Friday, July 1, 2011

A Spelling "Course"

From Connect the Thoughts:

Our Spelling Program is simple, and allows the student to correct words he is already using in his work, rather than providing an arbitrary list of words “right for his level”, whatever that means, and whoever makes those decisions.
During the week’s work (Monday morning-Friday afternoon), the tutor or parent MAY
NOT correct spelling. But they DO make a list of any and all spelling errors noted in the student’s work. Here’s how it works:
1. Students working with a computer to type reports, essays and creative works leave spell check turned ON. They then do their written assignments on the computer. (This will also help their typing.)
2. They will see their misspelled words underlined in red by Spell Check, as they work.
3. Students (or their tutors) list in writing any words they misspell during a week. This is done on the weekly form, below.
4. Ten of the student’s misspelled words for the week are selected on Friday Afternoon (after studies), and a copy of the completed form (called SPELLING PROGRAM
WEEKLY FORM) is given to the student. The master remains in a file for that student’s spelling work. (This is so you can have the word list he misspelled in case the other copy is lost.)
5. The student is expected to take the list of ten words home and drill the spelling of the found words until he or she knows how to spell them. This is done over the weekend, and is usually the only “homework” done in conjunction with Connect The Thoughts.
6. On Monday morning, first thing, the student is asked to write down all the spelling words on a blank piece of paper. This quiz is to take about five minutes.
7. Any words misspelled are added onto a new list for next week, on the bottom of the Weekly Form. The completed weekly form including quiz results is placed in the student’s spelling file and kept with his or her other work. Place these in the folder chronologically, the oldest tests in the back, the most recent test at the front when you open the folder.

That’s it. Don’t add anything to this procedure, please. If a student is a particularly poor speller, do the procedure twice a week, generating a list on Tuesday and Friday nights.