See N Read

     Last year we reviewed a neat little reading tool called, See-N-Read. This year we are reviewing a new product from the same company called See-N-Spell, A Spelling and Vocabulary Quick Reference Guide.

• See-N-Spell Spelling and Vocabulary Quick Reference Guide
• Available from See-N-Read Reading Tools
• $9.99 for 40 page softbound book

     The See-N-Spell is a 40 page book containing over 300 commonly used words. It is divided into three categories: 1)Most Commonly Used Vocabulary Words 2) Commonly Misspelled Words 3) My Special Interest Words.  Each Category is organized alphabetically. By knowing the first few letters of a word you can quickly identify the correct spelling and usage of the word.

      The premise behind the See-N-Spell is that writers can compose broader and more vocabulary rich written work when their fear of misspelled words is taken away. Usually writers will have a larger verbal vocabulary than written vocabulary. By not being confident in spelling more advanced vocabulary words,  writers will not develop their thoughts fully, or use words that do not adequately express what the writer is trying to say.

     To help the user quickly and easily find their word using the See-N-Spell, a See-N-Read reader tool is included in the book. The See-N-Read reading tool is a handy product designed to help new and struggling readers easily keep their eyes on the line they are reading. This is the product we reviewed last year. To read more about how it worked for us, check out my review here.

ClarkClan Thoughts

     How did the See-N-Spell work for us? Well, not quite as I expected. When I received the book and looked through it, I was very intrigued. I liked the layout of the book. I thought the words included were words that would be useful in everyday writing.

     The first section gives words in alphabetical order and is organized into the most common language functions for the word. Each letter has nouns, Pronouns, Articles (if any) Conjunctions, Verbs, Irregular Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, and Homophones.

     The second section is simply commonly misspelled words. The third section is called Special Interest Words. These pages are divided alphabetically as well, but they are blank lines for you to write words of your own that you may be having trouble with.

     While I liked the premise of the book and the layout, I found it was not very well used in our house. I had it available any time we were doing writing assignments. Ben (10)  and Rebekah (8) never touched it. They just never seemed to need any of the words contained in it. Sarah (14) had it with her as well. She writes frequently, mostly on computer. She found that she just rarely would pick it up to look for a word. She said it just seemed like too much trouble.

     I do think I will keep this around for writing assignments, though. I think it will be most useful for Ben and Rebekah as they start to write more and more. They are still in the process of hand writing most assignments, not using a computer with spell check.  I think this book will come in handy as their writing becomes more advanced.

      Many TOS Crew Mates reviewed the See-N-Spell book. Visit the Crew Blog to read what experiences they had with this tool.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received See –N- Spell for free from See-N-Read, in exchange for my honest review of their product