We are excelling at everything we do for "school" at our house except spelling. I need some advice on whether it will come around on eventually or if he should be tested for dyselxia. He reads very well (in my opinion) for his age level, for example he can read all of his textbooks, workbooks and reading books from Abeka without any problems. Did you ever have a child that just can not spell and doesn't seem to care lol? This is his sentence from today that he wrote on his own: I will write it here exactly like he did. Mom, what is ice crem, strearbrey sote ckac, and popcorn made of? It should be strawberry short cake He placed the commas correctly just didn't get the spelling. And from his spelling list he can not remember how to spell what, write, and right but can spell invite and polite. Can someone please say you have going through this too and it will get better?
Sigh.... Faythe is 14, and, while she's really improved, I doubt she can write a full sentence without at least one mistake. And don't believe it when they say good readers are also good spellers. NOPE! She's a good reader, and LOVES to do it.
I can say I am going throught this too, but sorry, I can't say it will get better. My 18 yo and 13 yo both struggle with spelling. Ok, I'll be honest, I do, too!
I've decided you're either a speller or you're not. As a good speller, I am forever frustrated with my 10 y.o. DD who is an avid reader but a horrendous speller. She just doesn't "get it." Her daddy and her grandmother are not good spellers either, so maybe there's a genetic link somewhere?
Ok here's the thing I say to my kids to get them to remember. "close your eyes and visualize the word on a page." If they can read they can remember the spelling. And I find it does help them a lot. I also have them spell it and if I notice it is wrong I will ask them to read it to me. 'Uh Mom I think it's spelled wrong." I let them correct their mistakes that way they are learning to notice incorrect spelling. Hope that helps some. But on the flipside my Dh is a lousy speller. Some people just don't do well at spelling. And that's ok so long as their future isn't riding on them writing a lot.
My 34yo dh just started spelling better within the last year. And only because he uses facebook to gab to people :lol: I agree- some people are better spellers than others. I used to be a decent speller. I've noticed it's started deteriorating as I age though. :shock:
Meghan, you're too young for mental deterioration to have set in. Me, on the other hand...? I worked with a woman for twenty years. She was a teacher, had a Master's degree and a list of certifications as long as my arm. She was a wonderful person and very professional. She couldn't spell for beans. Oh, the ordinary stuff like we mostly write here, fine, but certain words that kept cropping up in our reports over and over -- selected/sellected, privilege/priveledge, occasion/occassion, and so on. She said, "Spelling is a gift from God - you either have it or you don't; there is no learning it!"
I heard of the program "spell to write and read". It could be that some kids need to know the rules of spelling. This program is supposed to break it right down and teach all the rules. (more than what we would remember from grade school). I will likely try it in the fall. The traditional learn the list and spit it back methode did not work for me. Phonics has helped. But I think I might have done better with a more systematic approach. Also, what northernmamma said about correcting their own mistakes (or a siblings!), might help. Try not to get too frustrated though. It can be tough to watch them struggle with it (or not struggle when we wish they would try a little harder!).
This year we're using Sequential Spelling. Ben is definitely "getting" spelling better now than he was. He is beginning to understand the difference between "her" and "here", between "car" and "care" - he just loves to add a "final silent e" where it's not needed. But he's starting to "get it" better. Now he can pretty much spell things if I sound them out for him. In the past 3 years, he's done CLE LA 100 (phonics heavy), R&S 2 Phonics (just finished), R&S 2 spelling, and now is doing CLASS 3 spelling. Then this year we've added SS. I do repeat a rule kind of often, like "drop the e to add ing and we have 'baking'", or ask him "what kind of word is this?" (compound word, contraction, etc.), or ask "what word part is this?" (prefix, suffix, root word), or use some names for things I've picked up here and there, such as "4-letter A" for "eigh". I really think for him it works to have different word parts in different colors. I think mine are a bit different from AVKO's - I use green for the initial sound of the root word (green means go), the word pattern in black, the prefix and/or suffix in red, and "sight words" in purple (like "was"). Like baking wasn't unhooking. And I tell him the difference between homophones like stair/stare. I don't expect him to absorb everything I jabber about while I'm writing the words on the whiteboard, but I can see that some is actually sinking in.
My son knows the rules but if he is writing he forgets the rules. When I ask him how to spell it, he will stop think about it and most of the time get it correct. He's 14 & I've realized he's just not a great speller. We will continue to work at it but I'm not going to stress over it. Best of luck to you, just continue working at it and don't let it get you down.
do you have a spelling program? I use Bob Jones spelling for my 3rd grader. It wasn't sinking in until we started using Spelling City alongside it. It just takes more time to sink into my dd's head, I suppose. She's still not a fabulous speller, but at least now I can tell what she is trying to write.
Aside from the spelling issues are there any other signs of dyslexia? What type of spelling programs have you tried? I have a non-sequential learner (suspected visual-spatial) with some spelling issues and I'm keeping an eye open for stealth dyslexia. He reads very well and his spelling and phonics skills lag behind. If your son is a visual spatial learner visualizing the spelling words is supposed to help. It didn't with my ds though I am going to try Rod and Staff spelling with him. It covers the rules in a workbook format. My son likes workbooks for some insane reason.
My ten year old has had horrible spelling up until now, it is still not great. There are a couple of things that we do that are improving her spelling slowly. We use word ladders. Every day we do at least two of them. Look them up on the internet, they are available for several grade ranges. Additionally, we use Vocabulary and Spelling City. There are several different ways to study lists, make printables, and it is a great way for your child to practice their own spelling lists. In the end, I think my daughter will learn to spell, but until then we just have to keep reviewing. Good Luck! Linda Homeschooling 1 child for 4 years with Time4Learning~!
My now 20 year old son was home-schooled from 6th grade through 12th. He is in college now. He has always had trouble with spelling in his own writing. He always made 90% or above on spelling tests, but it did not transfer to his own writing. He became motivated to spell better about 4 years ago when his online friends started noticing his atrocious spelling. He will never be a "stellar speller", but he is motivated enough to use spell check now--lol! His spelling has improved tremendously--lol. Bountiful blessings, Susan
Sorry I haven't answered until now but somehow time just slips away. We have been doing just the spelling books from Abeka but after doing some reading about other programs, I think I am going to order All About Spelling. Does anyone have any comments about AAS? Thanks in advance!
My son is not a very good speller, and neither is his father. He is in 3rd grade and reads easily on a 4+ grade lever. But we started using some of the activity sheets from spellingcity.com about 2 months ago, and it has made a HUGE difference in his spelling! The site is free and you just plug in your own word list, then choose from different activities that you can either print out or have them do online. I agree though that you either are a good speller or you aren't.
I used to think my son was just bad at spelling. Then I started using Spelling Power and realized that he is actually good at spelling. Maybe it has something to do with finding a good program that works well for you.
Yes ds#1 is self proclaimed "lazy speller" he claims he can spell correctly but doesn't really care. We never had him tested for dyslexia did not see a reason to with home teaching, I mean we teach at their level of learning knowing what his learing was called didn't seem to matter. He read at a college level in Jr High btw, so no worries there. He is doing fine now in College. Took a while but he found out there is Spell check in most things online now days too! lol
