Frequent spelling errors and method of correcting:

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  • amama5
    Participant

    I have seen great results from using copywork/transcription/dictation with all of my children.  We also do an additional spelling lesson each week individually as we work through a spelling book.  Lately though, I’ve noticed some frequent spelling and grammatical errors in their writing that don’t seem to be going away over the years, despite very frequent correction or working on specific words.  I remember reading that Charlotte Mason discouraged giving children wrong examples of words, to avoid having the wrong way imprinted in their minds.  I’ve never used worksheets for that reason, ones that give a choice of a homophone and ask them to choose the correct one, or sometimes to correct a misspelling.

    Do any of you use tools like that to correct/reinforce spelling/grammar issues?  I just feel like what I’m doing isn’t working, and some of them are getting old enough that they should be spelling those words correctly, or using the homophones appropriately.  Thanks!

    psreitmom
    Participant

    We are  using Spelling You See which is chunking, copywork, and dictation. Although I believe this method to be a better one for my daughter, she still makes many mistakes, even if she has seen the word just minutes before the dictation. I am afraid it is because she does SO much writing on her own for fun, and because her spelling is so poor, she is constantly writing words incorrectly, and, unfortunately, I cannot be with her all the time to correct spelling errors. So, I am afraid she is learning to spell words improperly for that reason, so it is hard to undo. I really am at a loss for knowing any way to help the situation. I don’t want to discourage her from writing. She loves to write notes to friends, and tries to write her own stories, but it’s not when we are doing school, so I don’t see everything she is writing. I’m open for any suggestions as well.

    amama5
    Participant

    Same with my daughter!  I have other kiddos I’m concerned about, but I have the same situation, not wanting to nit-pick her in her free writing, but she writes the words incorrectly so often when she writes quickly that it’s become a bad habit.  Lately I’ve just been talking to her about how she wants to be a writer, and that good authors learn to write well in all ways, including spelling and grammar, and that maybe she could put a list of words she frequently misspells in the front of her journal and peek at them.

    Anyone end up using the worksheet tools, or showing them the correct vs incorrect choices?

    bethanna
    Participant

    Oh, how funny! I was coming to ask similar questions about my dd10. We have been using SW & ULW usually twice a week as well as working on words from her own writing. She continues to misspell the same words over & over again. I read Tristan’s description of how they use one SW passage each week & we may try a similar approach. I also was reading in my Ruth Beechick books about individualized spelling. I’m not sure what to do. My dd writes to a few penpals so for the words that she continues to misspell in letters (like “favorite”), we might make a poster with those words.

    bethanna
    Participant

    bumping 🙂 One thing I meant to mention is that my dd will spell the words correctly during dictation but misspells the same word in her own writing. Certain words (like “which” or “there, their, they’re”) are repeat offenders. So when she sends a letter to her aunts or penpals, they think, “These folks homeschool!?” 🙂

    HollyS
    Participant

    I think there/their/they’re mistakes are very  common with all people.  😉  I find myself having to go back and change the spelling of those words fairly often!    Would it help to have them proofread their letters or do they not see the misspelled or misused words?

    Somewhere I have a chart of commonly misspelled words that a PS teacher friend gave me.  I wonder if there is a free printable of similar words?

    bethanna
    Participant

    I’ve been thinking that she doesn’t see the mistakes, but she may just be in a hurry to move on to the next thing she has planned. I didn’t mean to take over this thread. I was hoping that someone would have answered the OP’s questions about spelling helps. I’ve been struggling with what to do all week. I did get Tricks of the Trade. It is individualized spelling. The student book is basically a dictionary of words that the student writes. It makes me think of the Grammar Points pages in SCM’s Using Language Well. I have also been looking up spelling activities & games online.

    Melanie32
    Participant

    I noticed that my daughter made the most progress in the area of spelling during the middle school years. I worried when she was younger and continued to misspell words. I tried a computer based program called Click-N-Spell and a workbook called Apples Daily Spelling Drills. I’m not sure how much either helped but I saw the most progress when we were consistent with copy work and dictation and it all came together around 7th grade. She’s in 8th grade now and has become quite an intuitive speller and I never thought I’d be able to say that!

    amama5
    Participant

    I did find worksheets on a website I use for handwriting practice, http://www.worksheetworks.com.  They are under the vocabulary section and had two choices, one for correcting their/they’re/there, and one for just choosing the right one.  I’ve been working through them with her and she actually is enjoying them and seems to be getting them right most of the time.

    bethanna
    Participant

    Oh, thank you. I will look for that!

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