More Spelling Wisdom questions

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  • February 16, 2012 at 12:17 am
    tlm123
    Member

    I am very interested in the Spelling Wisdom books and approach but had questions regarding how well they would work with Sensory Processing Disorder.  My 9yo son was diagnosed at 6 yo.  One of his various issues is the lack of fine motor skills and it hasn’t been until this past year or so that he could even write more than a few words at a time before his hand cramped up and he had to stop (he also gets frustrated very easily when things don’t work out).  The other problem with writing is that his letters are huge, really have no form (some are capitals, some lower case, some letters are backwards), and are all over the page.  I have not done any copy work yet because he is just now showing interest in writing and I wanted his hands to get stronger.  So now that he is showing interest and he almost 10 it is about the age to really work on spelling and a little copywork.  He is a great reader, way above level on that.  He is a good sight speller, can pick out the correct spelling from a set of words or recognize that he has not spelled something correctly but if I ask him to spell something orally he has a great deal of trouble.  I am getting concerned at this point that too many incorrect words are imprinting on his brain.

    So the questions are…does anyone else have this problem and is Spelling Wisdom working for them? 

    I know from the samples in Spelling Wisdom that they start off short and easier but even the 2 lines in Exercise 6 look like a lot for him to copy (we are starting typing practice but that isn’t much better yet in keeping his hands from getting tired).  Is it okay to break up an exercise into even smaller parts than that, say one line at a time, or does that mess up the context of the quote he is supposed to be reading?  I love that these exercises are from good books, that’s what attracted me to it.  Spelling lists would bore him and me to death!  My concern is will this work if you have not done any copy work and he has poor motor skills?

    Thanks!

    February 16, 2012 at 12:57 am
    Rachel White
    Participant

    I wouldn’t recommend starting SW yet. Sounds like he needs to work on formation and copywork skills first. What writing program do you use? Personally, for his issues, I’d recommend Handwriting Without Tears to work on his formation, body position and get his font size down. Then do copywork using that font. For example, Presidential Penmanship offers copywork in various fonts for tracing and copying great quotes, in order to neaten one’s handwriting.

    My dd struggle early on, too w/Sensory issues- motor skills and visual. She did the first 2 or three books in HWT, then switched to Pres. Penmanship for practice and neatness. She wasn’t able to go directly from learning her letters to straight copywork What I liked about PP is that it gave you tracing for 2-3 days before doing it free-hand. It completely helped her like nothing else.

    In HWT, there is a printing book specifically for 5th graders. You can see the sample here along with theother books. I don’t where he’s need to start, perhaps the 5th grade print book, called CAn-Do Print; but it may not be enough practice; or the 1st and second grade books, back-to-back would be enough and he’d get those finished within one year, I’m sure, then move him into copywork. Check out the samples and call them if you’re still not clear. The books aren’t grade labeled, so that helps.

    You can look at samples from the different grades levels and fonts at Presidential Penmanship.

    Remember, it’s not abnout his age, but abilities. I think between a year to two years for fine-tuning his letter formation and having him practice through copywork should come first. Through the copywork, he’ll be exposed to correctly spelled words. It’s okay if he doesn’t start SW for a year or two.

    I hope this helps some,

    Rachel

    February 16, 2012 at 1:22 am
    tlm123
    Member

    That does help.  As soon as I posted my questions it did occur to me that since he hasn’t had any copy work practice at all that maybe I shouldn’t worry too much about spelling yet and work on the penmanship.  My only concern in postponing spelling is that he as he writes more and more on his own he is misspelling many words and I don’t want those to stick with him.  Could the spelling be used with the penmanship and kill two birds with one stone?  Is spelling more important than penmanship or are they equal?

    February 16, 2012 at 1:53 am
    tlm123
    Member

    And here is yet another question, sorry!  I have seen some posts about teaching cursive before print.  My son has asked me to teach him a few letters in cursive and has written that way a few times because he thinks it “looks better” according to him.  He is left handed as well if that makes a difference.  Any thoughts?

    February 16, 2012 at 1:56 am
    LyndaF
    Participant

    I use Spelling Wisdom Book 1 with my 10 year old daughter. She has PDD and also has problems with fine motor skills. I agree that you should definitly work on copywork some more, but the dictation has helped her spelling tremendously. It may not work for everyone, but we are going to continue with it.

    February 16, 2012 at 2:12 am
    tlm123
    Member

    Well, I asked my son for a handwritten example and this is what it looked like…HOW ARe you toDAy?… with the question mark backwards, all letters the same size, with some upper and some lower case.  It’s a mixed jumble between the two.  So I will definitely get started on some copy work.  Still wondering if anyone breaks up the lessons in Spelling Wisdom to even one line per lesson?

    Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!

    February 16, 2012 at 2:25 am
    Rachel White
    Participant

    I do think they are equal in importance. Once you start copywork, you could do a spelling program for older children. But first, regarding the copywork; before he begins writing, ask him if there are any words he doesn’t know and if so, go over that/those word(s). I don’t know if that technique alone would advance him very far in spelling improvement if he needs to know how to hear the sounds that make up the English language. My son (11) is anadvanced reader, but poor speller, too. I know he needs practice and more exposure to the rules that make up the sounds and to practice hearing and sounding out the syllables to decode multi-syllable words.

    BTW, you wouldn’t need the TG for HWT.

    Regarding cursive before print, several people here do that, but I’m biased against it, at least in this situation. It’s understandable that he prefers the look of cursive over what he’s doing now, but I don’t know if that’s a good reason to do it. I would encourage him in making his print as need as possible, then he’ll like it, too; then move into cursive. Besides, his cursive wouldn’t look like the cursive he sees anyway, because he’d still have his issues to work through, it wouldn’t be “as neat” as he though it would be. If he doesn’t learn print now, when will he? My dd is left-handed, too. That’s another reason I went w/HWT. Once she was ready for cursive, we decided on D’Nealian and she’s transitoned easily.

    This could be a good opportunity to teach perseverence in his printing. After his hard work at it, he’ll gain a sense of pride over his accomplishment. Use CM’s short lessons in writing. For example, if on his workbook page, he has to practice writing “H”; do 5 perfect ones with correct body position and best effort, then stop him there. Go do a non-writing subject. Later, come back and do some more, the same way, the same day. Keep doing that until he can handle longer times of practice until his hand gets into the habit of correct hand position (which HWT does great for lefties) and it doesn’t hurt and the writing is neat. Does that make sense? That’s how I did it with my dd.

    For children spelling programs:

    Megawords-specifically for gr. 4-12, for students who struggle spelling multi-syllable words. Covers allthe phonics rules. I am going to use this one with my son. Is a workbook style requiring writing, so I would start him until he starts doing copywork or you can do the exercises orally.

    Apples 1 and 2 Daily Drills – for secondary students, too. Short and maybe not so much writing, don’t know if it teaches all the rules. Check it out.

    All About Spelling – teaches all the rules; teacher intensive; generally is meant to start at a younger age; good reputation for thorughness.

    How To Teach Spelling – (recommended to use How To Spell workbooks) same method as AAS, but less expensive

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