How many teach spelling? Do you use a workbook? Why do you teach spelling? I'm trying to decide if we want to do a formal spelling program or just deal with spelling as it comes up in writing.
I love Spelling Workout because it teaches phonics rules and vocab rules with every lesson. It also has a proof reading practice with each lesson. Day 1, the child reads a very small thing. 1st graders might read a couple sentences and 6th graders a few paragraphs. Then on the backside it gives the list words and the phonics or vocab rule. Then it has the child sort the words according to the rule. Very easy to follow, very easy for child to do alone. Each word ends up written once. Then for day 3, there is something like a small crossword puzzle or shape boxes or some other activity. Day 4 is a proofreading activity. It offers up a writing activity, but we rarely did them. Day 5, we would do the final test. My child's spelling and reading improved on this program. I completely intend to use it with all my children.
My oldest uses Sequential Spelling, 5th grade - she's on book 2. She's a very natural speller, though...SS reinforces phonics rules. My middle uses the wordlists from www.superteacherworksheets.com (free). I then enter the lists onto www.spellingcity.com (free). I print out the list, a handwriting page where he has to write each word twice, an alphabetizing activity, a word unscramble or crossword, then the Spelling City site tests him which I schedule on Fridays. So, basically, he does one worksheet each day related to the list. He's done very well with this. I find the lists to be very logical following patterns, rules, etc. HTH. I think spelling is VERY important. I HATE misspelled words! LOL!!! My father was a serious stickler for correct grammar and spelling.
I use Sequential Spelling. It teaches spelling through patterns rather than rules. I did use All About Spelling, but my son did not learn well using a rule method. You can see a sample day of using Sequential Spelling here.
http://www.zaner-bloser.com/spellingconnections/practice-pages.html We use this.. it's free... or well we did
I was going to skip spelling, but it's really starting to trip him up lately. We'll use Sequ Sp next year, too.
I didn't do spelling for 1st grade. For 2nd we are using Lifepac Language arts and it includes spelling. One thing that has been bothering me is that for some lists they have very little practice before they expect the kid to take the test, while on others there seems to be more. Well I just used spellingcity.com and entered the current list and ds is so excited about the word search I just handed him
This was my first year using The Phonics Road to Spelling (after trying ABeka) for my 2nd grader and his spelling improved 100%!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! It's bit pricey, but it is worth EVERY penny.
We're another Sequential Spelling family here. I like that there are no formal 'lists.' The child does 25 words per day; each week does variations on word families. For example, you may start with something as small and simple as 'hope.' The next day, it's 'hopes.' And then they progress daily to variants like 'hoping' and 'hoped.' You might also get things like 'hopeful' and 'hopeless.' Other words that relate to the spelling rules of 'hope' would be on that list of 25 words. For example, you might have words like 'rope' and 'cope.' There are usually two different word families addressed per week.
Spelling Soup When I was teaching 2nd grade and 3rd grade, I used the Spelling Soup activities. Basically, the student chooses one spelling activity to do each day and is rewarded different points for different activities. havefunteaching.com/language-worksheets/spelling Enjoy! -Mark
I DONT teach spelling. My 5th grader can spell on a 9th grade level, so we focus on vocab instead. We practiced spelling bee words for the official Scripps Bee for our local group in January, but that's about it. I own Spelling Power - one book for every level of spelling word imaginable - and will use that with my youngers when the time comes, or with my oldest if we reach a point that we feel comfortable adding it as an additional subject. I have a couple of workbooks for my youngers on spelling too; trying to find a good fit there, as I do have a 1st grader who needs to start working on things soon. A workbook format isn't doing well for him, so I'm trying to wrap my brain about how to get him to practice. But that wraps up into getting him to do much school at all. Sorry for the wild goose, there.... Anyway, yeah. We don't much bother. Out of writing sounds like a perfect plan to me. Otherwise, I really like the books (Spelling Power or Natural Speller) that have all of the levels available and organized by phonics rule. Makes good sense to me and means I don't have to buy a new book every year.
Another happy Sequential Spelling user! I wasn't going to do spelling, but his is REALLY bad and realized I had to do something. (I didn't want to add more stress than necessary to his day.) He actually asks for his tests and is really excited when he can see the improvement! I like that it's fast, and just makes sense.
We do Sonlight and it has spelling lists and some spelling activities sorta worked in... but... it grouped the spelling lists according to the phonics/reading rule we were learning which helps with decoding, but not necessarily with encoding. I would sit with my kids each day and work with them on their words doing them all sorts of fun ways and after 5 days they would both score a 50%. I decided that that method wasn't working... and that the lists were poorly chosen and I bought All About Spelling and I have been very pleased so far.
I created my own, because my daughter did not respond to so many words on a page and I wanted to stress spelling/phonics rules. Spelling It Out (how to use it) My Spelling and Phonics Rules Index Card System for MS Word For those who are interested: Homophones and Homonyms...?
we actually use Wordly Wise book 8 for spelling and vocabulary. I know it's a vocabulary program but we use it for spelling as well.
