What would you recommend for fourth grade spelling? He is ADHD but is a very smart boy. He made the B honor roll last year in ps. (it was a struggle but we got thru the year). I will not have a lot of money for curriculum but want to get something good. I have thought about A Beka -- what do you wonderful ladies think. Tammy Lynn
Spelling I don't know about fourth grade but Vicki uses Abeka. She has ADHD and ODD. She will be in 2nd grade. I really like it. She is also a very smart child. Personally I do like Abeka for everything but that is my opinion.
How well does he spell? You might check out something like Wordly Wise. It's more of a vocabulary development book. Each lesson has 10 words, then it gives multiple definitions (such as three definitions for the word CLAW and three for GROOM), it has exercises about meanings, stories with the words in it, hidden message/word search-type activities. I have also pulled words from "English from the Roots Up". It gives the Latin/Greek roots of English words. This is what I used with my fourth grader part of last year.
spelling Thank you both for your replies. I am thinking about Abeka for Language and math. They have a show near me in August that I am going to attend before purchasing. Cody can spell pretty good if he is interested in it that day. He just needs to be reminded to get on task. Something our small ps doesn't have the resources to do. I am going to review with him beginning in August. This summer we are just concentrating on reading. I have found a lot of worksheets I can use for reviewing math and I have his spelling list from last year.
My son found Abeka spelling too hard and frusterating. Abeka has a lot of great graphics, but ADHD kids sometimes find it distracting. I recommend AVKO Sequential Spelling. You should be able to find it on line. If not, post back and I'll get the # if you're interested. It's made for dyslexics. My kids are not dyslexic, but have done very well with it. No words to memorize! I love that. Leah
I'm using Abeka spelling with my first grader this year. I'm not crazy over it though. I use A Reason For spelling with my fifth grader. Abeka just doesn't have enough work for the spelling lists to me. ARF has work to do each day with the spelling words that by the end of the week my daughter knows them without having to do repetitive writing each day. I love ARF and used it last year for the 4th grade. I thought I would start out with Abeka in the first grade just to see how it is in the younger years. I will probably end up buying ARF for 1st too. I looked through Abeka's 1st grade book at the hotel meeting around here two weeks ago. I wasn't just thrilled with it, but bought it anyways. You can go to www.areasonfor.com and see sample pages of their workbooks. That might help you. BTW..I have 2 girls...1st and 5th grade this year.
Re: Spelling Trish, you're talking in terms that I understand all too well(ADHD, ODD - 9 year old with the same diagnosis)... As for spelling, we didn't use any specific curriculum for grade three. As we read through chapter books, Andrew had to pick out words that he didn't know, write them down and then look them up in the dictionary (and write out the meaning - condensed version sometimes). When he wasn't in the mood to co-operate, I found the words for him - he wasn't impressed with me so he soon caught on to doing it for hiumself. As for grade four - I haven't gotten that far in my planning yet. We used some A/O this past year, but we might just continue with reality spelling as I call it... Brenda
spelling If you don't feel like having a formal program, I found what works best is to take words from their own writing. Words that they misspell in writing become their spelling words and then I ask them to pick 4 bonus words that they want to learn. Just another approach that works.
We use alot of Abeka curriculum at our house, and I like it. However, I did have a long-time teacher at various Christian schools tell me that she wasn't impressed with their spelling curriculum beyond the 3rd grade. We did buy it for dd (who will be in 5th this year), but I must admit that I'm not terribly impressed. I've purchased a used copy of Spelling Power, that I was planning to start with next year. However, I have it now, so I can start it whenever I want to! One of the many pluses of homeschooling! Anyway, I think Spelling Power is similar to what Brenda and some of the others were talking about- it does have word lists, but stresses working on mispelled words in everyday life. HTH, Heidi
That is such a good idea about spelling words. My daughter sometimes mispells words. This year I'm going to try that! (make her write & learn the words that she mispells) DUH!! Don't know why I didn't stress on that last year......there is always something to learn from each year of hs'ing..huh? This past year was my first at hs'ing two. The first year was a breeze with just teaching one. This is my 3rd year and I'm getting excited about starting back. Our books are due in tomorrow on UPS from Abeka. CAN'T WAIT TO GET THEM!!!!! :lol:
Thank you so much for all of your views. I think I will start out with just using the words he misspells in his writing. That way he won't have spelling from a textbook and spelling list from his writing. I can always get order something if it doesn't work. He probably needs to review last years words(which I have all the list) anyways. Tammy Lynn
I will also make my daughter re-write 10 times any word in her writing that she should know how to spell. For example...when, where, how, made.... Any words that she has had that she should know. I would keep these seperate from the "new" words from her writing that she needs to learn. These are words that she doesn't yet know that she needs to learn.
Tammy Lynn, We like Spelling Power here. They only work on the words they miss . My favorite part of the program are the inexpensive student record books. (They have the work sheets in the SP teacher's edition too.) The program is broken into three five minutes parts. Test, student sheet, then student activity. TEST I like the way the program is set up. No more than 15 minutes a day. First you test, until the student misses three words or five minutes. (You call out the word, use it in a sentence, and then repeat it. They write their answer, you give the correct spelling. If the word is incorrect, they write it on the 'words to learn' side of the daily test sheet, (I have a friend who just folds a piece of paper in half.) STUDENT STUDY SHEET After the test, they go through the student 10-step study sheet on their own. Following the student study sheet, they do a spelling activity from the student activity cards or from the back of the book. No more than five minutes again. I'm going to write down the student study sheet info. Words to learn/ say / look/ say/ close eyes/ check/ trace & say /check/ Write/ check/ repeat The student also writes the words into a silly sentence at the bottom, trying to use all the words in one sentence. That is across the the top, there are blanks and little boxes to check. My fourth grader loves this part. She also loves the activities that follow. STUDENT ACTIVITIES Here are a few favorite spelling activities. Dail-A-Word on the phone. Use a lable maker to 'click out words' Tape your words into a tape recorder Paint your words Type your words side walk chalk Baseball words Write in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS Glitter words Trace your hand and write your words around it. My son added 'mud words' There are more of course. Activity take five or less minutes again. This 15 minute, program has made spelling less of a stress for us. I think you could use any words. I often add our own. Good luck with your choice. Tammy :wink:
You can find it just about any where. The teacher's manuel is $45-$49 and the student books if you use them are $5 to $7. I do because its just easier. I could have used the system without the tm if I'd known. On the other hand I like her huge lists. It goes from 3rd-12th grade so I'll get my moneys worth. www.childbooks.com Free shipping now Homeschool super center Rainbow Resource www.rocksoldinc.com Christianbook.com bestwebbuys.com I'm thinking Barnes and Nobel and Amazon have them. www.castlemoylr.com is the publishers' web site. The tm is huge but goes through high school. If you have a Barnes & Nobel or Books Amillion, call the store and have them order it. I save a lot in shipping this way. A number of people dislike the author's tendancy to ramble. Her how to section is about 80 pages. Thats why I 'simplified it' in my earlier post. I let the book sit on my shelf for weeks dreading reading it :shock: . A dear friend gave me the same simple insturctions I did read through it, but knowing many people found it overwhelming made it easier. If you choose it, feel free to aks any questions. A number of ladies here are using it, so you'll get a variety of answers. :wink: Tammy
Tammy Thanks for the info. I do have a Barnes and Noble close by and they give a ten percent discount. I will go by there Friday(that is my errand day). Tammy
