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Sequential Spelling
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I really like the idea of Spelling Wisdom and CM style dictation for spelling – but my son seems to know how to spell any words at all, and I know for spelling wisdom, for a passage, they should only be uncertain of 2 or 3 words before studying it….
So I’ve been looking at options. I know a lot of people use All about Spelling – but I don’t know that I like it, and I think it looks a bit expensive.
Sequential Spelling looks interesting… anyone used it?
Haven’t used it. But I do LOVE All About Spelling. I didn’t think the price was too high since it’s non-consumable and I’m able to use it for all four boys. I’ve seen a huge improvement in their spelling and reading. And they like it. Nobody complains. It has a nice mix of auditory, tactile and visual which helps because they each learn differently.
Hopefully someone here can speak more to Sequential Spelling.
I use it for my son; the computer version. It’s helped some, I think. However, I still see problems in his abilities in multi-syllabic words. He clumps words together and doesn’t break them down by sound sufficiently. I think he learned to read so quickly that he missed some phonetic instruction some where. Seq. Spelling’s phonetic instruction is too vague, since it’s based on patterns.
So I’m going to have him use Megawords, too. http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=900M
Seq. Spelling and Megawords approach from two different perspectives so he’ll get reinforcment coming from two directions-patterns and phonetic.Since he’s not a natural speller (which is crazy, since he’s an advanced reader and has off the chart comprehension skills), I want him to get it from both directions. Though, I really think it’s mostly a lack of phonetic instruction and/or understanding in applying sounds to deciphering words. You know what I mean?
HTH,
Rachel
One of the reasons I like All About Spelling is that it’s filling in the gaps of the phonics we’ve missed. You can almost use it as a reading program. And I like that it teaches both rules and exceptions which helps them decode the language. Ending my sales pitch now…..(I just really love the program!)
I looked at All About Spelling, even borrowed it from a friend who has borrowed the next two levels from another friend. I was hoping that we’d be able to just pass it around as the next child needed – but I don’t think it would be a good fit for us. Perhaps if I’d started it sooner. I think my older would feel insulted by the “beginner” words and segmenting techniques. My younger, natural speller is too far advanced for it.
I have pretty much decided to go with Spelling Wisdom for next year. Actually, maybe even next term. I will wait until younger ds is in 4th, not because he can’t spell, but we can use the extra time for building attention span, and to keep him behind his brother. I may change my mind and try something else. Sometimes I catch myself looking at Spelling Power of A Reason for Spelling, but then we’re going back to lists…
I am guessing you are looking spelling programs for next year, which puts your ds in 4th, but I can’t remember if your daughter would be going into 3rd or 2nd. Either way, AAS level 1 would probably work fine for both. It’s a bit of an intial cost, but you would use it again with your younger 2 also, so that is to be considered. They do recommend getting a set of cards for each student, so if you are using it with both simutaneously, then you might want to consider that, but there are probably other options. You may even be able to make your own set, or only make a dulicate card when or if you need to. Someone using this program may be able to offer suggestions there.
@4myboys-what you said about the insulting of my older, advanced reader is a big reason why I looked elsewhere (in addition to the price tag and it’s probably too teacher intensive for me).
I’m glad you are so happy crazy4boys! Money well spent for you! You should sing it from the rafters!
Still singing….I have had 2 kids in the same level and never used a separate set of cards. In fact, I pretty much never use the cards at all.
I started my older boys at Level 1 AAS when they were a bit older (they were 9 or 10). I explained that we needed to build the foundation. One boy FLEW through the first level. Once I could tell he had it down (learned the rule or phonogram) we moved on. I didn’t belabor the point – some days we’d just skim a section or three, sometimes we’d go through all the words and phrases listed. Sometimes he wrote it out, sometimes he’d spell it outloud. He also chose to not use the tiles after a few lessons. Fine by me. The second son, started at the same time, took much longer. He needed the tiles. He often needed to do the extra word practice too. He has a very hard time with language in general due to some learning disabilities. Neither of them ever complained of it being “babyish” as we took it at their pace.
But each family is different. What works for one won’t work for another. And I’m so grateful there are so many options out there!!!
We use Sequential Spelling and LOVE IT. My 3 oldest girls learned spelling exactly like CM said they would… by reading and using the words. For my son, that method has not worked at all. He is now 10 years old. Before we started S.S. about a year ago, he couldn’t spell anything. And I mean that. Really simple words like “does” and “were” and “you”. I couldn’t believe it and couldn’t understand it. He is a voracious reader and reads way above his grade level. He just finished the whole Redwall series and the Hobbit, so I knew that non-exposure couldn’t be the problem. I looked at All About Spelling and I really wanted to try it, but I just didn’t want to put out the money because I felt that it would be too complicated for ME (not my son) to do every day. A friend told me about Sequential Spelling and it seemed to use the same methodology as A.A.S. so I printed out the sample unit from their website and tried it. The best thing about it is that it only takes us five minutes a day once we got used to it. I couldn’t believe the improvement in my son’s spelling. He is still far from being what I would call a good speller, but he is doing much better than before. I think that what it really did for him was show him how to stop and think about a word before he writes it… think about what part of the word he already knows (the root) and build upon that to spell the word correctly. The beginning lessons are pretty easy, but it was great for him because it really built his confidence. He couldn’t believe that he was able to spell “beginning” after one week.
We do not do any of the color-coding of letters or anything like that. I simply read him the word list, talk him through a word if he can’t figure out how to spell it, and I correct him immediately if he gets something wrong. I don’t make a big deal out of mistakes or explaining the rules. I just give reminders like “double the consonant” and stuff like that. I recommend that you print out the sample from avko and see how well it works for you guys. It seemed to really work well for him because he is a worksheet-black&white-checkbox- follow the rules-kind of a person. Completely different from my girls who all seem to be natural spellers.
Oh, I also wanted to say that if you do buy it, you do not need to get the student response book. We just use a regular old spiral.
I just ordered Sequential Spelling and plan on using it in addition to Apples & Pears spelling. I don’t have SS yet so I really don’t have any options but I really like the looks of it. Right now we are using Apples & Pears (which I LOVE) in addition to Soaring With Spelling. I really can’t recommend Soaring With Spelling, I really don’t think any of the words he’s learning with this program are going to stick. I’m using SWS more for vocabulary and extra reading practice than for spelling.
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