caedmyn Posted September 18 Share Posted September 18 We've done Abecedarian Levels A & B (now rebranded as Sharpen reading) the last couple of years, with a few Barton-inspired tweaks, and DS8 (2nd grade) is reading well, but not spelling well. I'm looking for recommendations for working on spelling with him this year. I need something that's fairly quick to do (10 mins/day) and, ideally, somewhat fun (or at least not total drudgery). Could something like Nessy work for this? This child is not very cooperative and very very ADHD and my top consideration for any program has to be whether I can actually get him through it without being on the brink of losing my mind every single time we do it. Ignore my signature, I'm sure the ages aren't accurate. I've done Barton with 4 of his siblings but will not be doing it with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrymum Posted September 21 Share Posted September 21 You could look at All About Spelling (seems to be slowly helping my dyslexic 13 yr old... being past 12 helps the most though. His brain is now mature enough to spell or something.) Dancing Bears from sound foundations may also help. Don't try to do a whole lesson in either of these books. Just work for 10+15 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 I find it pretty implausible that you will find a spelling program or curriculum for a dyslexic that is fun, fast, and effective. Frankly, if you need fun and fast, for a second grader, I wouldn't bother teaching spelling and just focus on reading. Learning to spell is HARD. For a dyslexic, it's kind of torturous. And honestly, even the best of instruction, implemented with time and attention and care, may not be all that effective. But I don't think you're going to find what you're looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted September 23 Author Share Posted September 23 On 9/21/2024 at 5:42 AM, countrymum said: You could look at All About Spelling (seems to be slowly helping my dyslexic 13 yr old... being past 12 helps the most though. His brain is now mature enough to spell or something.) Dancing Bears from sound foundations may also help. Don't try to do a whole lesson in either of these books. Just work for 10+15 minutes. I already have Dancing Bears, so I think we're going to give it a try. If he starts at the beginning which doesn't have much writing, maybe he won't balk too much as the amount of writing increases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted September 23 Author Share Posted September 23 41 minutes ago, Terabith said: I find it pretty implausible that you will find a spelling program or curriculum for a dyslexic that is fun, fast, and effective. Frankly, if you need fun and fast, for a second grader, I wouldn't bother teaching spelling and just focus on reading. Learning to spell is HARD. For a dyslexic, it's kind of torturous. And honestly, even the best of instruction, implemented with time and attention and care, may not be all that effective. But I don't think you're going to find what you're looking for. It doesn't have to be fun, just...tolerable I guess. Abecedarian was a whole lot better in that department than Barton, and he's reading better than he would be at this stage if we'd done Barton. Ten minutes a day that gets done consistently with minimal wear & tear to both of us is a lot better, in my book, than 30 minutes of something that's "better" but super stressful....even if it takes him a lot longer to make good progress. I wish Abecedarian would focus more on printed material. They have a spelling-only program for Level B which I'm sure would be great for him, but it's only available in an online version, and their online lessons are absolutely torturous with the way they're designed. They're also $25/month and just as teacher-intensive as the books, so I'd be paying them $250/year to make his lessons take 2-3x as long as they would with a printed workbook. Not going to happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 12 minutes ago, caedmyn said: I already have Dancing Bears, so I think we're going to give it a try. If he starts at the beginning which doesn't have much writing, maybe he won't balk too much as the amount of writing increases. I'm pretty sure Dancing Bears is their reading program. Apples and Pears is their spelling program. I liked it fine, and it can be as short as you want it. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 Agreeing that Apples and Pears is their spelling, and it’s very good, but I’m not sure I would try it yet with a second grader like you described. Any way you dice it, it’s a lot of writing. I have heard of people modifying it with letter tiles or something, but we always just did the writing and took a couple days for each lesson. What about the online version of Logic of English? I can’t remember offhand if it’s foundations or essentials, but I could look. The only writing involved is five words each lesson on a whiteboard. The rest is typing, mouse clicking, or verbal. Is he definitely dyslexic, or at this point is that based on having dyslexic siblings and being a second grader who reads well but doesn’t spell well? I ask only because that describes several of my kids at that age, and only one is dyslexic. The others like that did learn to spell, just not as early and easily as my natural speller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrymum Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 (edited) 1 hour ago, Terabith said: I'm pretty sure Dancing Bears is their reading program. Apples and Pears is their spelling program. I liked it fine, and it can be as short as you want it. Yes to dancing Bears being reading. I meant apples and pears for spelling....I guess I'm too distracted;) Edited September 23 by countrymum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 Apples and Pears but break the lessons down to fit what he can do. You can do 2 short sessions a day or just one. Small consistent sessions are best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted September 28 Author Share Posted September 28 On 9/22/2024 at 8:13 PM, KSera said: Is he definitely dyslexic, or at this point is that based on having dyslexic siblings and being a second grader who reads well but doesn’t spell well? I ask only because that describes several of my kids at that age, and only one is dyslexic. The others like that did learn to spell, just not as early and easily as my natural speller. He is definitely dyslexic. He has all the hallmarks of dyslexia. He's only reading well because we did Abecedarian with lots of additional repetition and practice and some Barton-ish tweaks, and my 6yo (who is not dyslexic) is still going to be a better reader than he is by the end of the school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted September 28 Author Share Posted September 28 On 9/23/2024 at 6:15 AM, Ottakee said: Apples and Pears but break the lessons down to fit what he can do. You can do 2 short sessions a day or just one. Small consistent sessions are best. This is what we're doing now. I started him pretty much at the beginning and so far he's not balking at doing half a lesson a day, so hopefully that will continue as the amount of writing gradually increases. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted Thursday at 11:20 PM Share Posted Thursday at 11:20 PM On 9/27/2024 at 10:43 PM, caedmyn said: This is what we're doing now. I started him pretty much at the beginning and so far he's not balking at doing half a lesson a day, so hopefully that will continue as the amount of writing gradually increases. As a special ed teacher, I am very impressed by this program. Slow and steady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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