Spelling Power on it's own is not doing the trick for DS. I think he is needing more review time with the words, other than just copying them 3x each. So I have sheets from spellingcity that have a word unscramble, a definition activity and fill in the missing letter. Do you have any other ideas that we could use, preferably that would involve him writing the whole word out? This is the 4th stand-alone spelling program we've tried, and so far we haven't had much luck. So I am hoping that adding extras in will help. Thanks in advance!
Have you tried AAS? I am using it for my ds and it seems to be working well for him. There is no weekly spelling list ( although I make one from the example words.) But learning the rules and then having him apply the rule to other words is what is making it click in his head. He is still not a natural spelling but he is getting better. I had tried all the spelling work before too, and it just didn't click with him.
We did back in first grade, but he hated all the tiles so I figured that was probably half the program and switched to something else. :/
Here are a couple ideas: 1.Put paint in a sandwich bag and use duck tape for an extra seal- he can practice writing his words on top (kids usually like this!). 2.Play tic-tac-toe with him- he has to write his spelling words out in each box first and then play. 3. Have him make his own crossword puzzle (him writing the words first then fillers) and gives it to you to find the words. 4. In the spring (at least where I live we need to wait =) ) have him write his words with sidewalk chalk. I have a son who is 9 and he likes these once in awhile too! Good luck!
You might try playing Hangman. It's good to let him even come up with the word, and you have to guess it. That really forces him to know the spelling. Of course, it sure makes the game challenging for the parent when the child DOESN'T know how to spell it correctly.
Houghton Mifflin has this free resource. http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/sv/index.html Also, you could do sort of a Charlotte Mason approach and have them do copywork using their spelling words, including grammar and the such with the teaching. Rod and Staff has a wonderful spelling curriculum (IMHO) and also scholastic Success with Spelling is very good.
Sorry to hear he did not like the tiles. My son would rather play with them that have to write on paper lol. Maybe if you have a special marker to use or colored paper for him to do spelling on it would be more fun and grabd his attention. I used to have him write with a pencil that had multicolored lead (like a colored pencil) and the color would change as you wrote, so he would really pay attention to what color the letters came out. You could also spell out the words using things such as cheerios, m&m's, play dough, legos, etc. In the summer you can even use rocks or pebbles. Just change it up so it is new and fun. I also have mine practice on our whiteboard. He can choose whatever color marker he would prefer. I also have him stand and spell them orally to me. I think this one helps because it really makes him think before he speaks. He seems to concentrate more on this avenue that some of the others. Hope this helps.
Well, you COULD drag out the "old standard" of writing them with their definitions, or put them in alphabetical order, or make up a sentence with each one, or try to put as many of the words as possible into each sentence so as to get the fewest possible sentences (some of these can turn out really funny!). More challenging: make a semi-coherent paragraph including all the words. Or make a paragraph, using all the words in as few sentences as possible AND include last week's list, too!
