2nd grade mom here with the poor speller...

I think we're going to begin "drilling" him on his previous words this year - just identifying which "group" the word is in, so he retains it better. I'm going to look at All About Spelling.

For the person who listed the ABeCeDarian link - was that intended for me? Do you really think he would be ready for Level B, given he struggles great on the blended consonant words? (But his reading group is N, mid 3rd grade).

An outside tutor may be helpful.

To the PP who worked with their son over the summer on essays and problem words... I admire you, and want to give your son a hug for all that work!! I know it would have caused tears in my household. I'm so happy it worked out for you.

My son was like this. Read well above grade level, but couldn't spell words like "many" or "their". He also could not sound out words. Now he can spell acceptably. I

* made him write an essay everyday on paper during the summer (so he could not use the spell check) and then made flash cards of every word he got wrong. We would then drill them until he could spell them (this caused many many tears)

* I got a woman who specializes in dyslexics (Barbara Marburry) to give him tutoring. This really helped his ability to sound out words.

Now that his spelling is reasonable, I still check all his written work for spelling errors, make flash cards, and we drill 3 words every morning. I also quiz him on the way to school.

It was a lot of work, but I think he would never have learned to spell at all without this.

Sequential Spelling

Anonymous wrote:My son is in 2nd grade, also a terrible speller but a great reader. His school does "Words Their Way," which I really don't like. I feel like he memorizes stuff but doesn't retain it. I know last year, he was definitely NOT retaining words/rules/sounds he had "learned" earlier in the year.

This year, he is in the lowest spelling group in his class. Even kids who I tutored last year on 1st grade sight words are in a higher group.

His trouble seems to be that he freaks out and simply can't sound out words, esp. when it comes to blended consonant sounds - at either the beginning or end of a word. ("sh" sounds really are trouble.)

Would the All About Spelling program be a good fit for us?

Yes. I am a school psychologist so I have seen a lot of programs. I don't like the "Words Their Way" program for most kids. Schools that tend to use that program often use Everyday Math as well. So the students often struggle with basic skills. All About Spelling (google it for the link) is a cheaper version of the Orton-Gillingham method which is a one of the best methods available to remediate reading and spelling difficulties.

Try the abecedarian reading/spelling program. Each workbook is about $13 to $15. Cheap, sensible, and extremely efficient.

Level A covers the Basic Code (one letter sounds, ch, sh, th, and ck)

Level B covers vowel sounds made with two or more letters.

http://www.abcdrp.com/details.asp#B

Level C and Spelling Patterns cover more multisyllablic words and spelling rules such as when to double consonants when adding ing.

Level D is advanced spellings derived from Greek and Latin, more prefixes and suffixes, etc.

My son is in 2nd grade, also a terrible speller but a great reader. His school does "Words Their Way," which I really don't like. I feel like he memorizes stuff but doesn't retain it. I know last year, he was definitely NOT retaining words/rules/sounds he had "learned" earlier in the year.

This year, he is in the lowest spelling group in his class. Even kids who I tutored last year on 1st grade sight words are in a higher group.

His trouble seems to be that he freaks out and simply can't sound out words, esp. when it comes to blended consonant sounds - at either the beginning or end of a word. ("sh" sounds really are trouble.)

Would the All About Spelling program be a good fit for us?

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade DD is also a terrible speller but voracious reader. The word study set up just wasn't doing a thing for her in 1st and 2nd grades because she could do it right, can sort words very well, but the lessons never "stuck" with her.

After researching things on my own, I decided to try out All About Spelling. It's a heavily phonics based approach and teaches formal spelling rules. My daughter is very good at math and loves applying rules, so this method is working well so far. Plus, it also uses tiles in addition to writing, which works well for us because DD is also a reluctant writer. We are just finishing Level 1, which is completely basic, yet is giving her confidence in her spelling abilities. I'm hoping to get through level 3, if not 4, by the end of this year.

Here's a link for AAS: http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-spelling

ITA. AAS is a great program. Spend 15 min. everyday in exchange for video time and he will learn to spell well. I recommend starting at Level 1 and move your way up. It is around 30 dollars for the starter kit and then 40 dollars per level. For less than 200 dollars and 15 to 20 min. a day four times a week he could easily be on or above grade level by April or May.

word study!!!!!!!
also--test for adhd and vision/tracking issues asap.

My 3rd grade DD is also a terrible speller but voracious reader. The word study set up just wasn't doing a thing for her in 1st and 2nd grades because she could do it right, can sort words very well, but the lessons never "stuck" with her.

After researching things on my own, I decided to try out All About Spelling. It's a heavily phonics based approach and teaches formal spelling rules. My daughter is very good at math and loves applying rules, so this method is working well so far. Plus, it also uses tiles in addition to writing, which works well for us because DD is also a reluctant writer. We are just finishing Level 1, which is completely basic, yet is giving her confidence in her spelling abilities. I'm hoping to get through level 3, if not 4, by the end of this year.

Here's a link for AAS: http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-spelling

OP-- how bad is his spelling?

If you want , give your child this spelling inventory. It is 25 words.

http://readingandwritingproject.com/public/themes/rwproject/resources/assessments/spelling/spelling_elementary.pdf

When he is done type his spellings here and I will tell you what I recommend.

OP here--He does do word study in exactly the way suggested by a PP, but it's an interesting idea to go back a year or two and revisit those words with the same system. As for dyslexia, it's definitely worth testing for. I'll look into the process.

If he is dyslexic - get academic therapy from..

http://www.asdec.org/academic-therapists

They use multisensory techniques to teach dyslexic kids.

Have him tested ASAP for dyslexia. Do not postpone the testing and the recommended therapy, it will get worse for your child.

print off some 1st and 2nd grade spelling lists from the internet. Have him do different "word study" activities with the lists.

Use one list per week and work on those words that week. Mondays he writes those words three times each, Tues. he alphabetizes them. Wed. he uses each word in a sentence. Thurs. you give him a quiz (using a white erase board -- kids love dry erase boards especially when they might want to make changes). If he gets them all correct, he gets whatever reward you have come up with (video time or whatever). Repeat each week and move toward the 3rd grade level spelling lists.

Is your child doing "word study" in school or as part of his normal homework? Should be.

My son is in the 3rd grade and struggles tremendously with spelling. It's always been a challenge for him but this year it's really become an issue, with his teacher reporting he's well below grade level. It's all made harder by the fact that he's aware of the concept of spell-check and so feels strongly that it shouldn't matter if he can spell perfectly, as long as he gets close enough to trigger spell-check to hand him the correct word. He's basically in a place right now where he's decided he is a crummy speller, he's never going to improve, but it shouldn't matter anyway. All of which makes for lousy test scores, frustrated teachers, and fun evenings around the kitchen table when it's time for homework.

I'm looking for other ways to get him focused on trying to spell correctly outside of schoolwork. He's a voracious reader, but that doesn't seem to be helping him spell. He's also always chomping at the bit for more video game time (we're pretty strict about limits on screen time) so if I could find a DS or computer game that genuinely teaches spelling while also keeping him interested, that would probably work. I don't love the idea of outside tutoring at this point, but if anyone has seen real improvement after trying it, I'd be willing to give it a go. Any suggestions?