PG & Spelling Problems (my fault!!! :-(

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

It’s my fault! I did something wrong here, although this is a visual memory problem too.

We just finished mapping and sorting, sound sorting, lots and lots of word analysis and I just realized I totally blew it because I didn’t include Scratch Sheet Spelling with each lesson! Help!!!!!

My son has started to make some dramatic progress with reading. He has really improved his decoding skills, but I just realized that he cannot spell these words. Also, about half or maybe 1/3 of the time he has some difficulty recognizing which sound symbols are the correct ones.

In doing Scratch Spelling with him for the first time this afternoon (I was mainly attempting the first two word lists). I told him what sound we’d be working on (for example ‘oe’) and as I gave him words he had a lot of difficulty spelling more than half of them. In trying to figure a way to make it a little easier for him (so he’d start off with more success) I listed the various sound symbols for ‘oe’ on the corner of the dry erase board. I figured I could just start out this way with each word list and then try again without the listed sound symbols. This was a little easier, but still somewhat difficult.

I then started doing a visual memorization game with him. I spelled the words on the dry erase board, showed them to him for 3 seconds and then asked him to spell this back. This was much easier of course, but I don’t think it’s the answer.

I was thinking next time I might try having him read though the list just to get comfortable with the words he’d be spelling. Or perhaps start off with more Word Analysis (which he has become really strong with) and then lead into spelling.

If any of you any other suggestions or ideas for handling spelling with PG I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks! :-)

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/24/2002 - 3:53 AM

Permalink

Hi Laura,

Don’t feel too bad about missing the scratch sheet spelling. It’s not likely that’s the reason for slow improvement in spelling skills anyway.

The whole point of scratch sheet spelling is to simply give a child the insight to a strategy that most people use when trying to spell a word that is difficult for them. That strategy is simply to try a couple of alternatives.

My bugaboo is “occasion.” I sometimes have to write “occasion,” “occassion” and “ocassion” before I can figure out what the correct spelling really is. Then I pick the one that “looks right,” and that is all there is to scratch sheet spelling.

Notice though, that to do it, one must already be reasonably familiar with the word in the first place. It does a child no good to spell “hert,” “hurt” and “hirt” if he hasn’t already seen “hurt” enough times in print to have a pretty decent chance of picking out the right spelling. In fact, I would argue that doing SSS before sufficient reading has been done could actually be detrimental, because a child would be gaining excessive exposure to incorrect spellings.

Scratch sheet spelling is really a strategy, in my opinion, not a spelling program. The best spelling program is to simply do Phono-Graphix thoroughly (so the child learns to segment, and to recognize the various sound pictures) and follow it up with a lot of reading with an emphasis on perfect pronunciation.

Hope this helps…..Rod

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/24/2002 - 5:59 PM

Permalink

Thanks for your post Rod! I don’t feel so bad!!! I read the posts below about PG and memory. My son also fits in this category so I know that this entire reading spelling (and general learning) process is not something I can do intensively for a month and expect to be “fixed.” This is really a long-term commitment that will require lots and lots of work and repetition.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/24/2002 - 10:32 PM

Permalink

Don’t feel bad - actually, you may have *helped* for the reasons Rod mentioned — it’s better to see it *right* a bunch of times so you have something to work from. Learning to map out the words is what teaches him to map out the sounds, which is half the battle whether reading or spelling.

I tend to focus hard on spelling the very predictable words where you really only have one most-common choice for spelling, if you know the letter sounds (got, lunch, porch and not turn or cent). The common “demons” are best done separately by practicing them. For some of our kiddos, *all* those words are “demons” — so starting with the most common ones and learning a few at a time (and separating the confusing ones, so you learn “earn” and “learn” — but *not* when you’re also learning turn and burn).

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/26/2002 - 10:34 AM

Permalink

Hi Laura, Do you have the Super Speller? You can buy it at Read America website and it really helps. I use it for all ages not only as a speller but also for a review of the reading program. Students feel good doing this program because they feel independent for possibly the first time. I highly recommend it.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/27/2002 - 5:29 PM

Permalink

although she benefited greatly from PG. When we did scratch sheet, none of the words looked wrong to her.

We did Reading Reflex through chapter 4, followed by 8 months of vision therapy, PACE, and a PG intensive in Orlando. My dd is now 11yo, reading on a beginning 7th grade level.

What has finally helped us is Sequential Spelling (http://www.avko.org). If scratch sheet spelling is a huge struggle for you, I would recommend putting it on a back burner while concentrating on reading skills. Then, after multi-syllable management has been covered and your child is reading on an ending 3rd grade/beginning 4th grade level, start Sequential Spelling.

Incidentally, one trick we found *very* helpful for developing visualization skills (this was prior to starting SS) is a sort of oral reverse spelling game. I would orally spell a word, and then dd would have to tell me what the word was. This was surprisingly difficulty for her at first, but she became better with practice. This worked much better than other methods we tried, such as tracing letters in the air, etc.

Mary

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 05/01/2002 - 5:56 AM

Permalink

Wow! The oral reverse spelling sounds great. I think my son would love it because it’s like a game! I’m going to try it.

I also need to start vision therapy. Although my son has made tremendous improvement, he still has a lot of difficulty (reversals, very slow reading) and it’s either visual or ADD. That’s all I can figure at this point.

Thanks for sharing that!!! :-)

Back to Top