Jun. 28, 2007 - Spelling Time

SpellingTime.com  (Update, this site now charges a fee, and we no longer use their services.  I am hoping to add it to the budget for next year though.)

Here's how it works. 

1.  You have to register (it's free).  You can register as a teacher/classroom or an individual; however for each individual registration you can only have one student. I started out with a separate registration for each child, but I ended up re-registering as a classroom, it will just be easier to manage. 

2.  You can use their words, or your own words.  They have a stock list to choose from; or you can add words they are missing.  I have already changed my first twelve lessons to the first twelve lessons suggested in Spelling Power.  This is why I changed to classroom format -- I didn't want to have to input those words in two different accounts.  It is really simple though a tiny bit cumbersome to input your own lists.  I only say cumbersome because the form couldn't quite keep up with my typing.

3.  The virtual teachers give instructions out loud.  They are short, clear and to the point.

4.  Day One:  Listen to each word in a sentence and type it once.  Write Your words.  Day Two, Unscramble Letters, Day three:  Hang Smiley, Day Four, Pop Quiz Day Five:  Test.  Every day, the word is used in a sentence read aloud by the virtual teacher.  After each day's activity, students have earned the right to play one game.   They have about 16 games to choose from; and these are nothing to do with spelling.  They include a knockoff of battleship; and other types of games.  A few of the games say they are for older students.  My kids love the games.  Also, they can do the same activity over and over, but it really is a Monday = Day one setup; so you can't do the second day's work until Tuesday.  You can however do both Monday and Tuesday on Tuesday and so on.

The Parent( and teacher )receives e-mails detailing words missed and percentage scores.  The parent must do the registration, and the students e-mail is not input.

My plan is to put in all the lessons from Spelling Power in order.  Then, at the beginning of the week I will introduce the words and from then on the kids will be on their own to do the spelling lesson each day.  I will check the progress reports and work with them extra only as needed.