Exactly, Bostonian. DD had spelling as part of her language arts curriculum each year until 7th grade as a virtual school student, but it was ungraded.
We never did any of the 'spelling' other than as a reward.
That probably requires some explanation.
I'd pretest her. Using a "word-sentence-word" format. She liked my sentences.
"Sluggish. While a three-toed sloth may appear to be sluggish, it was not a good idea to assume that a sloth's impressive claws cannot be used with terrifying rapidity when it chooses to do so. Sluggish."
"Obfuscate. It was unwise for Johnny to obfuscate so obviously while under oath, because the judge threw him into jail for perjury. Obfuscate."
She found this so vastly entertaining that we'd sometimes do three or four units this way. As a reward for completing an assignment (often writing) that she didn't wish to do, I'd keep going until she missed a word or until we'd done four units.
(I think that she missed five spelling words in that four years, so...)
