old

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Ottakee]

Check out Apples and Pears spelling http://www.prometheantrust.org/soundfoundationsbooks.htm

 

It is a different type of spelling program and actually TEACHES spelling, not just drills it. The kids use the sounds/words over and over again in various settings so it is not just memorize the words for a test and forget them. They also do dictation, etc. so they get used to using the words in sentences.

 

My 11dd is almost done with book B now and my 13dd (mentally impaired) is working her way through book A.

 

It is a little pricey but very worth the cost.

[Laurie4b]

Did you child have any difficulty at all with reading? Did it come slowly? Can he sound out words, or has he more memorized certain words? Did he have any speech problems?

 

That looks like dsylexic writing.

 

To fix it, your best bet is dictation. I used the overteaching method http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23896&highlight=overteaching

 

It sounds more complicated than it is. If you were at my house, you would "get it" in about 5 minutes, but reading through can be tedious!

 

Anyway, the dictation can be tailored to what your child needs. For quite a while, I only dictated statements. Once there was a capital letter at the beginning and a period at the end consistently, I went to questions, then exclamations, then quotations, etc. What is so key about using dictation to teach spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, etc. is that it is all happening at the same time. That's why, your son can do well in spelling tests--it's only focused on writing that single word. Dictation calls on the child to integrate every part of the writing process except thinking up what to say. That's why it works and then transfers to real writing. Otherwise, a child who has separate grammar, spelling, and writing programs has to pull what are to him little odds and ends together in this big process called writing, and all they can do is the "thinking it up" part. The other parts go out the window.

 

I think your sons' dragon was flying to a village. :) Maybe the word before was the name of the village?

[EKS]

wunsapun a time ther wus a Drgin hoo was jeles of his big brothr so he floo awa inti the campoa vili

 

 

 

This could have been written by my son when he was 8. He made the *exact* same errors. My son has dyslexia and various sensory processing problems and has benefitted enormously from Sequential Spelling (we are in the fourth year) and from using the word processor/spell checker for writing.

 

Since you didn't mention reading problems, you might want to check out information about "stealth dyslexia", a term coined by Brock and Fernette Eide (authors of The Mislabeled Child) to describe kids with dyslexia who don't seem to have the classic reading problems but still have problems with spelling and writing.

[LizzyBee]

It sounds more complicated than it is. If you were at my house, you would "get it" in about 5 minutes, but reading through can be tedious!

 

Laurie, If you're more high tech than me, maybe you could video a dictation session then upload it to youtube. :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

Actually, he spelled all the short, phonetically regular words correctly!

 

And also "of" and "the."

 

He could try my free online spelling lessons:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellinglessonsl.html

 

If they move too fast for him, all the spelling rules in the spelling lessons are taught at a slower pace in my phonics lessons (link below.)

 

I used to be a poor speller, but could memorize spelling lists easily--then, two weeks later, I'd forget most of the words. After overlearning all the phonics basics and phonetic spelling rules while tutoring with phonics, I've become a good speller.

 

Learning the rules has been especially helpful. For example, I could never remember how to spell truly until I learned this rule (I misspelled it hundreds of times before learning the rule):

 

The final e is dropped after a letter "u" or "w": true--truly, awe--awful

 

A good rule based spelling system might help.

 

He's also old enough to learn to type and use a spell checker in the meantime!

 

Read, Write, Type teaches spelling and typing at the same time, it's a bit expensive, but you can try a demo for free:

 

http://www.talkingfingers.com/

 

Reading through Laurie's linked overteaching post, I've developed a series of marking called UPP that may be helpful for his spelling, here's a file with all the Dolch Sight Words in UPP, a marking system I developed for my remedial reading students. (I approve of Dolch Sight Words for spelling! Just not learned as wholes for reading.)

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/Resources/sightwordsinUPP.pdf

 

And here's a page explaining the UPP with a Key:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/upp.html

 

You might want to have him try reading through a document or two in UPP and then see if the markings help his spelling.

Edited December 5, 2008 by ElizabethB

[Tree House Academy]

My son is 9 and has a hard time with spelling...but I admit...it is not like what your son has done. What your son wrote looks like something my 5 year old would write since he writes in phonetics.

 

I would not discourage writing - even phonetically like that...but I would definitely switch spelling. I would honestly try something like AAS where you really start back at the beginning with sounds. It was not the right fit for my older son and he is excelling with Spelling Power just starting at level A...but your son sounds like he needs a bit more "back to basics" type instruction.

[Laurie4b]

Ha! My children are threatening to send me to technological remedial school. I don't even know (or want to know) how to get messages off my cell phone. But it's a good idea.

 

The main deal is the repetition and review. You use a frequent word list so that you're getting the most bang for your buck. A word has to be spelled 5 days in a row correctly (within a dictated sentence), then reviewed at weekly intervals and spelled correctly three weeks in a row, then be spelled correctly in monthly interval, 3 times in a row, then it's done. Anytime the word is mispelled, in or out of spelling, it returns to 'day 1" status and must be spelled correctly 5 days in a row, 3 weeks in a row, and 3 months in a row. It's really not hard if you put it the words on a Word document. Get through 300 words this way and 65% of the student's spelling is perfect. It's then not too hard to work on the remaining words, and they are often accessible by spellcheck.

 

It takes about a year to get through those 300 words.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Rod Everson]

Thank you for these responses! I am currently jumping through the hoops of finding out the necessary steps to have him tested for dyslexia.

 

It seems that since the possibility of a learning disorder crossed my mind, all sorts of dots have been connected. Slow to read, atrocious spelling, still flipping the b and d in his own name, handwriting difficulties ....

 

Hi,

 

You said that you had his eyes checked, but it's possible, indeed even quite likely, that he would not pass the tests administered by a developmental optometrist.

 

I teach phonics to kids who've struggled and I've come to the conclusion over the past several years that kids with symptoms such as you describe your son having are usually associated with visual skills problems. These are addressed by a developmental optometrist; generally your family optometrist will not diagnose them unless they are quite severe.

 

To find a developmental OD, go to their organization's website at www.covd.org and use the search box you'll find there.

 

There's also a lot of information on my website. Good luck.

 

Rod Everson

OnTrack Reading

[cillakat]

Did you child have any difficulty at all with reading? Did it come slowly? Can he sound out words, or has he more memorized certain words? Did he have any speech problems?

 

That looks like dsylexic writing.

 

2nd. I'd get All About Spelling and go for it. How's his reading?

 

For my dd, dictation alone doesn't do it.....we have to do encoding (spelling) in multiple ways. It's just coming together now that we're flying through Wilson (dyslexia remediation program)....

 

we drill sounds she says ung (each letter named as she taps index, middle and ring finger together to thumb to represent that it's three letters making one sound), lung (says whole word), /ung/ (says sound)

 

we do this pretty much daily with all digraphs, diphthongs, and evenn blends. (yes, she should be able to sound blends out....and can....but it's part of the 'overteaching' to make it more automatic).

 

she still struggles with /e/ and /u/ they sound very similar to her.

 

so anyway....we do a lot of 'what says'.... where I say the sound and she writes the letters that can say that sound

 

a lot of spelling 'rules'

 

a lot of working on breaking down multisyllabic words into components so she can see that she CAN spell lots of long fun words.

 

a lot of spelliing words that she can *fully* decode based on what she's learned in Wilson. very very few memorized words as most 'sight' words are decodable and imo should be learned via that route.

 

then the last part of each days phonics lesson is dictation....i dictate her a total of three fully decodable sentences. She writes them, thinking them through carefully....using her Wilson notebook to check any uncertainties.

 

there's hope for your son:) at 8, my daughters' sentences looked like your sons'. heck, at 9y4m her sentences looked like that and she was 4 mos into intensive reading work with a reading professional. In the last 8 weeks ago and really even in just the last four there is even more significant improvement.

 

the child who used to tantrum at the thought of ANY writing wrote this, in Jr Great Books yesterday..... word for word, space for space:

 

"he went to a insane asilim and he ran away and got amboosht by a pack of foxs. [she self corrected this one to me just now]

 

he omowst did but he got away and he went to Babo's vilig. After he did [died] thinking Babo was a vilin."

 

Not perfect but heck, there's punctuation in there, some of it used correctly. Some capitalization, used correctly. If we do a walk through together she'll be able to correct amboosht with ambushed, and omowst for almost, died for did. That was just writing on the spot, in a 'class' setting, with a bunch of kids who are very very fluent skilled writers (so she was probably feeling a bit pressured to get info down rather than think through things).

 

Her verbal expression is actually at adult level, so when she narrates to me it's a very different 'product'. She's getting a computer with Dragon Naturally Speaking/iDictate with the hope of propelling her 'writing' to a new level.

 

Anyhoo, wishing you all the best.

 

If his reading is great, I'd go wtih All About Spelling to fix the spelling in the most comprehensive, thorough, sound manner.

 

All the best,

K

[cillakat]

Shari, don't get down. Buy the book _Overcoming Dyslexia_. It's overwhelming at first but the literature is *so* clear on what works to remediate reading issues. You don't have to guess or wonder.

 

100% of kids with reading disabilities and sufficient IQ can be taught to read with the right kind of phonics instruction delivered with sufficient intensity, frequency and for sufficient time (in small group or 1:1) In classrooms that use evidence based reading instruction with properly trained professionals, success rates are 98%+ (and the other two percent can learn with tutoring/pullout/additional support)

 

While vision therapy helps some and seems to be a nice quick fix (and might be for a very very few), teaching reading properly will also fix the problem and statistically speaking, it's more likely a reading/phonological issue versus a vision issue.

 

Act quickly on the reading and you'll have success! Many of us have been remediating or are remediating our kids reading issues.

 

:)

Katherine

[Paz]

Hi Shari,

 

Don't feel bad. My dd wrote like that, maybe worse, at 12. I was the only one who could decipher her writing at all. We had just been plugging along. I was pretty sure she was dyslexic so we worked with a tutor (Orton Gillingham) who also worked with her on the physical act of writing, spacing her letters correctly, etc. She made amazing progress. She is 16 now and we finally had her tested. She was diagnosed as dyslexic and dysgraphic. You have so much time for remediation and the fact that you are homeschooling is such a plus. When we went for testing the educational psychologist was very pleased with how she had progressed despite her learning difficulties. He was also happy that her self-esteem was so high. He attributed some of this to homeschooling, as well.

[Twinmom]

Hi,

 

You said that you had his eyes checked, but it's possible, indeed even quite likely, that he would not pass the tests administered by a developmental optometrist.

 

I teach phonics to kids who've struggled and I've come to the conclusion over the past several years that kids with symptoms such as you describe your son having are usually associated with visual skills problems. These are addressed by a developmental optometrist; generally your family optometrist will not diagnose them unless they are quite severe.

 

To find a developmental OD, go to their organization's website at www.covd.org and use the search box you'll find there.

 

 

My DD spelled like that consistently before she was diagnosed with a visual processing and visual motor disorder at a dev. optometrist. We'd had her eyes checked several times and she'd come back with 20/20 vision. It wasn't until we saw the dev. opt. that we found the problem! We continued seeing someone at that optometrist's office for vision therapy, which was very successful in DD's case (she gained about 3 grade levels in reading during therapy and now reads above grade level). After she completed therapy, we started her on Sequential Spelling. She's been at that since the beginning of this school year, and her spelling has also dramatically improved.

 

I second the opinion of having your DS evaluated for visual processing issues. Phonetic spelling is a common theme across these disorders and vision therapy can be very useful in correcting the underlying problem.

 

And, BTW...spelling aside, your DS seems very creative! His little sentence tells a very nice story. Continue to encourage his creative writing...he may thrive on it someday! ;)