Reading Lessons Through Literature – From the site – “The spelling lists in Reading Lessons include the complete Ayres List, 1,000 of the most common words in English as compiled by Leonard Ayres in the early 1900s, in addition to the 1,500 other words necessary to read the stories. Mastering these words will give students a good foundation.” My plan is to use these through about grade 3, maybe 4.
The final two lists in book 4 include – image, duckling, burdock, cheated, swan, principal, principle, prison, proceed, progress, prove, provide, provision, public, publication, dell, vale, woodland, receipt, receive, recent, recommend, refer, reference, refuse, regard, region, relative, relief, remain.
As I mentioned, I plan to go through RLTL book 4 with my younger two kids through about 3rd grade at which time we will do spelling with CM prepared dictation – choosing a worthy passage, studying it, and then the child writes as I dictate. This will continue through high school or until it’s evident that the child can spell well.
Maybe if I read the links first, I would find out, but one burning question b/c I don’t have time yet: Do you write while the child dictates so that the child isn’t reinforced with incorrect spelling/punctuation? And so they can focus on “writing” development without being encumbered with spelling/punctuation questions?
I have used SWR with my daughter and son. When I started with my daughter 5 years ago, she had already used an OG curriculum in school. Since we were both familiar with the phonogram method, I decided to try SWR, thinking it would be easier to implement than the program she had in school.
I love the organization of SWR. It worked out well at first and my daughter was retaining what she learned. HOWEVER, it became one of the biggest power struggles of our homeschool journey. She hated the finger spelling. She felt it was slow and that I was taking down to her. I had to scrap it after a year. I switched to Spelling Wisdom and customized lists. She is a good speller and reader, which might be why she resisted so much.
When my son was 4 or 5, I decided to use SWR with him, teaching him the cards only. He enjoyed that very much. By the time he was writing, I started him out, SLOWLY, with the lists and some rules. I decided not to use their suggested schedule and go at his pace. I’m so glad I did. We have had a wonderful experience doing it this way. He is now 8 and an excellent speller and reader. I recently realized that he needs a little refresher on the phonograms, so we will work on that this year along with more rules. This is what I love about homeschooling.
My suggestion for this program is to use it at the child’s pace. In my opinion, the cards are gold. They really help with reading and spelling.
From what I remember reading, the OG method was originally designed for people with brain injuries or developmental delays. I do not think everyone needs the intense instruction that SWR demands.
I hope that helps and feel free to ask me more questions 😉
Oh, I also don’t think you will ruin your child if they read before they learn to spell. I used McGuffey readers with my son and have had no problems.