Sequential Spelling Question

[Chloe]

Is it necessary for me to show my dc the written word for them to check against what they wrote, or does it work just as well for me to spell the word out loud to them after they write it. When I used SS before, I just spelled the word orally, but I'm wondering if it works better if I show them the word. Do I need to dig out my white board for best results?

[Jann in TX]

My girls are more auditory. I just spelled it out to them and they corrected if needed.
If I would have written it out they would have been bored silly...and it would have taken much longer.
This program worked wonders for my girls!

[Myrtle]

, but I'm wondering if it works better if I show them the word. Do I need to dig out my white board for best results?

I'm speculating, but this program was invented for dyslexics, was it not? (Do I remember this correctly) I have used it with my dyslexic son specifically because he was weak in his ability to visually recognize when two words matched and when they didn't. When doing an exercise with him I made sure to write the word rather than spell it out orally. So, that required him to very carefully and methodically examine letter by letter what the problem might be. (He is eleven and still reverses b/d, by the way). I think that it helped to develop a habit that he was able to apply in other situations. For example, say when he's writing an answer in science, he's more likely to carefully recheck the word that he's writing against wherever it is that he's copying it from than he was before.

I never used a white board, I just wrote it out on a sheet of paper like he was doing.

I would be very interested in what the author of this program has to say about this.

[Chloe]

I want to use this for my 4th grade dd and 3rd grade ds. My dd is an auditory learner, so I guess it should work just as well for her if I spell the words orally. My ds is a visual learner, and although I wouldn't call him a natural speller, he's much better at spelling than his sister. I suppose I could always switch to writing the words later, if it seems things aren't sticking.

[Chloe]

Yes, I think it was written for dyslexics. My dc aren't dyslexic, but my dd is a terrible speller. Ds is just ok at spelling, better than his big sister, but not a natural. I'm going to try it orally for a while and see how it goes.

[SkiMom]

The name of the foundation that developed the program is AVKO, which stands for Auditory-Visual-Kinesthetic-Oral. Using all of these "learning channels" (as AVKO calls them) is an important part of the program.

Here's how I do it. I read the word, then my ds writes the word and spells it back to me orally. If he spells the word right we just move onto the next word. If he spells the word wrong then I write it on the white board using colored pens to emphasize the pattern being worked on. This really helps my ds see the pattern, and it doesn't take much time at all.

HTH :)

[Chloe]

Awesome! I didn't think about having my dd spell the word back to ME. I'm guessing having the dc spell a word wrong out loud isn't going to make the wrong spelling stick, right? Isn't it Andrew Padewa (sp?) of IEW that says that dc remember the spelling of words better if studied orally?

[SkiMom]

That's a good question. The book doesn't say that this might reinforce the incorrect spelling. It does say that if your student calls out the wrong spelling then tell them it was a good guess, but show them the correct spelling on the dry erase board. It also says that you should then have them spell it correctly, out loud, with you as they trace over their corrected spelling.

If my ds gets a word wrong I usually spell it orally for him while I write it on the white board in color, and then I have my ds rewrite it correctly. You could also have your dc spell it correctly, out loud for extra reinforcement. I haven't run into a problem doing it this way. I've found that the correct pattern is really drilled into my ds's head because it is repeated so much in the other words as well.

[AngieW in Texas]

My dd is primarily auditory.

She does all her spelling orally. Very occasionally she chooses to write a word on the white board instead of spelling it out loud to me.

If what she spelled to me would not sound the same as the word that she was supposed to spell, I write her spelling on the white board and ask her to read it to me. If she reads it as the word she was supposed to spell, then I say the word slowly while sliding my finger under the letters so she can catch her mistake. It seems to work better for her to be able to catch the mistake herself rather than for me to just tell her where the mistake was or to just give her the correct spelling.

After this, I write the correct spelling on the whiteboard and have her spell it out loud.

[Joyce in ON]

I used this with my daughter. I didn't use the different colours, as suggested, nor did I write the word in the order suggested, however, I did write it.

I thought it best that she see the pattern, as well as hear it when I read it out.

Also, I didn't like that I may be reinforceing the wrong spelling with her spelling it out, so I wrote it on the board, or a paper (where you write it hardly matters), and if hers was different, she changed it. Sometimes she read out the spelling, sometimes I did.

Though she caught on when we did it orally rather than written, she picked it up faster when we did both.

[KathyBC]

If he spells the word right we just move onto the next word. If he spells the word wrong then I write it on the white board using colored pens to emphasize the pattern being worked on. This really helps my ds see the pattern, and it doesn't take much time at all.

HTH :)


This is what we do, too. I read the word, use it in a sentence; when he tells me he's ready I look at his paper. If it's correct I tell him good job, and carry on. If it's wrong, or a new pattern, then I write it. When we began the program and I was writing every word, a lesson took 20 min. Now it's about 10 min.

The use of two or more colours is mentioned in Right Brained Child in a Left-Brained World and I sat in a brain research seminar that mentioned this as an effective memorizing strategy, so we do that. I also see that patterns get learned almost incidentally, such as 'drop the -e and add -ing'.

My .02