Disclaimer: I was provided with a free product in return for my honest review. I was not financially compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the developing company and/or its affiliates in any way.
My son has always struggled with spelling and spelling was always such a chore! We had tried various curricula that all came down to memorizing how to spell a list of words. This was not working and he didn’t score very well on his end of the year tests on the spelling part.
So after hearing great reviews on Sequential Spelling I decided to make the switch! Last year I started with the Sequential Spelling DVD 1. I was blown away by how well he was grasping the words and how much better his spelling got in so many areas of school. Using a pattern for learning how to spell really does work! It helps them to sit and think of how the words are spelled and how they all form together. When I had him tested at the end of the year he had jumped two whole grades ahead on the spelling section! This curriculum really does work.
This curriculum requires no teacher preparation. I have not used the workbook, it looks very simple and tells you just what to read and how to do it. I prefer the dvds because it is completely independent for the student. This year I had the chance to review the second set in the series: level 2. Level 2 is exactly the same format, but I did notice one difference. The first release was a dvd. You could use it on the computer or in your dvd player. The new releases are now cd rom only.
My son usually uses it on the computer where he has room to work, but to have the option to use it on either the tv or computer would be nice. The disc is very simple and easy to use. There is a voice that reads the word to your child, then reads the word in a sentence. These sentences can be quite interesting. My son usually gets up and tells me about the sentences as he is doing work, because he thinks they are funny or interesting! You hit the pause button or space board on the keyboard then write the word down. Once you have written it down you hit the space bar again and they voice reads the word and shows it in its correct spelling on the screen. The student then immediately corrects his work and rewrites the word the right way. This instant correction really helps them to grasp the correct spelling! It also helps the parent out as they don’t have to stop and instantly correct the work.
This is a very simple, no characters, no frills curriculum. It would work very well for children who are easily distracted by bright colors and fun characters! I highly recommend purchasing the AVKO student response book. Each lesson is listed and there are numbers to write each word down. This makes for a very neat and clean workbook for your student to write in.
Sequential Spelling works for our family! We absolutely love it, and I love that it is student led and great independent work. We will happily use it for years to come!
