R Sitton or Words their way

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R Sitton or Words their way

by Deanna

May 1, 2009

Our district is piloting both Rebekah Sitton and Words Their Way as "spelling programs" for 5th and 6th grade. Who has used each or both and what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

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erinjo We have no spelling program at all in our district right now, but teachers have chosen to use both of these as something to help their kids teach spelling. There are advantages to both.

I like RSitton because it's ready to go, ready to teach with your kids. With "words their way" there are fantastic, research based spelling activities, but...See More

Jun 6, 2009

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deb, prefers Gaskins program If you want a scripted program, I like benchmark Word Detectives program from Gaskins.

google Benchmark School, Gaskins or

benchmark word detectives

Or course Month by Month by Cunningham is awesome too

Jun 13, 2009

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JAM, with a whopper of a response My district adopted Sitton Spelling two years ago. I used it religiously and was not really impressed. It relies on direct instruction for EVERY lesson. It is exhausting for the teacher. Kids do not seem to take personal responsibility to master spelling rules at all. The lessons in each unit are not tested in the unit cloze test, either-- the phil...See MoreMy district adopted Sitton Spelling two years ago. I used it religiously and was not really impressed. It relies on direct instruction for EVERY lesson. It is exhausting for the teacher. Kids do not seem to take personal responsibility to master spelling rules at all. The lessons in each unit are not tested in the unit cloze test, either-- the philosophy is that kids are told that this will be tested sometime soon... so don't forget. The tests include random words from the grade level's word list (500 words at the 5th grade level). Not enough motivation for kids to retain spelling rules in my opinion. Nothing seems to follow the Gradual Release of Respnsibility MOdel at all. I do/We do/We do more/You do and I watch/You do independently.

But then again, I guess I am a bit of an old fashioned spelling person... I miss the lists and tests like in the old Scott Forsman. Forget the write the word 20 times or write them all in sentences-- that stuff was crap. I'm all for teaching the rule (words with /ow/ sounds, for example), giving them meaningful practice that gets them thinking how to apply the rules, and testing them with a dictation test. Then they can solidify the rules in their heads and be accountable for showing their ability. Parents can also help them master them if they know what words to focus on.

With RSitton there is no homework. (well... there is one page per unit, but it is not always clear or useful). There are no spelling lists or even one specific spelling pattern per unit. In fact, there are two or three completely disconnected skill lessons per unit that are not ever tested. Like /ow/ sounds, contractions, and doubling the consonant lessons, all in one unit. It is maddening!

I've used WTW at summer school a few times and while I do think it engages students more, it also fails in my opinion. The basis of the WTW unit is word sorts, and my students got very good at sorting words by sound, then pattern. BUT they could not necessarily tranfer that ability to writing words correctly in their own work. It is also hard to prep for because each child or small group is working on a different list and spelling pattern, and those word cards don't make themselves!

I know this all sounds like a downer-- I'm just not happy with anything am I! I'm not trying to be a Negative Nelly. I have been very frustrated with my school's spelling instruction and I don't see kids getting any better with the new program. Some 5th graders still come to me not knowing the difference between take, tack, and tak. Ridiculous!

JAM Who is going rebel next fall and will do what it takes to help them become spellers by the spring

Jun 25, 2009

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Mark Pennington Insightful post. There is "No Excuse" for teaching Sitton Spelling with where encoding/decoding research has gone over the last 20 years. She was cool during the 1980s when we were all doing whole language, but we know better now. I agree on the spelling rules, as well. I've put together eight songs that help teach the eight conventional spelling r...See More

Jun 30, 2009

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cc We are about to embark on using WTW the individualized way after using it whole class last year. I would like to see some real research on WTW. One of the national teacher union magz (the one that comes out seasonally)dedicated the main part of the issue to spelling research and it does not match what WTW proclaims.

If you are looking for ...See MoreWe are about to embark on using WTW the individualized way after using it whole class last year. I would like to see some real research on WTW. One of the national teacher union magz (the one that comes out seasonally)dedicated the main part of the issue to spelling research and it does not match what WTW proclaims.

If you are looking for a good program with valid and reliable research to back it up, try Spelling Mastery put out by SRA. I started the year last year using it (2 spelling groups, but the materials are already created) my students really enjoyed. We got about three weeks into it and our district handed us WTW all of a sudden, so I went with it even though I don't believe in it. What's a teacher to do?

The article I'm speaking of can be seen at [link removed]

On 6/25/09, JAM, with a whopper of a response wrote: > My district adopted Sitton Spelling two years ago. I used it > religiously and was not really impressed. It relies on direct > instruction for EVERY lesson. It is exhausting for the > teacher. Kids do not seem to take personal responsibility to > master spelling rules at all. The lessons in each unit are not > tested in the unit cloze test, either-- the philosophy is that > kids are told that this will be tested sometime soon... so don't > forget. The tests include random words from the grade level's > word list (500 words at the 5th grade level). Not enough > motivation for kids to retain spelling rules in my opinion. > Nothing seems to follow the Gradual Release of Respnsibility > MOdel at all. I do/We do/We do more/You do and I watch/You do > independently. > > But then again, I guess I am a bit of an old fashioned spelling > person... I miss the lists and tests like in the old Scott > Forsman. Forget the write the word 20 times or write them all > in sentences-- that stuff was crap. I'm all for teaching the > rule (words with /ow/ sounds, for example), giving them > meaningful practice that gets them thinking how to apply the > rules, and testing them with a dictation test. Then they can > solidify the rules in their heads and be accountable for showing > their ability. Parents can also help them master them if they > know what words to focus on. > > With RSitton there is no homework. (well... there is one page > per unit, but it is not always clear or useful). There are no > spelling lists or even one specific spelling pattern per unit. > In fact, there are two or three completely disconnected skill > lessons per unit that are not ever tested. Like /ow/ sounds, > contractions, and doubling the consonant lessons, all in one > unit. It is maddening! > > I've used WTW at summer school a few times and while I do think > it engages students more, it also fails in my opinion. The > basis of the WTW unit is word sorts, and my students got very > good at sorting words by sound, then pattern. BUT they could > not necessarily tranfer that ability to writing words correctly > in their own work. It is also hard to prep for because each > child or small group is working on a different list and spelling > pattern, and those word cards don't make themselves! > > I know this all sounds like a downer-- I'm just not happy with > anything am I! I'm not trying to be a Negative Nelly. I have > been very frustrated with my school's spelling instruction and I > don't see kids getting any better with the new program. Some > 5th graders still come to me not knowing the difference between > take, tack, and tak. Ridiculous! > > JAM > Who is going rebel next fall and will do what it takes to help > them become spellers by the spring

Jul 27, 2009

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