Ericaand4kids Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hello, I've not been on here for awhile as I realized I don't have time or motivation to do much afterschooling, but kudos to those of you who do and to get those extras in!! My kids went back to PS this year and I've realized my daughter's spelling is HORRIBLE in my humble opinion. SHe is in 4th grade and get's 100's on most of her tests. But in day to day writing she misspells a ton of words. Some of her mistakes fase for face, eart for earth, faks for facts and many more. She remembers spelling, she's never had much phonics as we homeschooled in 2nd & 3rd grade when I felt she was past that, though a voracious reader (currently on the 5th Harry Potter book). We only used spelling workout. Her teacher thinks spelling is not important as she told me she is an awful speller and got by just fine and also she forgets to give them their spelling tests half the time. So do I leave it alone? Begin an intensive program? Or do some thing easy just for a little practice? Thoughts? Handwriting~ Her print is atrocious but legible and that is all she uses. I taught her cursive in half through second grade, looking back we should of waited and worked on her print, but I was frustrated having not been the one to teach her printing she learned to form her letter wrong and I did not work hard enough to correct it. So she did mostly cursive last year for me. Enter fourth grade at PS this year and they do NO cursive, go figure! So any easy tips or do I leave this alone ? Her teacher doesn't care at all, will other teachers care or is she beyond that now? My second grade left handed son writes neater than her! Uhm my handwriting isn't that good, but can be if I try! I do have good spelling though! Maybe I should make her learn to type and this would all be solved by printing and spell checking? A thought anyway! Didn't intend to write so much, good thing I type fast, any thought appreciated!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I am an easy going afterschooler. I think for both handwriting and spelling, copywork might work. If you find a subject in which she is interested, a little copywork might be fun. Recently, we did some of President-elect Obama's speeches. We have also done passages from Harry Potter, favorite movie lines, and songs. A few minutes a day is all we do. Even my eighth grader joins in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenKase Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Regarding spelling, I have been using All About Spelling with my 3rd grader. She is a good speller by nature but I like how AAS uses the rules to cement the knowledge. My dd8 reads at a 6th grade level will sometimes confuse the spelling and pronunciation of some "big" words. This year I decided to go back to basics and do AAS level 1. We do spelling 2-3x per week and do a lesson per day right now because the spelling words are very basic in the beginning and she knows it cold. Another book you may want to look at is The ABC's And All Their Tricks. Although I've never used it with my dd I think it's a great resource to have on hand to explain why letter and their combinations make the sounds that they do and why they are spelled a particular way. As far at the writing goes, Handwriting Witout Tears wins hands down, IMHO!! I think the program is magical in the way it produces results. There are books for kids in the upper elementary grades who need help with their handwriitng. HTH and good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I highly recommend EPS' MegaWords. Fourth grade is a great time to start it. We do a page a day and it takes about 15-20 minutes. http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonly=1825M Will help with the lack of phonics instruction also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in IL Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 :iagree: It is intended from 4th grade-adult. Ds started it in 7th (hsed) since he had no phonics in ps either but was a huge reader. Reading didn't make a difference in his spelling because he is not an auditory learner. Megawords really, really made a huge improvement in his spelling. Teachers don't push spelling much anymore - they say the computer's spellchecker is all they need. And if you believe that..............:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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