GWOB Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 My dd8 has passed every single spelling test she has ever had, both at ps and at home. I can count on one had all the words she has ever misspelled on a test. She is a complete pro at memorizing a spelling list and passing a test. However, she still cannot spell! Her writing, while creative and well thought out, is filled with misspelled words. She is an avid reader and reads well above her grade level. I'm just confused! Why can't she spell?! Anyway, I am trying to plan out our curriculum for next year. Does anyone know of a good program that will address this issue? Does anyone want to tell me why this happens? How do I fix this? Thanks ladies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I was that way, passed all my spelling tests with 100%, but a poor speller when I was writing on my own. Once I learned all the phonetic spelling rules, I became a good speller. My free online spelling lessons have most of the rules: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellinglessonsl.html And, you need a good rule based program as a follow on. I like Gayle Graham's program, it uses the student's own misspelled words to teach. Here's an explanation of how to teach spelling with rules and some good programs that are free and cheap that use rules: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellingforsucce.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 My dd is great at memorizing lists of things too. Her spelling was terrible but is getting much better. What has helped her the most was dropping the spelling with lists and doing copywork and dictation. Right now she copies about four sentences each day from something we are reading or from a poem she is memorizing. Once a week she writes a passage from dictation. It helps her to see the words in her head. He spelling in her own writing has improved greatly using this. I have been reading The ABC's and All Their Tricks. I am going to look at Natural Speller after I finish this. I am going to add a rules-based spelling to our week to help her more - she wants to beat the rest of us at Boggle. I think that once she learns spelling rules, she will get better. However, copywork and dictation are helping more than I had hoped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Simply Spelling sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Thanks for the responses. So, we need to review spelling rules. Sounds great, but mommy does not know all the spelling rules!:blush: Is there something out there that would help both of us? Thanks Karen for the copywork/dictation rec. We have been doing copywork, and her grammar book (EFTTC) just started dictation exercises. Of course, we have not been at this long enough to see results, but hopefully this will help. Someone else mentioned Simply Spelling. I believe I've looked at this in the past. Does this require copywork and dictation? Is this similar to Spelling Wisdom? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 It will teach her to analyze words when she writes them. It also covers penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, reading (as in comprehension and, later, literature analysis), grammar, and composition. OTOH, it could just be that she's 8, and that her spelling will improve on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I was that way, passed all my spelling tests with 100%, but a poor speller when I was writing on my own. Once I learned all the phonetic spelling rules, I became a good speller. My free online spelling lessons have most of the rules: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellinglessonsl.html And, you need a good rule based program as a follow on. I like Gayle Graham's program, it uses the student's own misspelled words to teach. Here's an explanation of how to teach spelling with rules and some good programs that are free and cheap that use rules: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellingforsucce.html Here is your reply about spelling rules. Here is a thread about it too. Spelling Rules Simply Spelling uses copywork and dictation. It also tells the child the rule that they will be working on. The best of both worlds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in WA Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 My children are 19, 17, and 15. Two have struggled with spelling. I will share the same wisdom another mom shared with me when my children were young. Puberty does wonders for spelling. Yes, you continue to teach the rules and practice spelling, but don't stress. Both my strugglers have improved in their spelling immensely since puberty. They may never be perfect spellers, but they are much better than they used to be. Plus, they normally recognize when they don't know how to spell and know now to seek assistance. Relax. Eight years old is young. Education is a marathon, not a sprint as you've probably heard before. It will be ok. HTH Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Thanks Ellie and Cindy. I know she's only 8. I would not expect much if she wasn't so good at spelling tests. I was the exact same way. I aced spelling tests and even won a few school-wide spelling bees, yet I still cannot spell. Both dd and I are avid readers and still cannot spell. I just want to avoid the problems I've experienced. I will look into some of the recommendations here. Thanks again everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookmomma Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I recommend Natural Speller by Kathryn Stout. My 8 year old son has tried three other spelling programs before, and does great with this one. The book covers all grades and has lists by grade level. You can choose which level your child is ready for, but like phonics and reading--if your child has not learned the previous rules for spelling and word/letter patterns, then go back through the easier lessons. Backtracking never hurts and usually you can fly through them faster. The book also has many ideas for spelling activities as well. I choose to have my son copy the words three times each, then create sentences with the words (he sounds out all the words on his own to spell them--don't worry about perfection), then he looks the words up in the dictionary and we read the definitions and parts of speech together, then he spells the words using letter tiles (he hates to write) and says the word, the spelling, the word ("cherry, c, h, e, r, r, y, cherry"). I sometimes give him the chance to spell them orally for a quiz, sometimes we use a marker board (he likes that), but most of the time we do a traditional written quiz. He is a poor reader, but he performs well when it comes to spelling? Go figure? As far as retention, if you explicitly teach the spelling rules and patterns, they will become "natural spellers." Don't assume that because they can memorize how to spell a list of words that they have actually learned something:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAberlin Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 All About Spelling has the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inashoe Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 My children are 19, 17, and 15. Two have struggled with spelling. I will share the same wisdom another mom shared with me when my children were young. Puberty does wonders for spelling. Yes, you continue to teach the rules and practice spelling, but don't stress. Both my strugglers have improved in their spelling immensely since puberty. They may never be perfect spellers, but they are much better than they used to be. Plus, they normally recognize when they don't know how to spell and know now to seek assistance. :lol: You have got us looking forward to puberty !!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 All About Spelling has the rules. We are on our 2nd year using All About Spelling and it teaches all the spelling rules and it's so easy. It's truly a pick up and go method. I'm learning the spelling rules with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 My dd8 has passed every single spelling test she has ever had, both at ps and at home. I can count on one had all the words she has ever misspelled on a test. She is a complete pro at memorizing a spelling list and passing a test. However, she still cannot spell! Her writing, while creative and well thought out, is filled with misspelled words. She is an avid reader and reads well above her grade level. I'm just confused! Why can't she spell?! Anyway, I am trying to plan out our curriculum for next year. Does anyone know of a good program that will address this issue? Does anyone want to tell me why this happens? How do I fix this? Thanks ladies! I haven't read any responses so forgive me if I'm repeating something that has already been pointed out. My son also passes spelling tests every time and reads well above grade level. However, I realized recently that he can only spell what he has seen. He always passes spelling tests because he's seen the words in his workbook- he is highly visual. When it comes to trying to spell a word he has never seen, he's not always sure. So we're going to start All About Spelling so that he can go back over the rules and be able to spell a word even when he hasn't seen it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 That is exactly what happened with my oldest dd. We switched to All About Spelling and have never looked back! It is a little on the pricey side to get started, but it is well worth it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 That is exactly what happened with my oldest dd. We switched to All About Spelling and have never looked back! It is a little on the pricey side to get started, but it is well worth it!! I keep hearing about AAS. I haven't researched that one yet, but I guess I'll have to now! BTW, this particular daughter has the same name as your youngest. I'm always excited to "see" others with that name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktyler Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Spelling rules only get you so far. What's the rule for deer and dear, hear and here,? What about lamb, bomb? Why is 'built' spelled with a 'u'? How about done, gone, stone, and one? In the end, it is about making connections among the three components of a word: its meaning, its written form, and its pronunciation. There are over 220 correspondences with more than 10 words (for example, the spelling 'et' for the sound ballet, beret, buffet, etc.) My daughter has a very difficult time with spelling, just as she did with reading. I have experimented with many approaches and programs and find these strategies to be the most helpful for her: 1. Spelling lists based on the sound-spelling correspondences. So a list of words where the sound /ee/ is spelled 'ea' (teach, each, reach, beach, tear (as in from the eyes), dear, beam, seam, cream, etc.) 2. The words are analyzed for their parts, letter teams underlined, and strange spellings circled. She says the sounds for the parts as the words are written multiple times, currently 5 times. If possible, she exaggerates the pronunciation (for example, /lem-On/) 3. She composes original sentences, trying to combine as many words into a sentence as she can (Each teacher sat on the beach eating cream.) She says the sounds as she writes the words. 4. The words are tested until she gets them right at least 3 times in a row. The tests are not lists but dictated sentences I make up using the words from her list and previous words. I test every day. This takes about 20 min. a day (She is 10 and has 15-20 words a week) 5. The words she gets wrong go through the study process each day. 6. Every Friday we do a random, cumulative test from previous lists. I pick the correspondence to work on based on her writing, then put together a list of similar words. The nice thing about this is . . . its free! If you would like a list of correspondences and words, you can email me privately. Melissa Minnesota Reading Program Junkie dd(10) dd(6) ds(4) ds(1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I keep hearing about AAS. I haven't researched that one yet, but I guess I'll have to now! BTW, this particular daughter has the same name as your youngest. I'm always excited to "see" others with that name. Wow! It is unusual to see another Cora who isn't 80. :D I did a review of AAS on my blog here. There is also a link to the AAS website there. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen the RD Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 It will teach her to analyze words when she writes them. It also covers penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, reading (as in comprehension and, later, literature analysis), grammar, and composition. :iagree:with Ellie. WRTR has helped my 5th gr dd immensely! I started it with my 6 yo ds when he was in K and he is doing extremely well. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 http://www.prometheantrust.org/soundfoundationsbooks.htm This program really works and is very easy to use. They keep repeating the words over and over in various settings. They use dictation as well so they apply previous spelling to the sentences they are writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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