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domchurch3
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 11:25am | IP Logged
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I have a daughter who will be in the first grade this year. I'm intrigued with the method that some moms take of not doing a formal program but rather having them spell correctly any words that they write incorrectly in their writings along with other words from the same word family.
I'm wondering though if there are any benefits to taking more of a workbook approach either with CHC or Queen homeschool in the first grade.
Can anyone offer any thoughts on the matter?
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 4:21pm | IP Logged
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This is from Ambleside Online's Language Arts FAQ.
Quote:
Dictation, which reinforces spelling, is when the child writes something as the parent dictates. This is not for testing purposes - the child should be familiar with the passage or sentence being written. You can let them "study" for it first so that he knows how to spell the words. He might close his eyes and try to picture the passage accurately. He might practice words he's unsure about spelling. Only when he feels he is ready does the dictation exercise begin. This makes it more likely that the child will spell words correctly the first time. Some children are natural spellers and seem to effortlessly absorb spelling from their copywork and reading. For other children, dictation can help polish spelling skills because the child will have to memorize how to spell the word before the dictation exercise begins. The parent then reads the passage slowly and clearly while the child writes it from memory. Some parents use dictation as a way to test their child's spelling, using misspelled words as a spelling list. But caution should be used because once a child sees or writes a word incorrectly, that incorrect spelling is recorded in his memory. (Sand, rice, cornmeal, salt or shaving cream, which allows misspelled words to be wiped out immediately, is a fun way to practice writing for young children.)
A child does not start dictation until he has mastered handwriting from copywork experience. His first dictation exercise may be a single sentence. By 10 or 11 years of age, he might be able to do a few sentences. Older children might do a paragraph or two once a week.
By 10 to 12 years of age, some children, especially those who don't learn visually or are dyslexic, will still be having trouble spelling and need extra help. Programs that Ambleside members have used with success are Mary Pecci's Super Speller and DesignAStudy's Natural Speller. Sequential Spelling or the book "Seeing Stars" by Nanci Bell may be helpful for dyslexics. Spelling Workout, although popular and effective with some list members, does not follow CM's philosophy. Spelling Power is also used with success by some list members, but none of the Advisory members have seen it to assess its compatibilty with Charlotte Mason's methods. |
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My daughters are 7.5 and 6.....and this has been what we've been doing for the past 6 months or so. They will "study" the first line of a poem they have memorized, and then when they think they can write it, I (or one of them) will dictate it and they'll write it. They think it's great fun. (We'll see how long that lasts.  )
Otherwise, I count their copywork and independent reading as spelling at this stage.
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 4:45pm | IP Logged
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This is on page 69 of Elizabeth's Real Learning:
Quote:
| For the very young child, I simply dictate words and sentences from the phonics patterns and storybooks we are currently studying. Our phonics lessons are extracted from rhyming books primarily. As the student becomes a capable reader, dictation passages are taken from copy work material. First we read and discuss the material, noting grammatical patterns or spelling of note. The next day, the child copies it (this may take two days). The third day, he studies it. Then I dictate to him as he writes it. The copy work and final dictation both go in his notebook. |
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Here is a more specific example of how this would work from the "copywork" section of Serendipity's "Along the History Trail"
Quote:
Copywork and studied dictation for those who are able:
Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, an inventor, and a patriot.
On Monday, have the child read and carefully copy a model of the above passage written in the preferred print or script. Tuesday, copy again. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, take dictation and correct. |
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Suzanne in ID
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LLMom
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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We don't do formal spelling this young. In fact, some of my dc haven't done much spelling practice at all. We do copywork, which I think helps a lot. At the first grade level, most kids are working on learning to read, which takes a lot of effort. Spelling can come later if they need it.
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Lisa
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 5:23pm | IP Logged
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LLMom wrote:
| At the first grade level, most kids are working on learning to read, which takes a lot of effort. Spelling can come later if they need it. |
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That's been the case here too. Learning to read takes up the bulk of time. And, if my girls didn't think "writing words down when I say them" was fun, I wouldn't do it at all at this stage.
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Elizabeth
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I think for most children huge gains are made in the spelling department when they reach the "wide reading" stage. They start to put it all together in their brains and to "see" the patterns.Up until then,I encourage invented spelling because I want to see them want to write. At about ten, when they are almost always reading voraciously, they make lots and lots of spelling connections on their own. Children who are not at all visual are going to struggle. But 10 years old is not too late to intervene with specific spelling instruction to help them. For that, I recommend AVKO. For everyone else, I really think gentle dictation and copywork is plenty. Laura Berquist has dictation/copywork recommendations in The Harp and the Laurel Wreath and The Simply Charlotte Mason folks make it simple here.
For me, in the first grade, Suzanne's method is all you need.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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LLMom
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 7:40pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I think for most children huge gains are made in the spelling department when they reach the "wide reading" stage. They start to put it all together in their brains and to "see" the patterns.Up until then,I encourage invented spelling because I want to see them want to write. |
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Elizabeth,
i am glad you mentioned invented spelling. I know that is a "no no" for some CM homeschoolers. But we have always encouraged it and our children work it out, like you said around 10-13 years of age.
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domchurch3
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 8:42pm | IP Logged
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So in the case of invented spelling, you would not correct any misspelled words because they would eventually work themselves out? And if they don't by the age of 10 or so, then you introduce a spelling program.
Thanks for the great advice. I think I'll go with my instinct and not have a formal program until later. Actually, it's not instinct, I'm really liking Simply Charlotte Mason's coursework outline. 
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teachingmom
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| Posted: July 17 2008 at 11:59pm | IP Logged
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I'm a believer in teaching spelling, but not for first grade! I typically start, rather gently, in second grade and pick up the pace a bit in third grade.
My experience with inventive spelling supports the theory that it helps create good writers. My dd with the worst natural ability to spell felt completely at ease to invent spelling as she went at a young age. She was a fantastic writer of stories during those early years. (Still is!)
On the other hand, my 8yo does not like to invent spelling. She wants it to be correct from the get-go. And she is a very reluctant writer. It's like pulling teeth to get her to write a sentence or two on her own. I truly think it's a perfectionism thing. Keeping a journal as part of the school day was something my older girls did as a matter of course from late kindergarten on, but my reluctant writer hated to journal and I finally dropped it with her.
Based on my limited experience (4 kids reading and writing so far) I agree that if you can get your kids to feel free to use inventive spelling, it will help their writing tremendously.
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 18 2008 at 7:38am | IP Logged
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I would second (or third!) that bit about invented spelling and natural writers. My oldest daughter -- who went to school and used to ace the weekly spelling test -- is a very good writer who could not spell her way out of a bag for years and years and years. She's now 14 and fairly proficient, though she'll still ask how to spell things as she's writing.
Between about age 10 and . . . well, now, I guess, we just worked on the spelling in the context of her writing. I've always avoided much formal spelling instruction, beyond reminders about spelling rules and having kids sound things out by syllables, just because I saw, with that first child, how useless the memorize-and-test method was -- with her, anyway. She could look at the words, get 100 on the test, and then mangle them five minutes later in a sentence. So we concentrate on words as we're using them, and especially as we're learning to revise and proofread, and that seems to work better.
My secondborn, at 10, has been homeschooled since kindergarten, and we've always done copywork. His spelling is much better than his sister's, but he's also still a far more reluctant writer -- his perfectionism kind of hamstrings him. But the boy can spell, and I think the copywork and lots of reading have much to do with that.
My just-turned-6-year-old seems to be learning to read by spelling. He wants to know how everything is spelled, speaks in spelling words (ask him his name, and he says, "B-E-N."), and figures out words on the page in that classic phonics sound-it-out fashion (he sounds like that Brian Regan monologue about "Hooked on Phonics" -- "Ho-o-ked on P-h-onics Work-ed For Meh!"). I'm still calling him a kindergartener this coming year, but with him I guess I'm doing spelling, because otherwise we'll have nothing to talk about. But I wouldn't be doing it formally -- my real emphasis for the next several years will still be on developing reading and writing skills.
Sally
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K&Rs Mom
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| Posted: July 21 2008 at 7:50pm | IP Logged
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We did the CHC "My Very First" speller last year, with my 5yo. If she hadn't been such a solid reader I wouldn't have started spelling so early, though, because learning to read really does take a lot of brainpower and they don't need distractions during that stage. It ended up being more handwriting practice (which she also needed) than really learning spelling for her. I did really like the Catholic focus of the book, and she started CHC's Level B speller last week which seems to be about the right level of challenge for her. I liked the way "My First" speller had some grammar included, like teaching that capital letters always start a sentence. I certainly don't think it's necessary at this age, but if you're looking for something workbooky this is a good one.
As far as invented spelling, I usually don't correct more than one word per writing, partly because most of her creative writing is outside of "school time" and I don't want to discourage that. If it's something that someone else will see (like a letter to a friend) I might correct more. I'm hoping that as we work through the later spelling books she'll self-correct and it won't be a problem in a couple of years. If she's writing something and asks me how to spell a word, I always help her, and I think she's picked up a lot from that also.
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helene
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| Posted: July 21 2008 at 8:21pm | IP Logged
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First grade is a little early for my kids to do formal spelling, too. But one thing I have seen (esp. in my girls for some reason) is that they learn to spell properly almost overnight when they are excitedly working on a writing project of some sort. My daughter(7) started a diary and kept it up enthusiastically for the summer. By the time she was done with it her spelling had improved so drastically that she laughed at herself and how she had been writing just weeks before! Another daughter (10) wrote a 94 page mini-novel of her own accord. By page 94 she wanted to write a whole new story because she had developed such better writing skills and didn't feel she liked the beginning of her novel as much as the end. Of course they have to like it and be excited about it in order to learn spelling this way.....which my boys never seemed to be......and I still do a formal spelling page daily starting slowly somewhere around second grade and ending somewhere when they are ready for a study in vocabulary instead. But my experience has also been that the kids make their own natural connections in spelling as they write, when they are able and ready to write, and have good motivation.
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Is Spelling For 1st Grader Necessary?
