Spelling Help

[bass chick]

My son is 7.

We are using All About Spelling and he absolutely hates it. I'm not sure if he just doesn't like the method as we haven't tried anything else, or if he just hates spelling / writing things down because he doesn't see the point.

We went through AAS level 1 last year and started on level 2. The double f's l's and s's just don't stick in his mind. We have gone over the lists a zillion times. He remembers the rules but he doesn't remember to apply them. It is his least favorite subject and he tells me all the time how he hates it. He doesn't like writing things down much, but now that he is learning cursive he is starting to like it a bit more.

I was pretty sure that AAS was the best curriculum out there. But apparently it is not the best for my son. I don't know what else to try. I had a friend tell me that she used Sequential Spelling and her son hated it, was bored with it, didn't see the point, etc. I am totally at a loss. Spelling came so easy for me and I don't get what the struggle is for my son.

[greenmagick]

Ok, I am new to all of this so my advice is not really so much advice as my thoughts with no experience to back it up:)

If he were my kid I would just back off the spelling and leave it be for now.  He is only 7.  As he becomes more proficient in reading my guess would be he starts recognizing some of his own mistakes.  Then after a break maybe he will be ready to jump back in again.

[AAK]

I love AAS.  But I know it doesn't work well for everyone.  Many people don't bother "officially" studying spelling until grade 3.  You may decide to back off -- meaning use no curriculum for a while.  I don't like the idea of completely dropping spelling.  Instead, find words that he uses a lot and challenge him to learn them.  Use spelling city for games, etc to reinforce the chosen words.  Perhaps your son could hand-pick five words each week to work on.  This is just to get him thinking about spelling--rather than to turn it into a chore.  Is there a list of words that you think a 7 year old "should" just learn?  My kids (for example) are more or less expected to be able to spell the following at 7:  the, of, an, I, you, and, from, to, was, is, they, them, he, she, me, we, it, for, love, grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, her first/last name and the names of her sisters.  You can also take spelling ideas (like how to add 'ed' or 'ing' to a base word) and teach them.

Maybe he needs to not "focus" on spelling in a while.  Come back to AAS in a couple of years.  Or, maybe you will find a better fit elsewhere. Fwiw, Sequential spelling needs a fairly fluent reader to start with.  I think they expect a 3rd/4th grade reading level before starting it.

Amy

ETA:  you mention he hates writing things down. . . have you tried skipping the writing and only do a few minutes of work with the tiles?

[khenn]

He's only seven.  Relax and enjoy exploring writing with him.  It will all come together.  Spelling should be one of your last concerns.  Right now, read to him a lot.  Encourage him to read at whatever level he's at and smile when he writes things with quirky spellings.  Remember...he's only seven.

You can have him do copywork to bring awareness to correctly spelled words and punctuation.  If you want to test the waters in the writing rivers, have him dictate his thoughts to you rather than make him write it out.  He's going to be fine.

My oldest is going into 7th grade and I've never done any spelling program with him.  He's done copywork and dictation and that's it.  He spells fine.  It all comes together.  Your baby isn't going to talk like a baby when he is twelve and he's not going to spell like a seven year old when he gets older either.  It just all comes together.  Trust me and enjoy his sweet spellings now.  Save them.  They are treasures.

My second child is nine and she spells so phoentically.  It totally cracks me up.  This year, we will venture into copywork more than we have done in the past and I know her spelling will improve.  Again -- no spelling program for her either and she's doing quite well with the occasional fun spellings.

And my youngest is seven.  So I'm right there with you.  He will be doing copywork this coming year as well.  If you want to hint at a spelling program without really doing it, check out the copywork with spelling emphasis books available through Queens Homeschool.  I will be using these for my 9 and 7 year olds this coming year.

For all things language arts, check out Brave Writer.  You can't go wrong with their philosophy.  Enjoy!  Kellie

[yvonnemommy]

This forum is so powerful!

[yvonnemommy]

Maybe you should try some interesting ways to teach him spelling. My daughter is learning spelling online. Pretty fun and she learns quickly. I registered a vocabulary pro on beestar, a lovely website offering grade exercises for kids. The worksheets are full of interesting stories and cute pictures. Every worksheet includes 10 questions and is timed. This is challenging for her. It helps a lot.

Lisa

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by AAK 

Maybe he needs to not "focus" on spelling in a while.  Come back to AAS in a couple of years.  Or, maybe you will find a better fit elsewhere. Fwiw, Sequential spelling needs a fairly fluent reader to start with.  I think they expect a 3rd/4th grade reading level before starting it.

ETA:  you mention he hates writing things down. . . have you tried skipping the writing and only do a few minutes of work with the tiles?

This.  It's okay to take a break from it if you don't have a school district (or freaked out spouse) breathing down your neck.  After taking a break, maybe he'll be able to tell you *why* he hates it so you can approach it accordingly (find a new program, review other stuff first, whatever), or he'll be refreshed and ready to go.

My 7yo (8 this fall) is similar in that he detests handwriting - in part because he can't get it perfect the first time.  So I feel you there...  I ended up buying RightStart so I can make handwriting pages that have something to do with what we're reading or a letter to an auntie or grandma or whatever.  So with spelling, I get out the 'fun' dry erase board or little chalkboard and colored chalk for him to write down the letters who's sounds I'm making, or have him circle them, or pull out the magnetic letters and let him find and pull them out...  I also have a phonics bingo-type thing I need to pull out as well.  If he can wiggle some part of his body while learning, we do okayish.  And really, it may be the Mike Holmes magazine of all things that pushes my 7yo into finally really reading since he's completely enamored with that stuff.

[mattemma04]

I would offer pc spelling games and encourage reading.My dd/ds were bad spellers,but it improved with reading.Curently they are in Montessori where they get a spelling list on Monday.They get work throughout the week that uses those words,and then on Friday they do a test. I still feel the reading is what is improving the spelling more than the weekly drill work they are now required to do.

[bass chick]

Thank you everyone! All excellent and helpful replies.

He has told me that he dislikes the spelling tiles more than writing it down on the white board.

He does copywork (WWE2). We have tried a couple of online things like Reading Eggs and he mindlessly clicks on things until he gets them right.

I asked him to give me a list of words he wants to learn how to write this week. He came up with movie, fire, lightning, robot and castle. Now if I could just figure out how to teach them to him, that would be great. We will give that a try for a while...something less formal, but still focusing a little on it.

[greenmagick]

My son is a lot younger but he plays on the computer by randomly clicking too...and he learns really well that way.  It seems to me he learns better by making "mistakes" and getting wrong answers if that makes sense.  My daughter on the other hand is a perfectionist and WONT make a guess as she doesnt want to be wrong.  Many things come harder to her because she is so concerned with getting the right answer she sometimes fails to get the big picture.  She is getting much better at this luckily.  Anyways, my point is maybe he is really learning a lot by randomly guessing and clicking.  My son doesnt seem to be learning anything, and if I ask him he has no answers or seemingly no grasp...then all of a sudden he makes HUGE leaps seemingly out of nowhere

[moominmamma]

I'm another person in the "wait until they're reading fluently" camp. Many kids become absolutely ace spellers with nothing more than experience reading a large amount of properly spelled words. My eldest had absolutely appalling spelling at one point. She was reading fluently (Harry Potter, eg.) before age 5, and at age 6 was still spelling almost entirely without vowels, or with seemingly random vowels. Someone told me the Three-Year Rule: that you should expect kids to be able to spell accurately at the level of what they were reading well three years earlier. That gave me a certain peace of mind, because three years earlier at age 3 she was reading nothing at all! The fact that she could properly spell very little made sense, since she hadn't accrued the years of experience she needed with seeing the words. 

Fast-forward a 18 months and her spelling suddenly clicked. It was excellent by age 8 and better than mine by the time she was 10. Without a speck of spelling instruction. 

My other three kids have followed suit, though the change was more gradual with my middle two kids.

If your ds is not yet reading fluently, or has been doing so for only a year, nothing more than more experience reading may be required. For those who don't turn out to be natural spellers within 2-3 years of when they begin reading fluently, they'll be old enough at that point to have the maturity to work and progress with their spelling skills. 

Miranda