spelling

[DizzyBeeisSchoolShoeShopping]

My DD is doing well at school, she's bright and intelligent (OK, I am biased) and has got good results from her year 8 report.
However, the one fly in the ointment is her spelling. I sometimes wonder if she is dyslexic but she doesn't want to be assessed as her school would move her out of top set English and she wants to stay there, she's doing fine with the rest of English but she can't spell for toffee, unlike her younger sibling in year 2 who never practices the spellings that are sent home because he can always spell them.

Her school have commented on it in her report and have said that at the level she is working at with her writing they expect a "fault free performance". Now GCSEs are going to be assessed for spelling from 2014 it's become something I'm concerned about a lot more.

I've got no idea howto help a nearly 14 year old with spelling though, any tips would be appreciated. She has, and uses a dictionary when doing written work and comes to me with homework and I tell her what she has spelt wrong and she looks it up in the dictionary and corrects it but we need to do something about her spelling ability generally.

Thanks.

I should add, her school know she doesn't want to be assessed for dyslexia and accepted her decision.

Surely the school can't discriminate her for being dyslexic if she was assessed. DS1 is the same age and also a terrible speller. He is starting GCSEs in September. His school has decided to do them over 3 years. I can't say I'm too happy about it. It was only two years ago we were celebrating him scraping L4 sats.

How bad is her spelling?

Does she just get hard words wrong?

Or does she get's lots of common words wrong?

If you and her are prepared to do daily work on her spelling, the 3 best spelling programs are:

The Word Wasp

Stareway to Spelling

Apples & Pears

Word wasp is probably better for an older child....

Stareway to spelling only teaches you the 300 most frequently used words (which is 75% of the words we use), whereas Word Wasp and Apples & Pears actually teach you to spell....

I think Apples & Pears is the best program, but it is probably more suitable for a younger child....

Being assessed won't do her any harm. Ds has dyslexic problems mainly spelling and unable to organise his thoughts on paper. He has maintained top set for everything but English. He has always been in the 2nd class for English. He does now get a bit of extra time for exams.
Stareway to spelling has very good tips on rules for spelling.

I should add, her school know she doesn't want to be assessed for dyslexia and accepted her decision.

That's shocking,, as is moving her down if she is dyslexic. It only means she struggles with (in her case) spelling, it does not mean she is thick.

Can she work with a computer? Spell checks have increased my spelling ability no end.

Serious word with Senco needed.

My dyslexic DD is in set 2 for English and very happy there ( she's always been there).
However, if your DD is coping in set one they absolutely should not move her down just because of a dyslexia DX.

Dyslexia does not mean thick is DD1s mantra!

I'm undoubtably, mildly dyslexic, no one cared in my day they were just as to why the brightest kid in the class never got out of the bottom spelling group.

I have two A grade O'levels for English and my 11 year old DD2 has been able to spell better than me for at least the last 2 years

14 year old DD1 has had to put up with her little sister correcting her reading and spelling since they were 9 and 6 respectively.

How she hasn't strangled the little smart arse I will never know.

StarBallBunny, I can see that happening with my two despite the 5 year age gap.
Thanks for all the advice, I will talk to the school next week as they have highlighted spelling in her school report (helpfully sent home on the last day of term!) and get something sorted. I'll check out those spelling games, she and I will do anything to help.
Apparently they start assessing certain GCSEs for spelling in 2014.
She spells all kinds of words wrong, every day words and difficult ones. She can spell it right one day and wrong the next day - or even in the next sentence.

Concerning spelling marks in public exams, I don't see how having a dyslexia assessment will help. It will give her 25% extra time, but I don't think this will magically improve her spelling on the day.

Obviously, if she is dyslexic and unable to access the full curriculum, it is in her best interests to get help ASAP. If spelling is your only concern, then I don't think it will help as much as you are hoping.

Along with a specialist assessment, she would need to get extra time in her normal way of working, ie in school exams. Does she already get this?

The old-fashioned way of improving spellings is to write out the correction three times or more, and to have spelling tests. Does she have a little vocab book where she can write out her spellings? Can you give her a weekly spelling test at home?

Knowsabit, that's why I'm not bothered about her not wanting to be assessed. She can access the full curriculum and is top set for languages, maths and science so there are no issues there. It's just come to the fore now that she will be assessed on spelling in GCSEs. She doesn't get (or IMO need) extra time in exams.
I've got her a book for spellings, I can certainly do a weekly spelling test at home - I do them at work after all (though I work with primary age children so a different ball game alltogether, I've got no experience of working with teens).
I got her a vocab book today.
Thanks.

My DD will be in year 9 this year, is diagnosed dyslexic and in the top set for English - she has been since starting secondary. Her teacher for English is aware and very supportive. Her class sat an old GCSE paper last summer and she got an A*, she will sit the GCSE in year 11. She can spell short words but commonly makes mistakes in words of three syllables or more. At the end of the day not that many marks are awarded for spelling. I don't think it is possible to improve her spelling any further, without tackling possible underlying causes of her dyslexia which we are attempting at the moment.

The new SPaG requirements are for English Literature, History, Geography and RS only. They amount to a maximum of 5% of the mark. Spelling is a small part of this - punctuation and grammar is also included.

Other subjects already have a SPaG requirement, so it is not a new thing.