Spelling improvement for older students

I decided to make this a topic due to the fact that the discussion on spelling further down the board is so long. I too, as others have said, find that spelling is very hard to remediate. I have found that using the Super Speller (SS), (PG) and Spelling Power (Castlemoyle) helps at least the nonspeller to come close to the correct spelling of words that spell check will work. Of course if the student was taught to read using PG, their Super Speller works best but you can use it with any student that has a problem spelling even though they are a good reader. In my 11th grade academic English class, I have to spell most words because very few can spell. This problem is prevalent due to the fact of WL and inventive spelling. The high percentage of poor spellers is the best argument for teaching reading using those programs based on the alphabetic principle. As you see, I didn’t say phonics, all phonics programs are not created equal so I don’t put them all in the same group. The SS is reproducible and I think costs around $35. I was approached just last week to help a girl in AP (gifted and talented) classes, who wants to become a doctor, spelling. She can read very well but can’t spell. She used to be in ESL and speaks Farsie (Sp?), her native language, at home. I will let you know how it goes.