Spelling Woes Please help...

[ShelzNH]

My 7.5 yo ds is having a very hard time with spelling. I am not sure where to go from here. He really can't spell much of anything. He is a great reader. reads 4th and early 5th grade books fluidly but just can't spell. I have spent almost two years doing SWR and All About Spelling. and it doesn't seem to work for him (although it has helpped ME a lot!) He gets the rules and stuff but can't seem to apply them to the words he is spelling. Am I the only person for whom SWR doesn't seem to be working? (BTW I LOVE the program myself!) He can't seem to remember how to spell anything 5 minutes after we go over it. He continues to misspell very simple words (he just spelled the word "we" wee) I need ideas please! TIA

[jabuford]

For example on all about newsletter it suggests having the child use shaving lotion to spell words or write them on a dry erase board, chalk on the sidewalk. Give a q-tip and soak in water to write on a chalkboard. Also another is write it in the air or use playdough. These are all hands on and may help him to see and remember it better. Just a thought.

[OhElizabeth]

Are you writing outside of your spelling time? With my dd (8.5), I had to increase the amount we were writing DRAMATICALLY to get us over that hump. I'm saying I went from just small amounts (a little in spelling, a little here or there) to TWO FULL PAGES of writing a day in 2nd grade. I don't know how much your ds can tolerate, but I'd suggest you increase his usage of those words and see what happens. We had already been through those SWR lists 3 times, so I went back and started dictating the sample sentences. Boy is that a eaty exercise! So for 2nd grade, we were doing say a 1/2 page written of sentence dictation from the Wise Guide, 1/2 page narration/retelling of an Aesop's Fable (the short ones in the version SL sells are perfect), and a page of free write using the Anti-Coloring book. That's just one way we did it, but it shows how you can get to two pages total per day. It took a lot of effort, but that increase in writing and usage is what got us over the hump. I don't think the issue was my teaching or SWR, because she understood the analysis of the words and could spell them when she really thought about it. She just hadn't used them enough for it to become HABITUAL. Her writing also speeded up quite a bit, so if you think his writing speed will hold him back, you may see improvement in that too.

I'm not saying that quantity is written in stone. It's just what I did with my dd. I do think it needs to be a lot more than we realize. I'd find how much he can do comfortably and then just push a FUZZ farther. And remember, all of this spelling was guided, every single bit of it, whether dictation, free-writes, whatever. I impressed upon her that I only wanted correct spelling and that she should ASK if she didn't know something. I would reinforce it by tickling and chasing her if she started to write a word incorrectly, etc. I wanted to turn on her brain so she would consider her errors rather than just plopping something down. This attention to her own accuracy has paid off big dividends too. I recently suggested to someone she try positive reinforcement (M&M's for instance) when her dc ASKS rather than writing the word incorrectly. Just something to consider.

[Kathy in MD]

Students internalize the spelling patterns, so spelling does transfer to general writing after lesson 60 or so. It's easy, takes 5-15 min/ day, needs no teacher's prep, and is low stress.

[Lori D.]

The portion of the brain in which spelling is processed is *very* different than the portions where reading, writing, math, and other subjects are processed, and *many* children don't even begin to be at a point of brain maturity to "get" spelling until grade 3, or about age 9. Many don't click with spelling until age 10-12. Lots of parents here have recommended waiting until 3rd grade to even introduce spelling.

Sounds like most of his maturing is happening right now in the reading areas -- he's quite advanced! Yea, that is great! Don't worry -- in time, the rest of his brain processes will catch up. Since he's only 7.5yo, maybe set spelling aside for the rest of this school year -- let it "simmer" in the back of his mind -- and let that portion of his brain mature some.

Just a thought! Warmest regards, Lori D.