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Natural Speller (by Kathryn L. Stout)
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Product tags:
multi-sensory
TeachingStrategies
Publisher: Design-A-Study
User Level: 1-5, 6-8, Parent
Subject Area: Resources, Language Arts
Special Needs and Interests: General Special Needs
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Ratings Summary:
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Category
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Average
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Count
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| Effectiveness |
3 |
1 |
| Usability |
4 |
1 |
| Price/Value |
5 |
1 |
| Overall Average |
4 |
1 |
This book uses a multi-sensory, simplified approach to spelling and is targeted for children in grades 1-8. Phonics, spelling, and punctuation rules are listed for easy reference, and word lists are divided by grade. Natural Speller also includes grade-level grammar exercises, teaching strategies and activities, and a complete listing of word parts to be studied. The easy spelling strategies allow children to work at their own pace, which also makes it ideal for students with learning disabilities.
http://www.designastudy.com
Maximum Math (by Kathryn L. Stout)
User Reviews
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| Reviewed by vamomma |
All reviews by this user
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Message this Reviewer
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Created at
9:12 PM EDT on
March 24, 2008
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Category
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Score
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| Effectiveness |
3 |
| Usability |
4 |
| Price/Value |
5 |
| Overall Average |
4 |
I found this book while browsing the shelves in a local Homeschool bookstore. The book was written by Kathryn Stout, who according to the biography listed in the book, is a Christian educator and author. Ms. Stout taught for 8 years in the public school and developed programs for students who did not respond to typical learning strategies. Did my eyes deceive me, or was this a book designed to teach spelling to special needs children?
I was hooked when I saw that, and I began to flip through the book to see if this would fit the needs of my children, who all have learning disabilities. I am very happy I decided to purchase this book, as are my children. If you have children who are “differently abled”, I would strongly recommend this book to you for use in your homeschool.
The book begins by teaching you how to teach your child spelling, and lists activities for practicing spelling words throughout the week. Of course, if you have special needs children, or children who struggle with spelling, you can omit or modify activities you feel might be difficult or cause issues. The book also contains a list to teach a child how to study a word and gives helpful tips on remembering how to spell a word, as well as lists for children in grades 1 through 8.
I like this program, especially for my special education students. The book doesn’t have any illustrations to distract, nor does it involve any other subject other than spelling. I’ve found that some spelling programs use crosswords, games, and vocabulary to teach spelling, and while that may be a great route for others, it distracts my children. My goal is simply to teach them to spell in a simple, straightforward way — and this is definitely the program to accomplish that goal.
For my children, self-esteem is a big issue. They are very aware that they are behind the curve in academics, and for that reason, I used to use big stickers to cover the grade levels printed on other programs. With this program, it is easy to just present a list to the child and not have to explain or cover up the grade level. It’s so very nice! Since the lists aren’t numbered, but rather grouped phonetically, it is easy to repeat a list as many times as needed without having to explain why we’re still on page 6 or list 2 for the 3rd week. This is one feature that I really like.
The words on the lists that we’ve done so far are, for the most part, very common words. I’ve seen some spelling programs that use words that, quite frankly, would never be used by my children, and probably have never been used regularly by me either!
In conclusion, if you are looking for a no frills, affordable spelling program which can be modified to address the issues of your special needs child(ren), you should consider using this program.
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