| Question: |
I have a daughter, who is 12 and in '6th' grade (year) of school. She has been working in My Catholic Speller, Level C and Language of God, Level C. As a teacher of homeschooled children who are now adults and knowing that so much of this is repetitive from grade to grade anyway - I was considering moving her up to Level E in both spelling and grammar, since this is so easy for her at this point and calls for little focus on her part. I would appreciate your opinion, also. Thanks. P.S. Her reading ability has really taken off in the past year - though she is slow in the mechanics of spelling and grammar when it comes to writing. In other words, her thought processes far outstrip the other. |
| Answer: |
AMDG+
Dear Parent;
It sounds as if your daughter is making good progress, if you are thinking of moving her up. That is good news!
If she is having some difficulty with the mechanics of spelling and grammar, you might want to err on the side of caution and move her up one grade level to start. However, it would be a good idea first to test her on My Catholic Speller, Level C, Weeks 31 and 33.
You might begin My Catholic Speller, Level D with lesson 7, to see if she is ready to jump a few more lessons. Do bear in mind that the spellers also teach some word attack skills and also vocabulary; if your daughter skips lessons, she is missing both vocabulary and word attack skills as well.
In regard to Language of God, Level D is a good deal more challenging than Level C. I would be hesitant to recommend skipping this level. Instead, you might let her move ahead at a faster pace in Level D, until she begins to have difficulty. At that point, it would be wise to resume a standard pace so that she will retain and be prepared for Level E the following year, or perhaps at the end of this year.
What a happy accomplishment, that she is reading so well!
You observed that she is able to read at a higher level than she can spell. Reading is receptive; that is, she is taking in, in a somewhat passive sense, what someone else has written. When it is time to put to paper the language arts she has learned, she has to dig up from within and in an active way express the language arts. Expressive skills in language arts generally lag about two years behind receptive ability, so your daughter is not unusual in being able to read above her spelling and grammar levels. In other words, reading level alone is not a safe arbiter in determining her overall skill level. Her abilities in all language arts put together will give you the closest picture in making your final placement assessment.
In any event, if she flies easily through Level D of the spellers and language, you will know for sure that she is ready for Level E!
May God bless and guide your school year.
Nancy Nicholson
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