Evan-Moor’s Building Spelling Skills – 2nd grade

 Age, Elementary, Language Arts, Spelling  1 Response »
May 162012
 

When my daughter was a second grader, she loved to write and create her own sentences and little stories. I was so pleased that she liked to write but not pleased with the number of misspelled words! I didn’t want to correct each word, as that would affect her free thinking writing attempts. So I consulted with the staff at our local teaching supplies store and the homeschoolers in my group. They all agreed that correcting each mistake was unnecessary and that the spelling skills would come over time with practice. When I found Evan Moor’s Building Spelling Skills – Grade 2, I knew I had found what we needed! Easy to use and fun spelling practice for my daughter.

Features of BUILDING SPELLING SKILLS – Grade 2:

  • A well set out program, which meets state standards. Each lesson includes 10 spelling words and room to add two more.
  • Spelling words are based on the 200 most commonly used words in the English language and the words frequently misspelled by second graders.
  • They are printed in large font with black and white illustrations.
  • Lessons are centered around common phonetic elements – easier to learn!

Each  lesson in BUILDING SPELLING SKILLS includes the following activities:

  • Visual Memory Shape Activity, using the shapes of the letters to make a puzzle.
  • Spell Vowel Sounds  - Practice  with the sounds/vowels.
  • Word Study – Cut and glue activities.

The activities in this book are repeated in a predictable sequence. This helped my daughter to feel mastery and to work independently. All I needed to do was to remind her when it was spelling time, give spelling tests and to reinforce her work! We used stickers and a chart for rewards. My daughter would chose her own stickers at the local store. Friday was sticker day – after the spelling test! She loved Fridays. With time, my daughter became a good speller. She began to integrate her knowledge of English (from her reading), with the spelling skills (from SPELLING SKILLS – grade 2). Gradually there were more correctly spelled words in her writing! And this learning happened naturally. There are many good spelling programs out there but for my family, we liked BUILDING SPELLING SKILLS.

For more information, please go to www.evan-moor.com

Building Spelling Skills curriculum is available for grades 1 to 6.

Here’s to equipping the next generation with the skills to become excellent writers!

~Betsy lives near Puget Sound with her husband of 29 years, and her teen daughter. As a waldorf-inspired homeschooler, she loves using art with academics. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, writing, and being out in nature. She also offers consulting to families who would like some support for their homeschool journey.  To reach Betsy just send a message to Jane Sproger on Facebook.

 

Sing, Spell, Read and Write

 Age, Grammar, Handwriting, Preschool, Reading, Spelling, Vocabulary  2 Responses »
Mar 072012
 

Sing, Spell, Read and Write is a curriculum that I had the joy of being introduced to in the very beginning of our homeschooling adventure. Now, I am in the trenches of this program with my second child. This child learns 100% differently than my first and I am beaming at his success with reading and writing.

What type of program is this and how is it set apart from the others? Let me explain. Sing, Spell, Read and Write (SSRW) is a multi-sensory, song-singing, game-playing, colorful and very creative program. The curriculum focuses on the language as a whole while making learning exiting and fun. SSRW covers:

  • Grammar
  • Spelling
  • Reading
  • Vocabulary
  • Handwriting

The teacher’s manual details how each lesson should go and gives an estimate of how much time should be dedicated to that lesson. The author, Sue Dickson, has systematically laid out the various objectives for each lesson. Some of the lessons may take two days, others may take up to nine days.
The kindergarten curriculum is based on a train track. Each lesson is a section of the track and at the end the child will have completed the curriculum and is on his/her way to reading and writing!

I love the colorful books that are included in this set and the fun ways that the author teaches the child how to form the letters. There are two books in the kindergarten curriculum along with fun songs that teach short vowels, sounding out words and many other phonetic rules.

The first grade curriculum is a racetrack. As the introduction song goes,

“I’m going 36 miles so I can learn how to read, 36 lessons are just what I need, 36 spots to read, write and spell. So everyone rejoice I’ll soon be reading so well!”

My children run madly around in a circle pretending to be race cars each time this song comes on. Thankfully, the next song that goes through each letter sound a-z calms them back down! There are two books in the first grade curriculum as well.

I truly believe this is one of the most thorough and enriching ways to learn to read, write and spell. The first book has each letter broken up into four pages. For example, learning letter “c”, the child would color a cat, next page practice both lower and uppercase c, then there is a cut and paste page where they need to decipher whether or not that picture begins with the “c” sound and finally, a dot to dot.

The first book takes around a month to complete, while the second book, will take much longer. I am thankful that this is not a quick program. When my first child completed step 36, I was a few days away from having our fourth child and I could have cried. We had been diligently working for the past 10 months and had covered everything from the short vowel sounds, long vowels, silent k, l, g, g, h to reading comprehension and everything in between.

My son finished the racetrack a very confident reader, speller, and writer. He took his confidence to the library checking out more books than I can count and reading them to himself any opportunity he had.

My second son, is on step 12 as I write this. He is a very kinesthetic learner. He is a very independent child and loves going ahead on his own (which is very possible with mom close by, of course!). The songs grab his attention while the workbook pages change up the rhythm of the lessons so that your child will not become bored. Each lesson is followed up by a game that has a Bingo or a Go Fish theme to it.

My son who cannot sit still long is reading! Oh yes and not only is he reading but enjoys reading. He is comprehending what is read!

The program contains:

  • 17 story books
  • CD and 6 sing along tapes (do people still use cassettes?)
  • a raceway track
  • cars for the track
  • five games
  • a treasure chest of prizes and four books
  • an assessment book

In summary: Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about this curriculum. The curriculum is an investment at around $254.00- $306.00. This, however, includes both the kindergarten and first grade programs. You may reuse the resources for each subsequent child after and are able to purchase just the workbooks online for around $9-$14. After seeing how successful my children are learning and have learned to read and write I would pay this amount over and over again. I know others who have followed this program would state the same!

Finally, you can view the materials at Christian Book. Happy reading!

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Spelling Power

 Language Arts, Spelling  4 Responses »
Jan 232012
 

Hello, fellow homeschoolers! This is the first review I’ve written for the Curriculum Choice. I’m very excited to share my thoughts about and experience with various curricula and resources with the hope that someone finds them helpful. I thought I’d dive right in with everybody’s favorite subject: spelling!

Like math, spelling as a subject offers a variety of methods — and madness. Also like math, some children are naturally stronger in spelling than others. For some families’ mix of learning styles and levels of compliance (in both children and teacher!), spelling workbooks are the ticket. For others, copywork and dictation fill the bill. And let’s not forget the myriad spelling software programs and other books. Alas, none of those worked in my family. That’s why I’m so thankful a friend introduced us to Spelling Power.

Here’s the daily procedure in a nutshell:

  • You and your child sit down together. You administer the quiz on that day’s group of words.
  • Each group of words follows a certain phonetic rule (or exceptions to a rule), such as: “/ar/ is usually spelled ar as in jar.”
  • You use a specific worksheet (printable at home) and follow a certain protocol in giving the quiz: You say the word, use it in a sentence of your own creation (I enjoy that part!), and say the word again.
  • Your child then says the word aloud, writes it the best way she can, and then says the word again, to cue you for the next word on the list.
  • At the end of the quiz, you grade it together, with you saying and spelling each word correctly, and your child marking her incorrect words.
  • She lists the correct spelling of each word she missed on a list called Words to Learn. She then studies only the words she missed on the 10-Step Study Sheet.
  • The next day, you quiz her on the words she missed yesterday before beginning that day’s quiz. Easy peasy.

Of course, there’s much more to it than that, overall:

  • Beverly L. Adams-Gordon, the creator of Spelling Power and a home educator, has put much thought and research into this multi-award-winning program.
  • When you first begin, you test each child to find out in which level he or she should be placed.
  • Each level includes several review tests (given after several daily tests).
  • There are delayed recall tests about halfway through the level. Tests again at the end of the level and end of level tests.
  • If your child continues to miss words he’s studied previously, Spelling Power provides extra learning activities to strengthen his recall.

Don’t let the “Big Orange Book” scare you, though! Once you delve into the curriculum, Spelling Power is very easy to use:

  • Adams-Gordon provides a Quick-Start Guide to get you up and running.
  • Although the program is pricier than other spelling curricula, it’s designed to be used from ages eight through adult.
  • All the materials you’ll need are included via a CD-ROM and a link to a website with downloadable forms.
  • Moreover, Adams- Gordon designed Spelling Power to teach not only spelling, but dictionary skills and proofreading. It really is a complete program.

Spelling Power has been great for my family. My “natural speller” child loves that she has to study only those words she misses on the quizzes, and my less able speller enjoys Spelling Power’s focus on mastery of spelling rules. She’s able to translate that knowledge to her everyday writing. A boon for me and an accomplishment for her.

For more information on Spelling Power, visit the website at www.spellingpower.com.

Ellen stays busy home educating two middle-grade daughters, chasing two corgis, managing the family’s busy household, reading as much as she can, and writing about life at The Bluestocking Belle.

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K5 Learning

 Elementary, Language Arts, Logic, Mathematics, Online, Phonics, Reading, Spelling, Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Jan 182012
 

To be honest, when I was approached about writing a review for K5 Learning, I was going to pass. We just haven’t liked any online sites that we have tried. I decided it was only fair to give it a quick look before saying no, and my five-year-old was immediately drawn into the site. I responded to the request with a yes.

We started with the recommended learning assessment, to see where my son scored on grade level, so the program could correctly place him to start the program. The assessment has a variety of levels given within it. Some answers will be too easy, others too hard. This is the only way the program can know where your child is in his learning.  However, I wish there was a button for parents to choose “does not apply”, as my son correctly answered some questions he had no clue about, just by chance.  Once the assessment is over, the parent can log in to see where your child was placed. Evan scored 1st grade, and he is in Kindergarten. (I thought he was reading above K!) After the program knows where your child’s skill level is, you are ready to learn.

The layout is attractive and inviting. Evan has really enjoyed learning his lessons with this program. I wanted to share with you a few examples of the curriculum in action, to give a better idea of what a lesson looks like.

The pros:

These lessons aren’t full of games and a little education, your child will really learn:

  • phonetic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
  • numbers and operations, geometry, measurement (including time and money), algebraic thinking and data analysis.
  • basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. (with monitored progress for mastery)
  • spelling-you can even assign your own word lists.

Other positives:

  • works for special needs learners.
  • parents have access to learning reports to track progress.
  • the lessons adjust to your child’s individual learning automatically.

 

 

{my favorite part of the lesson}

  • Each lesson also has a preview of sorts that explains what you are about to learn and how to answer. I really like that about the program.

{this math lesson was challenging, but enjoyable}

{we apparently needed this, as Evan asked if dragons were real!}

The con:

This online curriculum has some great positives and I am glad we were invited to try it. I do have one negative to give, however:

When we went to work on the math facts for mastery, we found they are timed drills. Drills makes sense for older children – but Evan is five, with little keyboard skills. He never could get fast enough to pass, even though he answered all of the questions correctly.

 

As you can see, 0 were answered quickly enough, but all were correct. It had nothing to do with knowing the facts. I do wish the curriculum had thought of smaller children with little hands and no knowledge of why the numbers don’t go in order on mommy’s computer pad. Evan couldn’t understand why he didn’t pass when he knew all of the answers.

The rest of this site is great, so we will likely just be skipping this section unless that aspect is changed. Overall, it is a great program with true learning as the star. It is just fun enough to keep Evan from feeling overwhelmed, but this isn’t busy work. I would definitely recommend this if you have any interest in computer learning.

Purchase info:

  • After the trial ends, the monthly subscription for one child is $25 or you can purchase one year for one child for $199.  K5 Learning has a free 14 day trial that doesn’t require your credit card to begin. (I love that.)
  • I would recommend giving the free 14 day trial a try. Evan has really enjoyed this in the few weeks he has been using it. If we had the extra $25 in our budget, I would continue on when our subscription expires. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy K5 Learning this much. It has been a great addition to our day.

Sam's Noggin

**I was given a 3 month subscription in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

 

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Primary Arts of Language: Writing

 Elementary, Handwriting, Phonics, Spelling, Writing  No Responses »
Nov 302011
 

This review is Part 2.  If you haven’t already read my review of Primary Arts of Language: Reading, please do so before continuing with this post.

Primary Arts of Language: Writing by Jill Pike of Excellence in Writing is the companion program to Primary Arts of Language: Reading.  While the reading program focuses on early phonics and reading skills, the writing program focuses on printing, beginning story writing, copy work and spelling.  Using the two programs combined gives you a complete and thorough language arts curriculum for the K-2nd grade student.

Primary Arts of Language: Writing is divided into three parts.

  • Part 1 introduces your child to printing using correct letter formation and story summaries.  Handwriting is taught in a variety of ways, most importantly through modeling by the parent.  (A DVD-ROM comes with the program which teaches you precisely how to teach your child.)  Letter stories are introduced to your child at the same time they are learning to write the letters to reinforce sounds the letters make.  After handwriting practice, your child gets to listen to simple stories and learn the fundamentals of comprehension through sequencing, and understanding characters, settings, plots and more.
  • Part 2 builds on handwriting fundamentals through copy work and begins spelling lessons using the very popular All About Spelling , Level 1.  (You can read my previous review of All About Spelling here or read Lynn’s review here.)  During copy work times, you will also discuss such things as punctuation and capitals.
  • Part 3 assumes that handwriting is now automatic, spelling is going well and story charting (characters, setting, etc.) is no problem.  If this is the case, your child will move into beginning composition.  These 16 final lessons are meant to ease your child into the basic units of the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s Teaching Writing: Structure and Style methods.  Your child will learn to take notes, summarize from the notes, create a story sequence and write creative stories.

You can certainly choose to move more slowly than the material suggests!  I am using Primary Arts of Language: Reading with my K4 at a slow pace.  My little guy is only ready for some of the handwriting lessons, so that’s all I plan to complete this year.  I’ll probably wait to use the remaining parts of the book until first grade, because I know he won’t be ready for copy work and composition until at least then.

Besides the daily lesson plans, the teacher’s guide also includes a scope and sequence of writing skills covered, several printable posters, charts and templates, and additional tips for teaching writing.  You also receive a DVD-ROM with video instruction on how to teach the lessons, audio seminars from writing teachers and the all-important printable student pages.

Just as the reading program, Primary Arts of Language: Writing is a fantastic program!  The only warning I might give…the reading and writing programs are meant to be used together.  My feeling is that the reading program can be started much earlier than the writing program.  I would be very weary about starting the writing program with a child younger than 1st grade, while the reading program can easily be started as early as K4.

-Cindy West is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of a high schooler, middle schooler and K4.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her NaturExplorers studies and other creative curricula at Shining Dawn Books.

Spellwell

 Charlotte Mason, Spelling  No Responses »
Oct 192011
 

I’ve always been avidly against spelling as a subject all on it’s own, and this worked well for one of my children. Unfortunately the other suffers from poor spelling. It’s been a struggle for him, and thus for me.

I decided this was the year that we’d add spelling, officially, to our daily routine. The problem was, that I didn’t want to have random lists of words that confused the poor child even more.

You see, he can spell phonetically, but outside of that realm he’s lost. Thus he spells: frum, wut, luv, sav. Oh, to be able to read his sweet little notes without the need for a red pen to scribble all over it.

I wanted something that stuck with the basic rule of: keeping phonetically spelled words together. This is down the Charlotte Mason line of thinking, and it made perfect sense, especially for a child who is struggling so much.

After searching through many spelling programs I stumbled upon one called Spellwell. I was intrigued because I’d never heard of it before. The lists of words were not huge, and they happened to have a pattern about them!

I decided to give it a try, and ordered the second book in the series called Aa. That’s right, the series doesn’t have grades on them but alphabetical numbers. This works wonderfully well when you have a  student in one grade for most subjects but feel the need to back them up significantly for others.

Each week a child starts with a pretest. Now, that goes against the Charlotte Mason idea of spelling, but I actually like this. It gives us a baseline, a jumping point. It allows me to know if it’s worth doing the lesson or not.

When we pulled the book out the first day, I was convinced my child would ace that test. He didn’t. I nearly cried. In the weeks since then, however, he’s gotten progressively better with each pretest, and was so excited to find himself using bonus words one week!

The spelling lists are roughly 7-10 words long in the Aa book that we are using. If a child can master all of those words you give them the Bonus Words. Each list has words that follow the same phonetical spellling rule. Er, ea, silent e, ice, etc.

This works really well and builds confidence quickly for my poor speller. If he remembers his phonics rules he can quickly master his lists because he remembers they all have something in common! This is just  so perfect for his confidence!

There is one page of work to be done Monday – Thursday in Spellwell. Each page is very simplistic. It might be a fill in the blank story, rhyming fun, compound word practice, games or any one of a few things.

The books are in black and white, but there are sketches through out on most pages that the children are encouraged to color in if they want. My student skips this particular activity.

There is no work on Friday as this is saved for Post Test Day. There is no place within the small workbook for a child to take the test, so we generally do so on the whiteboard, or if the weather is really nice out on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

What I love:

My top notch answer is going to be simple. I love that my child has gained confidence and power with his spelling. He’s gone from worrying that everything he spells will be wrong to asking occasionally. His spelling is not perfect, but it’s vastly better!

I love that the spelling words are applied each day in fun and engaging ways! So much so that my student who doesn’t truly need spelling help {yet} has asked if he could also do these books!

I love that the lists are short, simple, and the words on them all have something in common with each other! This was really important to me.

I especially love that this programme is extremely inexpensive. It’s presumed that in a typical school year {180 days} a child would go through two workbooks {Normally A & Aa or B & Bb, etc.} Workbooks & answer keys can be purchased through CBD or Book Depository.

I do not own a Teacher’s Manual for these workbooks. I didn’t feel a need for one, but if you wanted to purchase one they are a few dollars less then the Student books. You’ll also find that both letters {A & Aa or B & Bb, etc.} are all in one Teacher’s Manual!

Oh, and for those of you, like us, who did not use Explore the Code, the author of SpellWell happens to be one in the same! I found that information neat for some odd reason!

What I don’t Like:

Honestly, so far I’ve only had one qualm with this book. In one lesson there was a fill in the blank story about a Teddy Bear. In an effort to fit in a spelling word of “wear” the author used the sentence: “He is truly wash-and-________. Despite the answer being a rhyme with the previous sentence my son was baffled.

I thought they could have used a better sentence, but I have to admit I’ve tried to write fill in the blank sentences with rhyming words before and it can be tricky!!

Bottom Line:

We love this simple, inexpensive program.

Kendra lives in Tasmania Australia with her husband, the Man From Down Under, two curious boys, a dog, & a bird that constantly talks back. Creator, and avid user, of the Homeschool Book Of Days & The Nature Game she can be found retelling tales from The Land Down Under over at the Aussie Pumpkin Patch.

My Father’s World: 1st grade

 Art, Bible, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Elementary, Geography, Grammar, Hands On, Language Arts, Living books, Music, Nature Study, Phonics, Reading, Science, Spelling, Unit study resources  3 Responses »
Aug 222011
 

What immediately drew me to My Father’s World is that the curriculum is the fact that it is fairly stand alone. You purchase either the basic set or their deluxe set, and you are ready to go!  I adore this as our little library in this rural community really doesn’t have the variety or selection of books that we were used to in San Diego. This means filling in blanks or filling out a curriculum is a challenge now so a curriculum with most of the absolutely necessary books included was a huge plus to us.

However, like the true bibliophiles that we are, I wanted the option of having more, should we be able to find them. True to the Charlotte Mason element, the curriculum is surrounded by the “living books” concept so the usage of books is completely up to you.  I love that they include this in every year.

About My Father’s World 

mfw basicMy Father’s World isn’t just a Charlotte Mason style offering but rather a unique fusion of sorts, merging both “the best of Charlotte Mason, classical education, and unit studies with a Biblical worldview and international focus.”

My Father’s World offers grades K-2nd grade as a more independent, semi-stand alone element and then moves into a family 5 year cycle that works around a central theme. The 5 year cycle is specifically geared for multiple ages, for grades 2nd-8th so there is savings to be found as families with more than one child use the same program to teach all children in 2nd – 8th grade.

Year One Geography: Exploring Countries and Cultures
Year Two History: Creation to the Greeks
Year Three History: Rome to the Reformation
Year Four U.S./World History: Exploration to 1850
Year Five U.S./World History: 1850 to Modern Times

 

They also offer a bridge year called Adventures in My Father’s World, which is geared for families 2nd or 3rd graders who have no siblings in 4th – 8th grade.(We will be doing this program next year as I have a 4year old and a 7 year old.)

 

Our Adventure

Currently we are working our way though My Father’s World, 1st grade.  I adore this program as it is laid out in an easy to follow, daily workbook fashion.  It’s easy for me to combine the integrated social studies, science, art and Bible elements with both kids, while focusing independently on the phonics and math.  My boys love that they are learning together, doing the same things, despite their age and grade differences.

The curriculum does include a 1st grade phonics-based reading program that focuses on the Bible and more fun, hands-on math activities.  We include our own K4 phonics and and additional math program (Math U See) for both boys as I found their math not as intensive as I think it needs to be for the grade.

mfw craftsOne major element we always seemed to miss with our previous years curriculum was the arts; we simply didn’t always make time for them.

With My Father’s World, art, music, crafts,hands-on learning is a major part of the curriculum. Everything is planned out and outlined for you to see the day before so you can prep easily, using common household items most of the time.  My boys have enjoyed this more consistent addition to our learning and I have found they have better attitudes and have better lesson retention.

The only cons that I have experience thus far is that the 1st grade teachers book is only formatted with a daily lesson plan. It lacks the easy, one glace, weekly grid that their latter versions offer.  I also felt the math that is included is a bit weak for the age group so we needed to supplement an additional math program. Ultimately, minor things that we easily rectified.

For a full curriculum, It’s fairly affordable, especially when you compare it to larger, more known companies. For the 1st grade curriculum, you can elect to get their basic package for only $136.oo or their deluxe package for $239.00.  As the years grow in complexity, so does the number of books included which will contribute to a steady raise in the overall costs. However, remaining competitive and within reach for most families.

Overall, My Father’s World, or MFW, has been a blessing to our household. It’s affordable, fun, engaging and the children really do learn.

Educational Apps

 Language Arts, Mathematics, Mom Helps, Nature Study, Online, Preschool, Reading, Science, Spelling  1 Response »
Aug 102011
 

Technology continues to advance, and with it, comes many opportunities to learn.  Today, cell phones have become much more than just a way to call someone.  But, did you know that beyond Facebook and Angry Birds (a game), there are some really great learning gems available for smart phones?

5 Great Apps For Education

 

Super WHY!

Originally just a TV show, Super Why! has transitioned to a kid-friendly App!  This app features the four main characters from the TV show as they teach the alphabet, rhyming, spelling, writing, and reading.  Our family uses this app often as its graphics are great and the games make learning fun!  $2.99*  See More.

 

TEACH ME

TEACH ME currently has three apps out – toddler, kindergarten, and first grade.  The kindergarten version teaches Math (addition and subtraction), Spelling, and Sight Words.  However, my FAVORITE part is that it allows for multiple users and tracks their progress.  That, and it’s really affordable!  $.99*  See More.

 

Project Noah

For kids of all ages, Project Noah is a great app for citizen scientists everywhere!  With this cool app, you can add a photograph of an interesting creature you’ve found, or you can access the database to learn of and about different organisms in a specific area. You can even help track migrating species or document endangered wildlife!  This great app takes learning to a whole new level and gets kids excited about exploring nature and teaches on the go!  FREE*  See More.

 

PBS

PBS.org now has apps for ipad, iphone, and ipod.  You can now preview or view full episodes, as well as check out your local station’s schedule!  While not quite as an impressive app as the previous ones, this app could still be invaluable to your planning time if you’re constantly on the go (or someone is using the computer)!  FREE*  See More.

 

Storyrobe

Use photos and videos from your library to create and share stories!  This interactive app lets you record your voice through the microphone or you can use the 3rd party mic to get the story going.  From telling the story of an event in history to tracking the growth and development of a butterfly to teaching Kindergarteners parts of a story…this app has unlimited potential!  $.99*  See More.

 

So, tell me… What are some of your favorite learning and education apps?

*Prices at time post was written.

 

Written by Ashley.  Find more of Ashley’s writings and reflections on motherhood, marriage and life on her blog.

Sequential Spelling

 Language Arts, Spelling  5 Responses »
Jul 252011
 

Our family has used several things through the years to help our kids in the area of spelling. Some have worked well. Others have not. My oldest son (14) was really struggling this past year with his spelling and programs that we had previously tried just didn’t seem to be doing the trick with him. He was a late reader. He has always struggled a bit with the concept of phonics. He tends to be very logical in his thinking. It has never made sense to him that a letter would be silent or one particular letter might have several sounds. He really thrives as a sight reader and that tends to roll on over into his spelling. He wants to spell things as they sound.

After trying several other programs and not feeling as though they were a good fit for him, I read about Sequential Spelling and decided that it sounded like something that might work well for him.

With Sequential Spelling the basic concept is to teach spelling by word families. This was the way that my son learned to read and so it made sense that it would also benefit him to practice his spelling in this same manner. It has been a wonderful fit for him.

To give an example of how Sequential Spelling uses word families, your child will be introduced to a word such as “at” and then they go on to learn how to spell cat, bat, sat, scat, and more. Another example is the word out and then your child learning to spell all of the words that contain the word out in them.

The lessons are really short with Sequential Spelling. For us it takes about 15 minutes a day. The lessons build on each other as you go along and they repeat words over and over again which helps your child to memorize the spelling. Each lesson may contain up to 25 words. You as the teacher simply go down the list and dictate the words on the list each day.  One by one your child writes them in his/her student book or on a piece of paper. He or she immediately corrects any mistakes that they make. I really think this is another key to this program being successful. The program treats mistakes as learning opportunities. Instead of memorizing words to take a spelling test, each day is treated as a test where mistakes are immediately addressed and changed by your student.

Sequential Spelling offers 7 levels in their program. Each of the 7 levels include 180 daily tests of 25 words for a total of over 25,000 words! With Sequential Spelling you need to purchase the main book as well as a Student Response book. The student response book is not completely necessary as you could just use a binder of paper in place of it but we have found it nice to have the student book on hand. The average individual price for each volume runs anywhere from 17-20$ and some places throw in the student books for free.

You can find the scope and sequence for the program, HERE.

In a world where most people these days are dependent upon spell check it sometimes seems that good spelling is quickly becoming a lost art. I long for my children to be good spellers and I am thrilled to have found a program that is working well for my spelling challenged child.


Jennifer is mom to 6 children, 2 boys and 4 girls, ages 14 down to 5. The Unsell family is in their 10th year of homeschooling. You can find their family blog at Adventures in Unsell Land.


Rod and Staff English

 Bible, Classical, Elementary, Language Arts, Middle School, Spelling, Vocabulary, Writing  10 Responses »
May 092011
 

I was reminded again why we’ll be heading into our sixth year enjoying Rod and Staff English. Yesterday, third grader and I read…

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

The assignment to emphasize that when we read God’s word we “should be careful to get all the good sweetness we can…

…We must not read so quickly that we miss the important truths God wants to teach us. Nor should we read so slowly that our minds wander and bits of truth slip away.”

Further on the assignment was to copy and memorize the above verse. I adore that we are using God’s word to study English.

Just the day before we read sentences, pictured above. Do you see the names of Biblical cities? Goshen. Tarshish. Some of these might be difficult for a third grader to read. But why shy away from them? Practice pronouncing them now for confidence later.

In our home, many times we do the lessons orally. The curriculum is written for a classroom, so we adapt. The children and I can read through the written exercises together. Other times I ask that they do a writing assignment. There is a nice variation of poetry, writing and good old diagramming (in older grades). We simply buy a spiral notebook to accompany the grade – so all written assignments are in one spot.

We also don’t begin grammar lessons until mid way through the second grade year. Even then we may only do a couple lessons a week. So far each of our children have enjoyed this series so much that they have each asked to do more. Now, my older three children head into their 4th, 7th and 8th grade years with Rod and Staff.

“I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.” Psalm 77:12 – from inside cover of Preparing to Build, English 2

The verse we found at the bottom of another lesson, illustrated with clouds, butterflies and mushrooms….

Whatsoever things are true,

Whatsoever things are honest,

Whatsoever things are just,

Whatsoever things are pure,

Whatsoever things are lovely,

Whatsoever things are of good report;

think on these things.

–Philippians 4:8–

For a detailed listing of specific levels available and ordering information, please see Annie Kate’s review: Rod and Staff Grammar or Kristen’s review: Rod and Staff English.

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

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