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Traditional Spelling by MP


lulalu
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We are using it now with my dd to remediate. I like it a lot, and dd loves it. She likes that a lot of it is independent, and I like that it requires just enough parent involvement (dictation mostly) to make sure they are staying on top of it. Also, I think the exercises are on point -- pointing out the blends and consonant teams having them trace them with different colors, and other activities to use them in sentences. Over all, we have been very happy with it and will be using it again.   

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I'm using TS 1 and 2 with my 1st and 2nd graders. I have a few thoughts on it. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. Some of the activities on days 1-3 are geared more towards a classroom and I just can't (or don't want to) figure out how to make it work for 1 kid. Some of the dictation stuff on day 4 is weird too-for example it will say to dictate the sound of "wr" in write, but then the child is supposed to write /r/ instead of what is actually in the word. I just have them write how the sound is spelled in the word because why not? I don't care of they know the exact phonetic way to write it, but I do care if they spell the word correctly. So that kind of bugs me but is an easy fix. Days 4 and 5 are kind of a wash-day 4 is just dictation and day 5 is just the test. I don't know if the words are easy or what, but neither of my kids have missed more than 3-4 words all year. They like it because they say it's easy. 

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I am using TS I with my 2nd grader, and I just started TS II with my 4th grader last week.

(The 4th grader taught herself to read at 6 without a lot of phonics instruction because she just read. I didn't know she needed explicit phonics instruction and now she can't spell worth a hoot.  AAS and R&S haven't been a good fit for her, despite how teacher intensive it's been for me.)

I absolutely love TS.  I've used AAS and R&S Spelling, and this is by far the most retention I've seen among all of my children.

The teaching directions are easy and explicit.  I have read a ton of books on how to teach spelling, so that does come in handy.  But without any of my prior knowledge, if I'd just done what was in the teacher's guide, I would have seen success in my children.

I don't personally have the same issues as Meadowlark.  There are a few activities written for the whole classroom, but I feel used to making do with that kind of thing since we use R&S for English and Math.  I've done all of the extra activities each week in TS (they're simple), because my 2nd is a struggling reader.  They've been quite helpful for her.  We do the phonics cards, Classical Phonics reading, writing the words one extra time each day.  All the things that MP recommends.

As for the dictation on Day 4, I personally feel like that's been a crucial piece for my 2nd grader.  She needs to understand that the "wr" in 'write' is the sound /r/.  But keep in mind that my daughter has had a lot of trouble learning to read, so I don't know how much of that plays a piece here.

I do TS at elbow with my 2nd grader, so it's not independent for her.  I do 5-10 minutes of teaching with my 4th grader in TS II at the beginning of the week, the dictation with her on Day 4, and call out the test on Day 5.  She can do the other independently.

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7 hours ago, MamaHill said:

I am using TS I with my 2nd grader, and I just started TS II with my 4th grader last week.

(The 4th grader taught herself to read at 6 without a lot of phonics instruction because she just read. I didn't know she needed explicit phonics instruction and now she can't spell worth a hoot.  AAS and R&S haven't been a good fit for her, despite how teacher intensive it's been for me.)

I absolutely love TS.  I've used AAS and R&S Spelling, and this is by far the most retention I've seen among all of my children.

The teaching directions are easy and explicit.  I have read a ton of books on how to teach spelling, so that does come in handy.  But without any of my prior knowledge, if I'd just done what was in the teacher's guide, I would have seen success in my children.

I don't personally have the same issues as Meadowlark.  There are a few activities written for the whole classroom, but I feel used to making do with that kind of thing since we use R&S for English and Math.  I've done all of the extra activities each week in TS (they're simple), because my 2nd is a struggling reader.  They've been quite helpful for her.  We do the phonics cards, Classical Phonics reading, writing the words one extra time each day.  All the things that MP recommends.

As for the dictation on Day 4, I personally feel like that's been a crucial piece for my 2nd grader.  She needs to understand that the "wr" in 'write' is the sound /r/.  But keep in mind that my daughter has had a lot of trouble learning to read, so I don't know how much of that plays a piece here.

I do TS at elbow with my 2nd grader, so it's not independent for her.  I do 5-10 minutes of teaching with my 4th grader in TS II at the beginning of the week, the dictation with her on Day 4, and call out the test on Day 5.  She can do the other independently.

Thanks! I was looking at R&S spelling too. So this is a big help. 

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We have been using it with my dyslexic 9 yr old. (so behind grade level by a whole lot due to dyslexia). I REALLY like it. We are trying a few other things just to cement some stuff due to her dyslexia, and try to catch her up a bit, but we are very satisfied with it. It's solid, and the color coding of the words is great. 

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13 hours ago, lulalu said:

Thanks! I was looking at R&S spelling too. So this is a big help. 

Don't get me wrong - I really like R&S Spelling as well! The way the page is laid out is too hard for my 9yo to process.  So I had to go in and re-type the rules for each lesson in a format that her brain could process and actually use.  

Aside from the page layout issue, I see the value in how R&S makes the student play with and analyze the words each day.  That aspect was very successful for my 4th grader.

I would have stuck with R&S Spelling (it's cheap! yay! And the layout is predictable, not to mention the phonics drilling and helps.), but my dd needed to have the step before what R&S 4th grade offered her.  

Once my younger 2nd grader makes her way through TS II, I'll probably move her along to R&S Spelling 3rd grade, and still use the methods of TS plus the other tactics I've gleaned from my reading over spelling curricula.  So don't write off R&S for later grades! 🙂

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