| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp. All rights reserved. |
| about the book |
| The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Homeschooling by Subject Spelling Remediation, Review, "Catch-Up's" and Enrichment When it's time to really get to work on spelling... by Julie Shepherd Knapp, copyright 2006 It may seem odd to have remediation, review, and enrichment options on the same page... but, really, there is a lot of overlap in the materials. The same resource could be used by one student to try to "catch up" on spelling rules that were never learned, by another as a review before standardized tests, and by another for self-enrichment or to prepare for a spelling bee. So, take a look at the following products to see which ones will suit your child's needs. If it seems that your student is having an unusually hard time with spelling, even when presented with spelling rules and phonetic strategies for "sounding out words"... then you may want to explore materials that are designed to help those with dyslexia -- a reading disablilty that can also affect spelling skills. See Related Issues (at the end of this page) for more information on helping students who struggle with spelling and/or reading. Spelling Remediation, Review, and "Catching-Up" Painless Spelling by Mary Elizabeth Pothaizer for Barron's -- This is a resource book aimed at middle school and high school kids who need help with spelling. Presents both spelling rules and letter sounds in a kid-friendly way. Available at major book stores and from Rainbow Resources. Who might find this program useful? This book would work well for those who want to construct their own spelling program. Could also be done, independently, by older students. Spelling the Easy Way published by Barrons -- A single book resource that includes a 10,000 word spelling list, exercises, and achievement tests. Chapters cover "why to bother spelling correctly", spelling rules and mnemonics, better spelling by ear, British spellings, most frequently misspelled words, tricky words, science and technology, and medical terms. No Teacher's Edition available. Available at major book stores. Who might find this program useful? Older students who need a concise "catch-up" program. Could be used independently by older students. Some students may need guidance to see that chapters are not "breezed" over too quickly, but actually studied. Some students may be overwhelmed by all the information, and would do better if the educator uses it as a resource guide to teach the student (or try the kid-friendly resource "Painless Spelling,also by Barron's). Students with spelling disabilities may need more skill-specific exercises than this resource provides. A Visualization Approach to Spelling -- a great technique for visual-spatial learners Teaching The Right Brain Child by Dianne Craft MA CNHP of Child Diagnostics -- manual, videos, and flashcards (sold separately), a former homeschool mom and special ed teacher helps parents learn how to use Right Brain Strategies to teach their children Spelling, Math, Reading, Phonics, Sight Words, Vocabulary, Following Directions, and Study Skills. Her website is rather bare bones... here is a description of her program. Lexia Learning: Strategies for Older Students -- interactive software for students 9 and older to improve reading and spelling skills, starts from the very beginning, with basic vowel sounds, but allows students to proceed at their own pace Read, Write & Type -- a single software combines phonics, reading, writing, typing, spelling and punctuation. Directions are given orally (not a lot of reading involved), kids progress at their own pace, aims to protect self-esteem in vulnerable students who work at a slower pace or tend to make lots of errors. Reportedly good for those with Dyslexia or other learning disabilities Teaching Phonics and Word Study in the Intermediate Grades by Wiley Blevins for Scholastic -- This is a single resource book that is designed to improve the reading and spelling skills of upper elementary to middle school students (grades 3-8). It helps educators provide a systematic, explicit phonics instruction to help students develop phonemic awareness, includes linguistics, phonemes, phonograms, and spelling rules. Includes quick assessments; lessons, fluency strategies; Greek and Latin roots, games, and activities. Who might find this program useful? This program would be helpful for those with middle school students who are struggling with spelling and reading. Provides remedial instruction to students who didn't learn phonetic skills in elementary school and are now struggling. Useful for helping students with dyslexia. If It Is to Be It Is Up to Me to Do It and Sequential Spelling by Don McCabe with AVKO -- This program was designed for home use. It focuses on word families and intuitive spelling patterns, no phonics or spelling rules are taught. The program builds on simple words such as "in" then adds to the word to arrive at "pin", "spin", "pins" "pinning", "beginning", etc. Who might find this program useful? Older children and teens who need to improve their spelling and reading skills. Useful for those who dislike spelling rules, and for those who do not do well with phonetic approaches to spelling. Useful for students with dyslexia. The author recommends beginning with "If It is to Be..." then proceeding to Level 2 of "Sequential Spelling". If quick remediation is needed, the author recommends doing two lessons a day (morning and afternoon), 7 days each week, to finish the program in 2 years. The author adds that this will also help with reading skills. All About Spelling by Marie Rippel -- This is a multi-sensory, sequential spelling program based on Orton-Gillingham methods (which have a proven track record in teaching children with dyslexia). This program was developed by a homeschool mom and is designed to be used at home. The program teaches phonics, phonograms, and spelling rules. The program is broken into lessons that include detailed teaching tips and strategies, flash cards, spelling tiles, spelling lists, and an interactive CD-ROM for learning the sounds of the phonograms. The program consists of instructional books at Levels 1 - 6 (only 1 - 4 currently available) that do not correspond to grade-level (see their FAQ page for placement guidance) Who might find this program useful? Students who struggle with reading and spelling. Students with a spelling or reading disability, such as dyslexia. This program can be used as a comprehensive spelling program for any student or for remedial work with older students. How to Teach Any Child to Spell and Tricks of the Trade by Gayle Graham -- This is a single volume resource spelling program (with student book) that teaches basic phonics rules and 6 key spelling rules thru 4-step daily lessons. No standard lists of spelling words are provided, instead, spelling words are generated from errors in the students own daily writing. This method requires either the parent or the student to make lists of mis-spelled words for use in the program. Requires a companion book, Tricks of the Trade, used daily by the student. A good review is at Rainbow Resources. Who might find this program useful? Students who can already read and write, and are accustomed to daily writing. Students who prefer to learn the spelling rules and apply them to spelling words they actually use on a daily basis, rather than memorizing generic lists of words. Could work as a "catch-up" program for teens who need to improve their spelling. Note: This may not be a good approach for students who struggle with writing -- they may balk at doing the daily writing assignments, and might be discouraged by having spelling errors marked up in the papers they have struggled so hard to write. Spelling Enrichment Spelling Demons Week by Week -- by Elizabeth Hagner for J. Weston Walch Publishers -- Each 2-page lesson covers a list of hard -to-spell words and gives rules and tricks/reasonings to remember each one. Includes oral and reproducible written tests. Available at book stores and from Rainbow Resources Who might find this program useful? Students who are generally good spellers but want to conquer the tricky words. Students looking for spelling enrichment. Boxcars and One Eyed Jacks -- dice and card games for learning to spell, phonics, parts of speech (and math) How to Spell Like a Champ by Barrie Trinkle -- the basic rules and all their annoying exceptions, plus 26 words of unknown origin, the four most commonly misspelled word types, puzzles and games. Good prep for entering a spelling bee. The Scripp's National Spelling Bee Study Resources -- includes free downloads of the Merriam-Webster's "A Dictionary of Pre-fixes, suffixes and combining forms", an audio version of the Paideia, and word lists Spelling City -- a free online data bank of spelling words you can use to practice by playing games, even add you own spelling lists! A Word A Day -- by Wordsmith.org, free service delivers a new vocabulary word to your e-mail every day Merriam-Webster Word A Day -- a new vocabulary word e-mailed to you each day for free Kid's Daily Buzzword -- from Word Central by Merriam-Webster, free service e-mails you a new word every day with definition and history of use, also, kids can build their own online dictionary Little Explorers Picture Dictionary from Enchanted learning -- a free online picture dictionary for kids to explore and learn Puzzlemaker -- from DiscoverySchool.com, free way to make your own spelling list crossword puzzles Why is English Spelling so Mixed-Up, Crazy, and Irregular? -- an article for kids from the Simplified Spelling Society Related Issues: Trouble with Reading, too? Could a spelling problem be a sign of dyslexia? Looking for more vocabulary and wood root resources? Introducing "Cut Spelling" -- from the Simplified Spelling Society, which aims to reform the English language and return to its phonetic roots |