My son is in the 7th grade and is having alot of problems with spelling. I transferred him from the public school to a catholic school - because he was falling between the cracks and now he is behind. I'd like to help him study and find resources to help him. If anyone has any suggestions or places to look - I'd appreciate any help. Thanks
2006-09-05 06:34:47 · 7 answers · asked by Dianne J 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Primary & Secondary Education
For those of us who spell fairly well, spelling seems easy. But English spelling is actually more complicated than we think. While there are many rules that work, there are just as many exceptions to those rules.
These sites have many suggestions and many other links. Don't try to do everything at once. It is important to not overwhelm him. Start with a couple of strategies and gradually increase your son's work in spelling as he becomes more competent.
It is a good idea to concentrate on the academic words he will need for his school work and also on the most commonly used words and the most commonly misspelled words. Twenty five words make up a good proportion of written English so getting the most common words will be a big help.
Encourage him to read as much as possible. Many of us learned to spell as much by reading as by spelling lessons.
As you and your son begin to work on this issue do searches for specific topics or issues and you will find lots of good sites. Best of luck with it and I hope some of this is useful to you.
2006-09-05 07:04:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
well, asking people on Answers for spelling help is the wrong way to go honestly. seriously, have you looked at some of the posts here?
anyhoo, my suggestion would be to go the school itself and see if there are any sort of after school programs/tutoring available to him. oddly enough the hooked on phonics thing works surprisingly well despite it's reputation. and if you go to any "kids" bookstore they have shelves full of educational material that will help junior with is spelling and keep him interested in learning. my guess is that he knows he's failing and he knows that everyone else knows he's failing. this puts a serious dent in his self esteem that needs to be corrected first before anymore academic drama is thrown his way. he's on the bottom rung right now and needs to start climbing again. should you ignore this and keep adding more weight to his shoulders, then that first step up the ladder will be extremely hard.
talk with him, not as a mother worried about a failing student, but simply as a mom. gain his trust and boost his confidence. do not stress an all out importance on his studies otherwise you'll distance yourself from him and his grades will only get worse. get him interested, keep him interested and boost his confidence level. once done, then he should be able to see the importance of a good education and will want to do better on his own.
2006-09-05 06:46:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
search online for homeschooling resources - they have exercises that you can give him to do at home to help, also cut TV/video games down. You must take a more active part in his school work and making sure it gets done. I know it's time consuming, but have him sit at the table while you cook. For spelling have him clap as he says the letters of the words, do triangles ( let's said the word is voice, first he would write "v" then under it "vo" then under that "voi", and so on, write the words in sentences, write them 5 or ten times each (try 5X first), quiz him on them the night before his tests.
Have him read out loud to you. or alternate reading paragraphs in a book or magazine. I get my daughter national Geographic kids, and she reads me facts about animals.
For math, use worksheets that I find online - there are plenty from homeschooling, homework help sites, and teacher websites. Get a high school tutor for him (cost less $), but make sure they don't do the work for him).
Also find out what your sons learning style is. Some kids learn through seeing something done, some are more auditory and learn through hearing or listening, some by reading, some by doing. Depending on your sons learning style, then you can create lessons or games, rhymes to help him remember.
my daughter memorized her multiplication tables by jumping rope.
there are also fairly inexpensive cds on alegabra and all sorts of other topics at computer stores or online - most cost less thatn $10.00
The fact that you are asking shows you care, just take it easy. Don;t have him sit for hours. Kids learn best in 20 minutes increments, after that the learning curve goes down, so take a break and then resume.
good luck
2006-09-05 06:50:37 · answer #3 · answered by island3girl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
get him a spelling book, and just have him do it. give him spelling tests at the end of the chapter, and see how he does. if he doesn't like the workbook, just quiz him out loud. say, "how do spell... victory?" and he should answer you with how you spell it. if he gets too frustrated, then just give him a break. if he ends up resenting it too much, he will just get worse at spelling. you could also try getting him a tutor, but ask him and see how he feels about that first.
2006-09-05 06:44:08 · answer #4 · answered by izbella_12 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try flash cards and quiz him. Repetition helps, as well as reading in general. The more words he sees, the more associations he can make. Make sure he has the basics down, like the sounds that certain letters make when combined, i.e. "t" and "h".
2006-09-05 06:49:19 · answer #5 · answered by AD 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Five minutes to perfect spelling. Look it up on ebay.
Itt uuorked four mee
2006-09-05 06:44:03 · answer #6 · answered by Richard H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to www.schwablearning.org and sign up for free to post your questions on their 'parent to parent' message board.
It is absolutely the BEST place on the internet for help with learning problems and special needs.
2006-09-05 07:38:52 · answer #7 · answered by jdeekdee 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋