Problem spelling Words - Beyond - Ideas?

[psreit]

We are doing Beyond and I am having dd learn words from spelling list 2 because, so far, the words in list 1 would be too easy. I carried two words from week 4 to week 5 because dd was having trouble learning them. Now on week 5 there are two more that she is having trouble learning, but I don't want to add four more to next week's list. I want her to learn the words, but I need to move on to the next week's lesson. So, what would be a good way to handle that? I was thinking I could eliminate a couple of the easier words if she knows how to spell them right away. Then we can focus on the ones she keeps getting wrong. Any other ideas?

Also, what are some other methods anyone has used to help dc learn spelling words if they have problems learning them?

[mater est laetus]

Eliminating the easy ones to make room for the more difficult ones is a good idea, imho.

Beyond that, have you tried the studied dictation approach with those troublesome words? I never thought about using List 2 when List 1 words were too easy, that's a great idea. I've just been having DS spell them verbally for a few minutes each day until I find some he doesn't know and when I find the list he doesn't know almost all the of the words on then I'll start from that week. Oh well. Anyway .. those odd words here and there that DS doesn't know I just put into a sentence that I have him copy before school and then dictate to him after school and he learns them easily and well that way.

[Carrie]

Pam,

This post will help a bit in seeing that picturing the word spelled correctly in the mind is "as important" as striving to spell the particular missed word correctly. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10388

With this in mind, I'll also share that learning to correctly capture a mental image of the word in one's mind is a skill that takes time for those who are not natural spellers. So, I wouldn't advocate carrying the words that have been spelled incorrectly over to the next week.

Instead, I would follow the plans continuing all year to work on the skill of correctly capturing the image of a word in one's mind, which is the skill that will eventually lead to correct spelling. If the child has a roadblock with a word at one point in time, practicing that word over and over (while still making errors with the spelling of that word off and on) can actually leave the child with an incorrect picture of that word imprinted on the child's mental blackboard. Instead, stepping away from the word, to return to it later after more exercises in picturing other words correctly, allows the child to work on the skills needed to see the word correctly when she returns to it later.

In the meantime, be diligent with the child's copywork, making sure the child is not copying the words incorrectly from daily copywork. This will reinforce the correct spelling of the word from a correctly written model (reinforcing the visualizing of the word spelled correctly). As you can see the CM approach is much different from drilling an incorrectly spelled word, or from doing many repetitions of copying the same word over and over. The mental picturing is the focus.

If your daughter has not been through the words in List 1, you may wish to consider doing List 1 from start to finish all year, and then moving on to List 2 next year. I share this because of the exercises that go along with the words. Or, if you feel your daughter is ready for List 2, then do that list instead. But, I wouldn't advocate jumping back and forth between the two lists, seeking to find the words she doesn't know. This is because the process is as important as the product in this case. So, focusing on finding the misspelled words, rather than focusing on the process of mentally picturing the words correctly, puts the cart before the horse.

Blessings,
Carrie

[psreit]

Thanks, Carrie. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. I will look over the list 1 words and decide if I will change.