Amy in CO Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I need some advice for spelling. My daughter is 13, will be 14 in May, and starting high school in September. She was a late reader. She didn't really get it until she was about 8 1/2. She struggles with reading still, vocabulary is a struggle, and her spelling is horrible. I have tried Spelling Power and Spelling Workout, we've tried Wordly Wise and the earlier Vocabulary from Classical Roots (4-6). The main problem is that she has convinced herself that she can't spell, so why bother trying. She has decided that even if she does try, she will still get it wrong. I am at my wit's end. I don't know what to do. I have suggested writing the word in the air, covering the word and trying to spell it without looking, writing it 5 times correctly, saying the word and then saying the spelling out loud, etc. In other words, I have tried to incorporate tactile, auditory, visual, and motor memory learning. I've given her examples of famous people with handwriting and spelling difficulties and showed her how they overcame them. It did not make a difference to her. Have any of you had a child so determined to not spell? How do you overcome it? Her goal is to be an author. I have tried to point out the importance of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc if that is truly her goal, but it just makes no difference. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 My dd is 14 and is only now, starting to spell "okay" One thing that started to work was Sequential Spelling. "just spell it honey, okay here's the correct way, let's move on you'll see it or something similar soon, don't worry" Only problem was me. I got distracted with the other kids and spelling often got missed. This program needs to be done each day for it to really work. We shifted to Apples Daily Spelling Drills and I had her just writing more. Also I told her to feel free to ask about spelling and I would just answer (well I'd state it in groups of phonograms and mention any spelling rules... but she didn't have to spend time/energy to look it up). So I guess all this is to say that it is still possible for her to "get it". hth Kathie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in IL Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I highly recommend Megawords. We tried Spelling Power first and it didn't seem to stick with him. My ds was a terrible speller - they taught invented spelling in school. He started reading at a normal time then was a great reader. A good reader does not necessarily mean a good speller and vice versa. When I pulled him out of school after 6th grade, we started with book 1 (you need to start at book 1) and went through all 8. He is a fairly good speller now. The level of Meagwords is 4th - adult so it is not something she can say is for little kids. Let her write an essay then circle all the misspelled words and tell her to correct it by rewriting (not erasing). If she uses the same phrase over and over, or the same wording, let the first one pass then circle the others and tell her to pick other words. Just a couple ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in CO Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 thank you for the tips and curriculum suggestions. I will look into them. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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