Spelling question...

[MamaMansa]

At what age do children usually become proficient spellers?

[MomTo7]

This can be VERY different from child to child. Some 6yr olds spell anything they hear. Others are much older 12 or 13. I would not even want to give and average age ( but in my house, it's around 10 :shifty)

[MamaMansa]

My DS (8) reads well, but has a very hard time spelling. He has a pretty short list of words he can spell without asking, and those are words that he spells regularly.

My DD spelled early, so lately it's been something in the back of my mind. I'm not really concerned, but it's comforting to know that it *will* happen eventually.....even if it's 10. :)

What do you all use for spelling curriculums? I think I'm starting to come to grips with the fact that just because something worked well with my DD doesn't automatically mean it will work well for DS. I've been using Spellwell, but think I may need to look for something else for him.

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

My ds is an excellent reader - well, well above grade level - and an awful speller. We have been using Spelling Power and he LOVES it, and already his spelling is much better. I don't expect him to be proficient for several more years, though.

[klpmommy]

spelling is a different type of skill - it is mostly memorization & some people never really get it (my dad for example). Honestly, I wouldn't sweat spelling that much. As your kids get older, teach them to use spell check- it isn't a sure fire solution (its, it's for example) but it helps a lot.

[Moon]

Think of spelling as a particular learning style. Some people just get it, others will only halfway get it regardless how hard they work at it. :shrug

At the moment I'm creating my oldest's spelling. I'm choosing a phonics "rule" from Phonics Pathways, then making a list of words that coincide with that. I don't require him to memorize the rule, but it does get used enough he can usually say it from memory by the end of the week.

My 7yo is using A Reason for Spelling, she is not a natural speller like her big brother. It's working well for her. My only beef with them is while they do group words by common sound or phonics rule, they don't actually point that out. The rule isn't mentioned anywhere. On the side I have her add the vowel combo that can make a particular sound on the page each vowel sound has in her binder of finished work.

[mommylinn]

Spelling is about understanding the logic of the english language and being able to "think to spell". This is best done when the child is learning phonics, because the same rules that govern how we read a word, determine how we spell a word. Although people are fond of saying english is full of exceptions, this is not really true. English has three major language roots, so as student our kids need to be able to tell the difference between say a Latin based word, and a German based word. The pronunciation and spelling depends on knowing the difference. Then there are the less common Greek based words. One true exception is the word "of" which of course we say "ov", but F says ffff. Only once in twenty thousand words does F say vvvv, so we don't bother teaching our kids this variation in phonics. So if you use a program that teaches you each of the phonetic sounds, and use them to combine words, your children will spell much better for life without having to memorize 500,000 spelling words. For example, A says /a/A/ah/ , not just /a/. Your child needs to know this so he can spell: can, rate, mall. Additionally there are five reasons in English for a final silent E, which knowing empowers your kids to spell them correctly. The only programs available that teach all this are Ortin / Spaulding based programs, which are the result of the research of english words done by Ortin. Some examples of these programs are:
Spell to Write and Read
The Phonics Road to Reading and Spelling
The Writing Road to Reading

I know there are others that I haven't seen personally. But the results are impressive for all of them.
There are grammar programs that use this approach to, such as 'Daily Grams'.

If I didn't have the time for this kind of intensive phonics, I would use Sequential Spelling, which teaches word families together.

And I'm not selling any of these programs, so my recommendation is not an ad, :)
Rachel

[booboo]

I think it varies from child to child. Rabbit (age 8 1/2) has struggled a little with spelling. Usually Spelling starts in the 1st but I think other curriculums start later like in 2nd. Piglet (almost 7, first grade) is an incredible speller and we just finished our 7th unit (started mid August!) and she has aced all her tests so far. But we had her do vocabulary starting in kindergarten (she didn't fight it and enjoyed doing it with her sis) and now can spell basic words on her own like "with" "the" "cat" etc before she even started 1st grade.

So everybody's different. There are grownups who still aren't proficient spellers but are better in math.