A few years ago we decided that it was time to start introduce formal spelling lessons to our children, especially as one was struggling something fierce to spell correctly. We went with Spellwell which we enjoyed and saw some progress with, but we noticed that all of that didn’t carry over to everyday spelling with our struggler.
Which is when we stumbled upon Sequential Spelling written by a former military man who has dyslexia. Thus it was written with people who also have this struggle in mind. This was perfect for our son, who at the time was struggling with undiagnosed Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS).
How We Use It:
The program is extremely simple to use and doesn’t take more then 15-20 minutes a day depending on how you can keep your student on track. Our son labels his paper from 1-20. Then I say a word, use it in a sentence and repeat the word.
It’s truly that easy!
The key to this program is that you check each word after it’s spelled as most words build off of each other. To do that the teacher is suppose to also write out the word on a white board. We did this when we first started using the program and still do from time to time, but mainly we use the iPad for it!
I simply use Keynote {Mac equivalent to Power Point} and enter our spelling words for the day/week/term into individual files labeled for each daily lesson. It only takes a short time to make each lesson up and have it ready for the day.
Another thing we do is make sure that word combinations are highlighted by color. This helps the child recognize the patterns quickly and helps cement the spelling combination in their mind. It’s also a great reminder for the teacher to explain a spelling rule if there is one.
What We Love:
I love the fact that lessons are short, simple and to the point. There’s no memorizing lists of words each week. Each lessons builds off each other and the memorizing happens in the 15-20 minutes each day that lessons take.
I love that I’m seeing the payoff in his everyday work. He’s also taking the letter combinations, prefixes, and suffixes to apply towards other words which is helping improve his spelling overall.
I love the price! Each book is available through Book Depository, Christian Book Distributor, Sonlight, or Amazon. This means that even overseas users have the opportunity to obtain these books and have them shipped right to their front doors!
I love that you don’t need more then the Teacher’s Manual, although when purchasing through CBD or Book Depository it’s just as cost effective to get the student book/teacher book combo it’s not something you have to do in order to use this program.
I love that my son doesn’t grumble about spelling or fear it anymore. I’m not going to say he jumps up and down throwing a party for spelling, but he certainly doesn’t grunt and groan over it anymore either.
I love that words that have an English and US spelling are shown in both forms in each lesson. That makes teaching my child how to spell in either of his home countries pretty easy!
What I Don’t love:
There are a few words included in lessons that aren’t commonly used and that can be frustrating, but honestly these are so easily left out that it’s hard to find fault with them.
Homophones are given in lessons, and if you don’t prepare your child upfront, that can be confusing your child. I like to clear the air by saying things like, “This word is a homonym. When we use it in a sentence like … then we spell it this way {spell the word out for them & have them write that down}. When we use it in a sentence this way… then we spell it like this {spell the other form}.” Each lesson there after I use the same sentence in order to help them remember. When words are homophones and not spelled differently I still tell them the word is a homophone but that there is no different spelling
Bottom Line:
It’s hard not to love Sequential Spelling! It’s a perfect fit for my rusty speller & has helped him improve so much, & it works perfectly to help aid him despite his SSS.
To find more specific details on how to put your Sequential Spelling lessons on your ipad you can check out Kendra’s blog.
Love the idea of teaching spelling this way. Why don’t more programs do it like this it makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing this, I’m wondering up to what grade level it goes.
Thank you for sharing this program. My oldest is fine with his spelling, but Number Two could use a little extra help. Anything that has patterns work great for her. And I shared it with a friend who has a son with dyslexia.
Blessings
SS is a very good program for reluctant spellers. AVKO has alot to offer and our kids really enjoyed this method/style. This really helped give my son the confidence he lacked with spelling. My daughter LOVEs spelling test so this was great for her as well. Thnks for the review.