Storm Bay Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) The things we've tried for ds for spelling are not working, and not even Spelling Power, my favourite, is working. In my frustration, this may not come across as friendly as I'd like... Failures: Spelling Workout & A Beka & Spelling Power What he doesn't need: something that combines spelling with vocabulary, word meanings, context of words, etc--he has no trouble with using words in context, what words mean, etc, just spelling those words. What I think he needs: something that handles spelling patterns as a group (I'd rather not write my own curriculum). eg something that learns to spell all the ight words separately from ite words, etc. He's really hit a wall with the long o set of words, too. Plus, he keeps forgetting that nice/slice etc have that second set of words because he likes to spell phonetically. I'd prefer something that gets him practising the words, not using them in sentences. The sentences containing words seem to defeat the whole thing. It looks like Bob Jones is set up that way, but I'd rather not spend over $30/grade on spelling, especially for my youngest dc. Would I need it all? Does it work this way? Is there anything else set up this way. Edited March 23, 2009 by Karin cannot type when frustrated (or many other times) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalynnrmc Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Natural Speller. The author also wrote daily lesson plans for the book to go with Bright Ideas Press' language arts program. (Publishers of Mystery of History, but the lesson plans have nothing to do with history at all. Just daily lessons with student pages. Actually, you can buy the first month of Illuminations for $10 and get the first 9 weeks worth of plans! At least that would show you what NS has to offer and how you might can use the book if you choose to do so.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Sequential Spelling might work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 Thanks for these suggestions. I had wondered about Natural Speller, but wasn't sure. I'll look at these in my catalogue, and if anyone has any other suggestions, that would be great, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'm looking for something new, too, so I won't be of much help to you, but I can tell you that we've used BJU for the past few years, and while the word lists are ok, my overall impression of the program is that it's nothing special. We used the BJU DVDs for second and third grade, and the second grade spelling teacher was wonderful. Third grade... not so much. We gave up on the DVDs and I taught the subject myself, and we mainly used the word lists. I didn't feel that the worktext was very helpful, as I wasn't impressed with the activities. We are in the same boat you're in -- my ds doesn't need any help with vocabulary or using words in a sentence. He already reads and comprehends beyond high school level... but he's definitely still a kid when it comes to spelling! Fortunately, he's a pretty natural speller, but I want to be sure he learns all of the spelling rules so his life will be easier as the words get more difficult. One problem I'm finding is that every curriculum approaches spelling somewhat differently, and there's not always much correlation among their word lists, so it can be a nuisance to make a change. Your child could be spelling at the fourth grade level in BJU, but only be in the first level of Spelling Power, and somewhere else in Abeka, and somewhere else in Spectrum... AAARRGH!!!! I know I bought the Natural Speller book several years ago at a curriculum fair, but it's a skinny book and I have no idea where it ended up. I'll have to try to find it, but I honestly don't have a clue as to where it is. We've got rooms filled with books and curriculum, and it's not all as organized as I might have liked it to be. Cat Edited to add: I don't think the BJU spelling words are as difficult as in some of the other programs I've seen. We tend to go through at least two weeks worth of words each week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDBask Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 All About Spelling has been a big help for my children. It teaches spelling concepts, without tons of written work. It has helped my spelling challenged daughter with the "why" of spelling. It is teacher dependent, with out student workbooks and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 The sentences containing words seem to defeat the whole thing. Spelling by Sound and Structure (R&S) is a very good series. You can get free curriculum samples by calling R&S at (606) 522-4348. Using spelling words in a variety of ways, including writing them in sentences, does help dc to remember how to spell them. SSS (and BJUP) requires the dc to analyze spelling words using spelling rules, adding prefixes and suffixes (depending on the grade level), finding them in the dictionary, and using them in sentences. By the time the dc finish each list, they've used the words multiple times, so that they've thought about them in depth and seen, written and heard them. And SSS costs much less than BJUP, so even if you buy it, use it and decide you hate it, you aren't out very much money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 It will teach your son *when* & *why* to use 'ite' vs. 'ight' . I have a spelling challenged son. I tried Natural Speller and it did not help--but I didn't have the scripted plans. I think I remember that it is set up by patterns like you mentioned. We also tried Spelling Power & BJU with no success. I won't list all the other curicculum we tried, it would be too long! The problem we had with Natural Speller (and other programs too, to be fair) is that my son did learn the patterns, he just didn't know why & when to use them. He would spell 'right' as 'rite' and 'kite as 'kight'. You may run into the same thing with your son. All About Spelling is very easy to use, so you would not need to write your own curriculum. It is laid out very logically and sequentially building principle upon principle. It is working very well for us so far. I haven't noticed any exercises using sentences. Before AAS I had my son using Zaner Bloser's Spelling Connections. It worked pretty well and would be my 2nd choice if I absolutely could not afford AAS. You could actually use the Zaner Bloser website to create your own curriculum by printing the word list from the parent resource pages and having your son do their online spelling games. You can view samples online and the workbooks are inexpensive. The Teacher's guides are not necessary although they are nice to have. You can sometimes find them on amazon or e bay - - they are way too expensive to buy new! Shannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 Spelling by Sound and Structure (R&S) is a very good series. You can get free curriculum samples by calling R&S at (606) 522-4348. Using spelling words in a variety of ways, including writing them in sentences, does help dc to remember how to spell them. SSS (and BJUP) requires the dc to analyze spelling words using spelling rules, adding prefixes and suffixes (depending on the grade level), finding them in the dictionary, and using them in sentences. By the time the dc finish each list, they've used the words multiple times, so that they've thought about them in depth and seen, written and heard them. And SSS costs much less than BJUP, so even if you buy it, use it and decide you hate it, you aren't out very much money. I'll check the free samples. In our cases, copying sentences containing the spelling words seems to cause more confusion with spelling. This is my second dc I've found this to be so for. My eldest could learn with any method as she's a natural speller. But the why that Shannon (Shanvan) mentioned could be the defining difference here. He's really big on why's in life. I'll see how the samples work and also read more on Natural Speller. My dd's have done well with R&S English, but so far that's the only R&S subject we've used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in the Country Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Another vote for R&S Spelling. My dd9 had much trouble with Spelling Power and Spelling Workout. She was constantly frustrated and never seemed to be able to retain the correct spellings over time no matter how many times she'd practice the word. She would remember the phonetic rules for spelling things, but would swap alternative spelling "rules" so to speak. Like the "ight" "ite" example. I tried R&S out of sheer frustration since it was inexpensive and we used R&S for English and Science already. Something in its presentation must have clicked with her because her spelling is much improved. I still use the worksheets from Spelling Power...those checklists for practicing a mispelled word with her when she does get one wrong on a test or quiz. They seem to help her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'll cast another vote for All About Spelling. It's been a huge success here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Sounds to me like Sequential Spelling would work for him! http://www.avko.org/Samples/SSH/301.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 There are several free online at Google Books that should be a good match. You can print out a few pages and try them out before printing the whole thing. Easy Steps to Reading and Pollard's are organized that way: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Spelling/spellingforsucce.html Don Potter has a huge list of old spelling books, you're sure to find one that you like if you don't like Pollard (with all of these books, you have to download the file first before being able to print individual pages.) http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/spelling_books.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 What I think he needs: something that handles spelling patterns as a group (I'd rather not write my own curriculum). eg something that learns to spell all the ight words separately from ite words, etc. He's really hit a wall with the long o set of words, too. Plus, he keeps forgetting that nice/slice etc have that second set of words because he likes to spell phonetically. I'd prefer something that gets him practising the words, not using them in sentences. The sentences containing words seem to defeat the whole thing. What you describe - internalizing the patterns of English spelling - is the premise of Sequential Spelling. They have a free sample of the first 8 lessons at their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melabella Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Another vote for Sequential Spelling. My daughter is slightly dyslexia and was a horrible speller...until Sequential Spelling. It is inexpensive, easy to use, quick, and it works! Most people say that you won't notice a big difference in spelling ability until around lesson 60 (1 lesson per day), and my experience was similar. Good Luck! Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Excellent suggestions. So much to check out, and only one I can choose this time! But whichever one I choose, I'm sure that others who read this will find these posts very helfpul, so if it's not alread tagged, I'm going to tag this thread. It would have been much simpler for my to choose if there were only 1 or 2 good programs laid out this way;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.