly but then have no idea how to spell that word later.  I dropped the EM book because this kiddo is full of joie de vivre and confidence, and I am determined not to let a mild learning disability bring him down.  

 

What else would you suggest I try?  He tends to be more of an auditory learner than visual but not necessarily super strongly.  (Not like his older brother who is almost entirely visual and not at all auditory.)  His vocabulary is excellent; he just needs some work on spelling, and the things that worked well for me as a kid don't work for him.

[derf]

Sounds familiar......just maybe he hasn't been able to get the letter combinations into his long term memory yet.  I can tell your a little about our journey and then maybe you will see something there that will help you.  We started with the usual list, practice thing.... didn't retain to use in his daily work. then we went thru 5 levels of All About spelling as at the time the one that DID work for us wasn't yet available. We had pretty good success but again remembering ALL the rules just wasn't his cup of tea. then they came out with Spelling you See....and yes in the beginning levels they do teach phonics...as the SOUNDS and what they are represented with are very important also. BUT thru the use of colored  marking of sound phonograms and repeated use..and copy work and dictation ect...it really helped finally. what they are doing is getting the patterns of spelling locked inot their long term memory so they can SEE when something doesn't look right. I recommend looking at both AAS and Spelling You See and you will know after working with your student this long what will work for him AND you...as it has to be something you can teach also. Marne

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with previous poster.

And it also sounds very similar to our DS#2 -- slower to read, has a tendency to "guess" at longer words rather than break them down by syllable and read them. Mild LDs in writing, spelling, math -- probably Stealth Dyslexia for the LA areas.

Absolutely you'll need to use a more parent-intensive program and use a program that works with phonic patterns, and uses visual methods for seeing the patterns and remembering them. All About Spelling and Spelling You See are good ones. Another visual method possibility is Apples and Pears.

Other ideas:

- A bit more formal/ structured and less visual, but might be a fit: Logic of English, or, Spaulding (Writing Road to Reading).

- Phonetic Zoo works on strengthening low sequential memory (and spelling requires sequencing letters in correct order -- something that is hard for dyslexics, as they tend to take in all the letters of the word as a whole, so the letters often "jumble around" because dyslexics are strong in random processing and weak in sequential/parts to whole processing).

- Sequential Spelling is designed for dyslexic students, and works by focusing on small words and adding to them to build up to longer words, to train the student to slow down and work out spelling by syllables. I wouldn't recommend it for under grade 4, and I think some phonics and vowel pattern work first would make Sequential Spelling more successful as a follow-up program. Or Megawords, also for grades 4+, which focuses on vowel patterns and syllabication for spelling attack.

- You might also talk with WTM boardee Elizabeth B about her free online spelling (that focuses on remedial work with phonics and syllables).

I will just add that *writing* spelling words over and over is NOT how some some students learn, esp. if you suspect mild dyslexia. Oral back and forth spelling practice is much more effective -- you say the word clearly, spell it, toss a beanie toy to the student, they say the word, spell it, toss the beanie back -- the beanie toss keeps them mentally tuned in, the oral spelling strengths sequential memory. Also, spelling practice that includes working with words (prefixes, endings, vowel patterns, homophone differences, etc.) on the white board, using mnemonics and colors for visual connection, and little drawings/stories to "catch" in long term memory.

BEST of luck in figuring out what your student's weak area is and what he *needs*, and then finding what clicks for your 4th grader! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Lori D.

[Ellie]

Maybe he needs more direct, specific instruction.

My recommendation is almost always going to be Spalding. :-)

[2_girls_mommy]

We had similar issues, but my dd also had headaches when trying to read for any amount of time beyond very short. Spelling was her worst, but comprehension wasn't great either. She could read 10 minutes and not be able to tell me much, and would have to go back and read again. After reading several books on Dyslexia one summer, I found she most matched the chapter where vision therapy could be helpful. I  decided to start there. If it wasn't helpful, we would go on down the list like next go for a formal diagnosis and see where that led. So we saved and spent a lot of money one year for a few months of vision therapy. Our center also matched her up with Special Ed teacher who worked with us on alternative methods of spelling and teaching to right brained learners, and it was so helpful. I changed a lot of things about how we worked. She loved the one on one attention and kinesthetic learning suggestions and even the vision therapy itself. I switched up a lot of her curriculum and continued to read on on right brained learners from homeschool curricula and therapists that cater to them, and it has helped her so much. I spent about two years with her in remedial type stuff using the methods I learned, and now starting high school I cannot believe the changes. She stopped reversing letters within weeks of starting the therapy. She no longer got headaches. Comprehension and reading speed wildly increased. Spelling improved. Spelling is still not fantastic, but we know how to work on it now. We finally switched back to phonics based spelling this year. She is doing the Rod and Staff 6th grade book, and it is a good fit for her now in 9th grade. Before, the R&S phonics just didn't make any sense to her. She could recite the rules. She could practice the word, but could never get them. Her work was often scattered with terrible misspellings of very common short words. It is still is, but so much better, and I know how to help her now. It was worth the expense. Some (even eye doctors) don't approve of vision therapy at all. But it worked wonders here.  I also focused on alternative ways of working on math facts and such with her to improve. 

[happypamama]

Thanks, everyone!  Lots of good ideas here!  

 

I don’t think it’s a vision thing, but you never know. He has an eye doctor appointment soon.  Is there something specific I should ask about them checking?  

 

We know he has some little brain quirk.  He was a slow talker but a HUGE signer, and he always understood everything we said.  Never had any trouble communicating.  He was in speech therapy for about eight months, not because he couldn’t make the sounds but because he put them in the wrong place longer than is typical.  He will still substitute a similar but not synonymous word sometimes.  For instance, he might be thinking of the word “sofa” and say not “couch,” but “armchair.”  Something is clearly wired a little differently there.  Sequential memory might be at least some of the issue.  He can remember tons of details from a story, especially if he’s heard it, but asking him for directions on something is. . . interesting. ?  I did start him on Latin (GSWL) this year, which maybe will be helpful in strengthening the brain organization.  

 

For Spalding, just the WRTR book, or is there something additional?  I agree that he needs more direct instruction.  I like the idea of doing more oral practice too. I am going to check out AAS, SYS, Spalding, and the other suggestions to see if maybe one of them will help things click better for him.  I really want him to get to the point where he can do a little more dictation and free writing (neither of which ice done much of with him) without getting bogged down in trying to figure out how to spell words. (He does type, but I haven’t really encouraged using the word processor yet because I’m afraid  of him becoming dependent on the spellchecker and not learning the spelling rules for himself, but otoh, maybe that would help by correcting things.  What do y’all think about that?)

Edited September 4, 2018 by happypamama

[Ellie]

9 hours ago, happypamama said:

For Spalding, just the WRTR book, or is there something additional?  I agree that he needs more direct instruction.  I like the idea of doing more oral practice too. I am going to check out AAS, SYS, Spalding, and the other suggestions to see if maybe one of them will help things click better for him.  I really want him to get to the point where he can do a little more dictation and free writing (neither of which ice done much of with him) without getting bogged down in trying to figure out how to spell words. (He does type, but I haven’t really encouraged using the word processor yet because I’m afraid  of him becoming dependent on the spellchecker and not learning the spelling rules for himself, but otoh, maybe that would help by correcting things.  What do y’all think about that?)

You need the manual (Writing Road to Reading, the 4th edition if you can find it) and a set of phonogram cards; each year, your ds will need a sewn composition book. And that's all you'll ever need. Spalding teaches children to read by teaching them to spell (and so it works for children who have problems with either reading or spelling), and simultaneously teaches penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing. There's a learning curve on your part while you study the manual, but once you begin teaching, it's open-and-go. 

AAS is very similar to Spalding, but with many more moving parts (and more expensive).

SYS is nothing like Spalding, and IMHO, not very comprehensive.

[sweet2ndchance]

Check your library for WRTR 4th edition if you want to try before you buy. I know our library has it. Also you can make flashcards to begin with using a sharpie and index cards, then if you decide to stick with it, invest in a nice set of phonogram cards. If you need some help with the sounds the phonograms make, there are lots of videos on Youtube to hear someone doing the sounds correctly. It can be helpful to hear someone else reciting the sounds if you've never done Spalding before.

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, happypamama said:

...I like the idea of doing more oral practice too...

In addition to the oral spelling, out loud spelling while writing each letter with finger on a table top (BIG letters, using whole arm), also helps with strengthening sequential skills. 

...I really want him to get to the point where he can do a little more dictation and free writing (neither of which ice done much of with him) without getting bogged down in trying to figure out how to spell words...

For dictation, we started with very short sentences (say, 4-6 words), of short words, with 2 of them being spelling words. I would say the sentence slowly twice. DS repeated the sentence. Then as he wrote the sentence, he spelled outloud each word letter by letter as he writes each letter.

For free writing at 4th grade, we kept it very short (no more than 3-4 short sentences), and he could ask me to spell words for him as much/little as he wanted. Free writing was never graded or revised, so that freed him up to focus on writing rather than spelling.

... I’m afraid  of him becoming dependent on the spellchecker and not learning the spelling rules for himself, but otoh, maybe that would help by correcting things.  What do y’all think about that?

SpellCheck helped our DS, BUT, he was 6th/7th grade when I started him typing his writing, and he was just finally starting to "get" spelling at that stage. Since your DS is just 4th grade, I don't think it would be bad to wait another year or so before getting more heavily into typing his writing.

[goldenecho]

I have a child who also may be dyslexic (long story on why we haven't gotten him tested yet which I'll spare you).  But All About Spelling he's done really well with.  It teaches not with random lists but it teaches the spelling rules (then has you practice with words using that rule), has built in review, and is very hands on.  

My son doesn't do well at all  memorizing random lists of words...he does much better remembering the rules.  He'll still forget sometimes but he's more likely to catch himself about the rules than words on words that just need to be memorized.   So, while of course there are those words that don't follow rules, this is a much more efficient use of his time to learn the words that DO follow rules according to their rules and not by rote.

Another thing that helped in addition to AAS was adding in reading practice with nonsense words, which requires him to rely fully on phonics rules.   While this is mainly for reading it has helped with spelling too, as it encourages him to think about what rules would apply to words that are tricky. 

Edited September 4, 2018 by goldenecho

[MerryAtHope]

AAS was helpful for us. Here's a link to their dyslexia resources page. I love that you are teaching to his style and needs. Kids with dyslexia tend to need more review and more incremental, multisensory methods, but he'll get there!

[ktgrok]

My dyslexic has had good success with Memoria Press Traditional Spelling. It utilizes phonics rules, color coding, etc. In fact, it's bout the only Memoria Press thing I've ended up liking, lol. 

[happypamama]

Thanks everyone!

 

Okay, I am ordering WRTR.  Amazon has the 4th edition for a reasonable price.  I just need to find some sort of deal so that I'm not paying a fortune for shipping the cards.

 

I did find this: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spalding-Phonogram-Cards-3999962  Are those the right cards?  I don't mind printing and cutting myself.

 

I love that I have a lot of other ideas too -- thanks everyone!!

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, happypamama said:

Thanks everyone!

 

Okay, I am ordering WRTR.  Amazon has the 4th edition for a reasonable price.  I just need to find some sort of deal so that I'm not paying a fortune for shipping the cards.

 

I did find this: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spalding-Phonogram-Cards-3999962  Are those the right cards?  I don't mind printing and cutting myself.

 

I love that I have a lot of other ideas too -- thanks everyone!!

No, those are definitely not the right cards.

You can order them from Spalding Education International.

Here's how to get the right cards free of charge: When you get your manual (Spalding is the method, WRTR is the manual), take it to a printer and have the spine cut off. Inside the manual are several pages that are the phonograms (you can look for them when you get your manual); after the spine is cut off, remove those pages. Have the rest of the manual drilled for three holes. When you get home, put the manual in a three-ring notebook; now you can open the book anywhere you want and it will stay open, and you can add paper with your own notes, and whatnot. I use a three-ring bookmark to keep my place. :-)

Cut the phonograms apart, and then take them somewhere and have them laminated. Voila! Phonogram cards!

Before you try to teach Spalding, you will want to study the manual: read it the first time from cover to cover, the way you would read a novel. Then read it again, making notes, highlighting, etc. Read it one more time, making a plan.

[sweet2ndchance]

Spalding International does have their own phonogram app if that is any help to you. There is a demo and a paid version. (Link is for the full paid version).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.spalding.phonograms

Each Spalding spin off or Orton-Gillingham spin off (which is what Spalding is a spin off of) has added it's own flavor so to speak to the phonograms and rules so the phonogram cards from one program are not directly interchangable. So AAS's cards are not the same as WRTR's cards which are not the same as LOE's cards which are not the same as SWR's cards even though they are all Spalding and/or Orton-Gillingham based.

[happypamama]

Thanks Ellie and Sweet2ndChance!  Glad I checked!  Definitely want the right cards, but nice not to have to pay for shipping. 

 

Ooh, an app!  He’d probably love that — thanks!

[ElizabethB]

I would give the MWIA level 3 and my nonsense word screening.  If he has a slowdown on the MWIA or reads the nonsense words less than age norms for speed and accuracy, I would work through my Syllables program, it should help with both spelling and reading.  

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On Reading/Resources/The MWIA Version 3 new.pdf

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On Reading/Resources/NonsenseWordTest.pdf

Here is my syllables program page:

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On Reading/syllablesspellsu.html

[Ellie]

13 hours ago, sweet2ndchance said:

Spalding International does have their own phonogram app if that is any help to you. There is a demo and a paid version. (Link is for the full paid version).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.spalding.phonograms

Each Spalding spin off or Orton-Gillingham spin off (which is what Spalding is a spin off of) has added it's own flavor so to speak to the phonograms and rules so the phonogram cards from one program are not directly interchangable. So AAS's cards are not the same as WRTR's cards which are not the same as LOE's cards which are not the same as SWR's cards even though they are all Spalding and/or Orton-Gillingham based.

AAS and LOE (and SWR, and several others) do not claim to be Spalding spin-offs, but you can tell that they are. :-) 

Mrs. Spalding worked under the direct supervision of Dr. Orton; she says that her contribution was to develop his training "into a method for classroom teaching." (WRTR, 4th edition, p 24), which leads me to say that I don't think that Spalding is a spin-off of Orton-Gillingham.

Also, it isn't "WRTR's" phonogram cards; WRTR is the manual, Spalding is the method. They are Spalding phonogram cards.

[ktgrok]

I will say WRTR was an issue for my dyslexic - often dyslexics have trouble with directions and telling time, and so using the clock face to explain how to make letters was a total fail. But if your kid already knows how to make the letters that shouldn't be an issue. 

[ElizabethB]

My son needed a lot more repetition than my daughter with spelling.  He didn't progress well until we did daily spelling work with review of old words.  It was around 4th or 5th grade that I upped the amount of time we spent on spelling. 

[MerryAtHope]

1 hour ago, Ellie said:

AAS and LOE (and SWR, and several others) do not claim to be Spalding spin-offs, but you can tell that they are. ? 

 

What did AAR and AAS get from Spalding? The parts that they have in common--phonograms and rules--are from Orton-Gillingham. Spalding introduces all of the phonograms up front--something incremental O-G based programs like AAR and AAS don't do. It changed up the word order to be in order of frequency--again something that AAR and AAS don't do. AAR and AAS do not follow the Spalding pattern or the differences that Spalding introduced and are much more closely aligned with O-G. 

[happypamama]

@2_girls_mommy, I want to thank you for the suggestion about vision therapy. I took him to the eye doctor, and it turns out that the eye doctor does think he has some issue that could benefit from vision therapy. He doesn’t do VT but referred me to a place that does. So I will call and see how that works. Reading the stuff on that place’s site, I can see how a lot of that may well be applicable to my son. He also said that that place is good at diagnosing dyslexia and helping to sort out what issues are caused by what. Here’s hoping!

 

I’m waiting for WRTR to arrive too. 

Edited September 11, 2018 by happypamama

[Ellie]

On 9/5/2018 at 4:18 PM, MerryAtHope said:

 

What did AAR and AAS get from Spalding? The parts that they have in common--phonograms and rules--are from Orton-Gillingham. Spalding introduces all of the phonograms up front--something incremental O-G based programs like AAR and AAS don't do. It changed up the word order to be in order of frequency--again something that AAR and AAS don't do. AAR and AAS do not follow the Spalding pattern or the differences that Spalding introduced and are much more closely aligned with O-G. 

People say that Mrs. Spalding got the phonograms and rules from Orton-Gillingham, but that's not how I read it. Mrs. Spalding, who worked directly under the supervision of Dr. Orton,  said, "My contribution has been chiefly to develop Dr. Orton's training into a method for classroom teaching."  Perhaps you have some documentation that indicates that "Orton-Gillingham" as a classroom method came before Spalding.

[MerryAtHope]

43 minutes ago, Ellie said:

People say that Mrs. Spalding got the phonograms and rules from Orton-Gillingham, but that's not how I read it. Mrs. Spalding, who worked directly under the supervision of Dr. Orton,  said, "My contribution has been chiefly to develop Dr. Orton's training into a method for classroom teaching."  Perhaps you have some documentation that indicates that "Orton-Gillingham" as a classroom method came before Spalding.

 

There are numerous sources documenting that the O-G method of instruction was published in the 1930's--well before Spalding was published. Here's one site which states:

Quote

Luckily for Orton he later began working with the very talented teacher and psychologist Anna Gillingham who brought his educational ideas to life by developing a detailed multisensory reading program for students. Based on her knowledge of language structure, Gillingham literally wrote the Orton Gillingham manual which included the systematic and explicit teaching of sounds (phonemes), prefixes, suffixes and roots (morphemes) and common spelling rules.

Entitled Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling and Penmanship, the first Orton Gillingham manual was published in 1935-36 and is still regularly updated and re-published today.

 

This doesn't downplay or negate the work of Spalding in any way--there are just some differences in approach, a few of which I outlined previously. WRTR does some things that O-G-based programs don't do, and vice versa. Those differences don't make one "better than" another, but understanding the differences can help a parent who is trying to decide what meets their needs as a teacher and what meets their student needs. There are so many different curricula available in every subject because people do learn and teach in different ways. We can be thankful that there is such a wide range of teaching materials available to us today!

[Ellie]

10 hours ago, MerryAtHope said:

This doesn't downplay or negate the work of Spalding in any way--there are just some differences in approach, a few of which I outlined previously. WRTR does some things that O-G-based programs don't do, and vice versa. Those differences don't make one "better than" another, but understanding the differences can help a parent who is trying to decide what meets their needs as a teacher and what meets their student needs. There are so many different curricula available in every subject because people do learn and teach in different ways. We can be thankful that there is such a wide range of teaching materials available to us today!

Nevertheless, Mrs. Spalding worked directly with Dr. Orton, and her method is based on his methods, more specifically, making it more usable in the classroom.

I have never seen a clearly published O-G method that a homeschooler could compare to Spalding. That is, there are some that people claim are O-G, but where is the original O-G? 

[MerryAtHope]

On 9/12/2018 at 10:57 AM, Ellie said:

Nevertheless, Mrs. Spalding worked directly with Dr. Orton, and her method is based on his methods, more specifically, making it more usable in the classroom.

 

Yes she did, and she also altered many things that make it uniquely "Spalding." Correct me if I'm wrong here--if I'm following the logic of your thought process, you are thinking that any program that takes the Orton-Gillingham approach and makes it more usable for teachers (ie, making a "program" or "curriculum") must be Spalding-based. That really doesn't have to be the case though--others can go through Orton-Gillingham training programs (through organizations like the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators) and learn this instructional approach rather than studying WRTR, and then develop their own programs for teaching. When you start taking a closer look at how various programs approach teaching, you start to see patterns that fall more directly in line either with the Orton-Gillingham approach or with the Spalding Method. That's what differentiates various programs. 

On 9/12/2018 at 10:57 AM, Ellie said:

I have never seen a clearly published O-G method that a homeschooler could compare to Spalding. That is, there are some that people claim are O-G, but where is the original O-G? 

 

Orton-Gillingham is an approach rather than a program or method. The Gillingham Manual is widely available (Amazon, B & N, CBD...) and is used in Orton-Gillingham training courses. B & N has a nice description. HTH!

[happypamama]

Ugh. So I found the WRTR 4th edition on Amazon are a reasonable price and ordered it. They said it was shipped and should arrive this week. Then I got an email from the seller, saying that he was very sorry, but it was actually coming right from their supplier and won’t be here for three months!  He offered a refund, which I accepted and received. 

 

So now what?  My choices are the 4th edition new (very expensive), the 4th edition used (either expensive or very cheap, and the cheap ones say may have writing, highlighting, etc. so that doesn’t thrill me), or the 6th edition new (Prime, reasonable price).  What’s the difference in editions?  Is there a compelling reason NOT to get the 6th edition, because unless there is, I’m leaning that way. 

[silver]

The 4th edition is more straight forward, so it's nice for if you know nothing about the method. What I did was get the 4th via inter-library loan to read through for understanding, then I purchased and taught from a newer edition. The newer editions don't have phonogram cards in them the way the 4th does, but it does have a chart you can use to make your own. They also have an index of the words and which page you'll find the marked word on, which I have found useful over the years.

[happypamama]

3 hours ago, silver said:

The 4th edition is more straight forward, so it's nice for if you know nothing about the method. What I did was get the 4th via inter-library loan to read through for understanding, then I purchased and taught from a newer edition. The newer editions don't have phonogram cards in them the way the 4th does, but it does have a chart you can use to make your own. They also have an index of the words and which page you'll find the marked word on, which I have found useful over the years.

Darn, ILL doesn't have it in the two systems closest to me, so they say it could be 4-6 weeks to get it from somewhere else.  I don't mind making my own cards, so I guess I'll just get the 6th and see how it goes.  Sigh, I wish this could be simple, LOL.

[MerryAtHope]

I hope it goes well Happypamama! How frustrating!

[happypamama]

44 minutes ago, MerryAtHope said:

I hope it goes well Happypamama! How frustrating!

Thanks!  Super frustrating to wait a week, expecting it any day, and then to get an email, but at least the seller apologized profusely and did issue the refund immediately.

[PeterPan]

Of all the options for a dyslexic, WRTR would be the LEAST likely one to use, mercy. I mean go for it sure, good luck. I've used WRTR, SWR, AAS, Barton, HTTS, Spelling Power, probably more I don't remember (plaid workbooks, blah blah). WRTR was aimed at a mainstream market, trying to bring the super awesome concepts into a streamlined version that would work in a mainstream classroom setting. It's that streamlining that makes it your least desirable choice right now. I know it's cheap, but just saying. Maybe somebody near you has it used so you can see? 

You want something that is OG-based, preferably something that is aimed at dyslexics, something that is going to be explicit and teach the syllabication rules (not just implying them but actually teaching them), morphology, etc. Here's a link to OG materials that are FREE, totally free. http://www.marooneyfoundation.org/professional-learning.aspx

And here's a site with a ton of great stuff https://www.smartspeechtherapy.com/free-literacy-resources-for-parents-and-professionals/

There is a lot of research now on innovative ways people are teaching dyslexics spelling. You've got programs like Spell-Links (very well-regarded), which is considered better for anyone 4th and up. There's a lot more emphasis now on morphology and roots. Instead of teaching traditional syllabication, they'll teach the kids to break the words morphologically. A 4th grader is right on that line, but it's something to think about. It's a transition he's about ready to have. And you've got Louisa Moats (another big name) and her program Spellography, which groups words by sounds for spelling lists. 

So once you wrap your brain around OG (using the free Rooney materials, looking at WRTR and other programs), then you can see the nuances and go ok this program emphasis x but I actually want to emphasize Y for where my student is at. You can be that custom. You're not losing the explicitness of the instruction, just changing the emphasis. 

You can also go way farther out of the box if you want! I've been using word searches with my ds. They work for him and they're good independent work. Yes, definitely teach him to type and turn on spell checker!! That's using his visual memory. You might also like Talking Fingers or Read/Write/Type, both of which are aimed at dyslexics.

 

[Ausmumof3]

I’d love to know how you go if you get time to update.  You could be describing my dd and I am looking for a different plan for next year for her.

Recently my 6 year old pointed out that night wasn’t spelt nite to her ...

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’d love to know how you go if you get time to update.  You could be describing my dd and I am looking for a different plan for next year for her.

Recently my 6 year old pointed out that night wasn’t spelt nite to her ...

Have you looked at Spelfabet? It's actually from an SLP in Australia. 

[happypamama]

Okay, WRTR arrived. I feel a bit confused. It’s been a busy week (not that next week or the following or any time until this baby gets here will be any better but still, I’m trying), so I haven’t had a chance to read it all thoroughly yet. What do I actually do to use it to teach spelling?  Should I start way back at the very beginning and just work from there?  Maybe that will build confidence and also make sure he’s really, really solid and that he learns all the phonics rules as WRTR teaches them?  How do you use the phonogram cards?  Do I want the lesson plans, and if so, with which grade should I start? 

 

Sorry, I know I have a lot of questions. My brain is pretty fried these days. 

[Janeway]

Have you looked at Sequential Spelling? That looks really good and it is made specifically for people with dyslexia.  I am referring specifically to the one made by AVKO.

[silver]

I have the 5th edition, and it looks like there were enough changes that I can't direct you to exact page numbers or even section names to help you out.? I'll try and explain the main areas that would need to be read and understood.

In mine, right after the pages on handwriting there is a section about oral and written phonogram review. It's when you do the review that you would use the phonogram cards. My edition has sections boxed off with headers of "Oral Phonogram Review Procedures" and "Written Phonogram Review Procedures" that scripts how to do it. After that is a section called "Teaching Spelling Using Phonograms and Rules" that gives an overview of the method and marking system. Then there is a section boxed off with "Spelling Dictation Procedures" with an example dialogue following. There are several videos on YouTube if you search for "Spalding Word Dictation," some of them are from other programs, but they are using a similar enough method that they'd still be helpful to watch.

From the table of contents of the 6th edition, it looks like the phonogram list starts on page 206, you'll want to familiarize yourself with those. On page 221 is where the list of spelling rules starts, another thing you will want to read over. These rules will be mentioned in the book in the Extended Ayres list. 

I'm no help with where to start an older child. When I went through it, my child was young enough that I started him from the beginning.

[Heathermomster]

AAS or Apples and Pears...

Edited September 22, 2018 by Heathermomster