8 yr old daughter hard time with spelling

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 12:08 am

Back to the OPs question - personally I would leave her alone for now. My DS 11 was a horrible speller at that age and a pretty slow reader. As he got older and started reading a little more (he's still not the best reader) his spelling progressively got better on it's own.
And sad as it is, the truth is spelling nowadays is not nearly as important as it used to be as mostly everything is typed and spell checked when they get older.

amother

Papaya

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 12:44 am

amother wrote:

I disagree . Reading is the basis for every English subject . If a child is slow in reading then he will struggle in all other areas academically . I see it with my students .

amother

Maroon

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 12:55 am

I can only share my own experience. Oldest 2 dc were horrible spellers. Teachers in grades 1-3 complained constantly. I tortured them, my poor kids, but no matter how much time we spent studying, they did shockingly poorly on every spelling test. Teachers cut deals, begging them to just know 5 out of 10 words. It was a nightmare.

Fast forward some years. Older dd is now in 11th grade. She's been reading on a post-high school level for years. Her essay writing and research papers are well written, ideas are well organized and articulated. No concerns, no problems, she's doing great. But guess what, still a really poor speller.

Second kid, same. Bh, his reading level is high, but he's a lousy speller. The poor spelling ability has not crossed over and caused issues with reading, writing or anything. Thank goodness by 8th grade they don't have spelling tests anymore so it doesn't really matter. Assignments are typed.

Next kid is dyslexic. No phonemic awareness, no ability to decode at all. Spent a fortune on Wilson tutoring and it was the best money we ever spent. Dd now loves to read, she's a bookworm, reading at or above grade level. And guess what, still a horrible speller. Wilson taught her to read but did not improve spelling. She's able to use a laptop in class so her notes and work are legible.

Next kid, teacher calls to discuss concerns regarding spelling. I'm polite, but inwardly I roll my eyes.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 1:06 am

amother wrote:

I disagree . Reading is the basis for every English subject . If a child is slow in reading then he will struggle in all other areas academically . I see it with my students .

I should add that the main reason I took the older kids' teachers in first through third grades so seriously regarding concern for spelling is because I was afraid that poor spelling ability would be correlated with poor reading ability.

Now, I can see how a child with dyslexia would also have poor spelling ability, but the reverse does not have to be true. A child who can't spell doesn't necessarily have issues with reading.

My biggest and only real concern, at this point, is whether the child has phonemic awareness and is able to decode. Those are the red flags for a reading disability, from what I've learned.

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 8:11 am

Quote:

I disagree . Reading is the basis for every English subject . If a child is slow in reading then he will struggle in all other areas academically . I see it with my students .

The OP didn't come on here for advice on a slow reader - she said her daughter is reading at grade level. Her issue was spelling- and that I said to leave alone.
I agree with the poster above who wrote about her DH - my DH is similar. He is very smart, graduated with his Masters with high Honors, but he still can't spell. Some people's brains just aren't programmed that way (and the English language has so many rules/exceptions it makes sense how hard it is to spell!)

If she doesn't have other learning issues that are manifesting themselves at this age, and it's really just spelling, I'd leave it alone

momwifedaughter

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 9:59 am

amother wrote:

OMG. Does it run in family these things? Her spelling I can't just leave, cuz her assignments and tests aren't legible. Her teachers are struggling reading her stuff.

I have another question, could an 8 yr old be approved for therapy by the board of Ed? Were struggling with finances at this time. If it's necessary we'll borrow for it.

For everyone that says leave it alone, it's hard for me to watch her struggle and fall behind more and more, in addition to her confidence with her low marks on spelling tests. I can't stand by the side and watch it.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 10:35 am

momwifedaughter wrote:

Does it run in families? Yeah. Kids usually take after their parents, or grandparents, etc. Dh is a pretty poor speller, as was my father (and both extremely bright, bordering on brilliant fwiw).

I said above that I'm not concerned about spelling issues alone, if there is no reading issue. It is possible, though, that a child seems to be reading on grade level in first or second grade, when in fact, like another poster said, they are not sounding out words and have no phonemic awareness. That's a reading issue, and it needs to be addressed sooner than later. But if there IS phonemic awareness, and the ONLY problem is spelling, that's a different story.

As for falling behind more and more, ime, this is true for reading problems but not for spelling problems. Once they hit the older grades, it's a different parsha. There are no more spelling tests, and assignments can be typed and spell-checked. Spelling is no longer a big deal for teachers like it is in the younger grades.

As far as her confidence, you can ask teachers for modified tests, while of course constantly building her up and pointing out the things she's able to do and learn well. What was bad for my kids' confidence was me trying to force them to do something that they really weren't able to do. I regret that, and it didn't help anyway.

amother

Tangerine

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 10:41 am

There is a book “Equipped for Reading Success” by Dr. Kilpatrick. I think it costs about $50 and includes his assessment and his methods. The idea is to focus on building good phonological awareness - really understanding all the sounds in words and then adding these words to our brains.

If your child can read well but can’t spell, what PP said is likely correct - she is smart and using other clues to decipher words, without really having a good handle on phonological awareness. You have to build up from the basics here.

As a disclaimer, I don’t have much experience with this method, but I recently attended a seminar by Dr. Kilpatrick and got more information from others who’ve used it with great success. His book is a small investment and is written clearly. It might be worth looking into.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 10:53 am

aricelli wrote:

I’ve always been a voracious reader, like to think that I’m fairly intelligent and cannot spell, though its gotten a bit better with passing years. I know I have this issue and use a dictionary etc when I can (even for mitzvah notes!) so its a non issue. I think spelling is a knack and not only a skill that can be taught.

Agree. What I didn't mention above is that dc#5, my happy little 1st grader, aces spelling tests with a mere 5 minutes of studying. I'm not treating this dc differently than I did his older siblings, and teachers aren't teaching differently. He simply has this ability.

aricelli

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 10:59 am

amother wrote:

Yes- I see this with my children as well- the funniest was my daughters report card: straight “alephs” and a “gimmel” in spelling.
Its hard for me- I’m not saying it isnt. If you find something that works- go for it.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 11:27 am

momwifedaughter wrote:

Thanks for the links. I'll start with the book for dyslexia and move Fwd to the '' equipped for reading success '. Thank so much.

I didn't get an answer yet about being approved by the board of Ed. Does anyone know? If I can have a professional work with her would be better for both of us.

If you're interested in books on dyslexia, I strongly suggest Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz. She has a research clinic at Yale and is considered a foremost expert on the topic.

If you're in NY, it's possible you can sue the BOE and, if you win, have them pay for a Wilson certified tutor. It might take many months though.

amother

Slateblue

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 11:34 am

You can't just start a lawsuit out of nowhere. You would need a full evaluation done and a diagnosis. And if your child is otherwise reading/performing on grade level, much less likely for you to win. It may cost a lot out of pocket. I'm not in NY, but the only people I know who were successful this way either had a lot of money to spend on lawyers or their kid had truly severe disabilities, so much that they could not function in a regular school program and needed a very specialized program.

amother

Papaya

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 1:25 pm

amother wrote:

Right , I agree with you that some people are just poor spellers and that yes , sometimes dyslexia does go hand in hand with being a poor speller and sometimes it doesn’t . That’s why I asked OP how her child’s reading is . Someone who reads well but can’t spell does not need a reading specialist.

amother

Tangerine

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 3:00 pm

amother wrote:

See what I mentioned above: a smart child may have deficits in phonemic awareness which can affect spelling and reading unfamiliar words, but he may be able to read fairly proficiently due to memorizing words or using context/comprehension.