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Has anyone used Writing Road to Reading or SWR? (Spalding Method)


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Laurie's Open Letter Part 2

 

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The Late Bloomer Myth: I know I ll get a lot of flack for calling this a myth. I know people will recount how they waited and their child suddenly clicked at age 10.

 

In the a longitudinal study of over 400 children that has been running for over 20 years, cited by Sally Shawitz in her book, Overcoming Dyslexia, there was no evidence found of this. On the other hand, prevalence of dyslexia was relatively high. They tested their sample at the beginning of the study and found that as many girls as boys have dyslexia and that about 20% of their sample met the criteria. (Studies using school identification for the criteria set the percentage lower and may reflect bias related to behavior rather than reading issues. )

 

My own experience is consistent with this. For a number of years, I administered individual achievement testing for the homeschool community (required in our state). I probably tested about 50 kids per year, and saw many of them year after year, so I had a chance to track their progress. You would think that I would have seen many late bloomers if they are as prevalent as it appears on homeschooling boards. At first when I thought about this, I remembered 3 (out of probably a total of around a hundred different kids). Then as I thought more, I remembered what I knew of their educations (I knew all the moms.) All of them were relaxed homeschoolers, who believed the late bloomer myth, and taught accordingly. In other words, believing that the time for clicking had not yet arrived, they relaxed their teaching. I believe that could well have had something to do with the late blooming in hindsight. (As an aside, 2 of the 3 moms ended up having another child who never bloomed because of LD s. They are now working hard (and spending megabucks) to get their children on track.

 

I asked a friend of mine who s taught public school in 3rd-5th grade for 28 years how many kids she s seen who struggle through 1st and 2nd and then suddenly click in 3rd-5th grades. She s known none.

 

I think it s time for the homeschooling community to take a good, hard, logical look at the belief that it s okay to wait until a child is 10 or 11 before worrying about anything being wrong.

 

On professionals: Seeking help from a professional does not mean that you are relegating control of your child s schooling;rather, you are getting a consultation to help you make the best decisions you can, and be the best teacher you can. You can decide to let a professional intervene, as in tutoring, or you can just make use of their data. You can decide whether what she is saying makes sense or not for your child. Some people fear that seeking professional help increases one s chances of being reported to CPS. While I think there is reason to take into account the rather unchecked power of CPS, I think we can get a skewed perspective of risk because in the homeschooling community, many hear about HSLDA s horror stories, but we don t get a newsletter with all the positive contributions professionals make in the lives of homeschooling children. Your best bet is to know your professionals. Ask around in your community and learn about people s reputations. You might try contacting HSLDA to see if they have suggestions in your area if that would make you comfortable.

 

In recommending making early use of professionals, I am not saying that networking with other parents is not also an excellent source of information and support. I am saying that we shouldn t avoid professionals.

 

cont.

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Laurie's Open Letter Part 3

 

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Early warning signs: (This list includes warning signs for conditions other than simple learning disabilities

 

Preschool: Look for clusters of symptoms </i >

 

Social differences: if your child does not have many friends, does not seem to know the rules for playing, if other kids don t seem to like your child, or if there is not normal eye contact. Other children are often a very accurate indicator of differences.

 

Language differences: delayed talking, talking in stock phrases, using an odd tone of voice, echoing what people say, inability to follow multi-step instructions, flat tone of voice when singing or reciting

 

Physical differences: toe walking, chronic constipation or diarrhea, chronic difficulty falling or staying asleep, frequently slumps or falls off chair when sitting at the table (may look like this is on purpose), physically clumsy, toe walking, difficulty with gross motor skills, high pain tolerance

 

Difficulty with fine motor skills (these are sometimes delayed, particularly in boys, but if there are any other flags, have them evaluated)

 

Over sensitivity to light, sound, clothing (tags, etc), aversion to several smells, picky eater

 

Stimulus seeking: impulsive, hyperactive, always into mess, likes swinging, spinning, makes constant noise, etc.

 

Emotional/behavioral: behavior is not responsive to normal disciplinary measures, high level of anxiety, hysteria, crying, and temper outbursts

 

If there is a cluster of these flags seek help immediately and keep seeking help until you get an explanation that accounts for your sense of what s not right. Some conditions can be completely remediated , without drugs, if treatment is pursued early enough.

 

Preschool readiness:

Lack of awareness or enjoyment of rhyming, does not know nursery rhymes even if you read them to her, lack of interest in writing own name, messy coloring (scribbling), lack of interest in oral memory games (I m going on a picnic and bringing a . ) or visual memory games (concentration), cannot find visual similarities in like things , still talks baby talk or transposes sounds in words: aminal, emeny, aks, pacific (specific), stumble over sounds trying to pronounce new or long words. (These are all indications of learning disabilities)

 

Beginning instruction:

Has difficulty with associating letters of the alphabet with sound, difficulty with phoneme awareness (cannot rhyme, cannot tell you how many sounds are in dog; can t tell you what stop without the s sound would be: See Reading Reflex or Overcoming Dyslexia for short list ), grossly deficient motor skills (not just a dislike of writing, but very distorted letters, drawing ability behind other children his age), can t get 1:1 correspondence needed to count, etc. (These are all indications of learning disabilities)

 

 

If your child is not progressing in any one of the 3 R s by age 7 , it s wise to seek an evaluation. They can be done sooner. Your child may be progressing, but your gut tells you that progress is slower than it should be or more of a struggle than it should be. (This assumes you are providing consistent instruction.) (These are indications of learning disabilities).

 

Why I am writing this, and who am I? I m writing out of concern for kids with learning disabilities not being served well some prevalent beliefs in the homeschool community. I m a former educational and children s mental health professional, a former foster mother of two kids with learning differences, and the mother of two biological kids with learning differences. I have incorporated information from current professionals I know, and many, many helpful suggestions from other mothers of children with special needs on the special needs board. Though I ve done the best I could, as I suspect others have, I, too, have made mistakes in waiting (in our case till age 7).

 

A huge thank-you to you, SWB, for maintaining these boards. The advice and direction I have received on the special need board has totally changed the life of my most severely affected child. I might still be searching for the right information, might still be wondering if I was overreacting or whether there was something wrong.

 

Again, I want to repeat that none of what I have said is intended to be condemning of a parent with a child with special needs, whatever decisions you ve made. I believe that most parents do their very best with the information available to them. .

 

I am intending to challenge some belief systems in the homeschooling community at large in the hope that moms like you and children like yours have the best outcome possible. I am aware that challenging widespread beliefs will create conflict, which I would prefer to avoid. However, if this information helps even a few moms and their children with special learning problems or other special needs, I m taking a deep breath and ducking!

 

Thanks to the folks on the special needs board who have helped me hone this. Please head over there if you have questions that you want to start exploring. This post is already very long and I couldn t include everything.

__________________

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What version did you borrow? The older ones (red cover, blue cover) are more philosophical, while the 5th edition (white) is more technical. I hear there are also teaching guides available now, too.

The fifth edition includes all the "philosophical" stuff that the first 4 editions did--after all, it's that stuff that makes the method Spalding--but it also includes charts and sample student/teacher dialogues, as well as the EAL words in alphabetical form. The charts and dialogues and whatnot are not additions to the Spalding Method but are actually the process that has been going on in Spalding classrooms for over 50 years. Love 'em.:D

 

 

 

Ellie's awesome.:D Her exact explanations of WRTR over the years have clarified my thinking, for sure!

Aw, you're a sweetie!:grouphug:

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Laurie's Open Letter Part 3

 

Early warning signs: (This list includes warning signs for conditions other than simple learning disabilities

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Hi Elizabeth, do you know if this list of symptoms is posted on a website anywhere?

 

I'd love to be able to link to it! I agree, the homeschool community is suffering from a lack of this type of info, and the "better late than early" info can add to the struggles for a child with LD.

 

Merry :-)

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Merry, I don't know a lot about it, just what I remember from reading this another time it came through. I pulled it from the Special Needs board here, just by doing a quick search. I suggest people who are interested look for other threads by this Laura or do a search in that forum on testing. I know from watching Pensguys posts that there are specific things that can turn up that delay reading and that are PERFECTLY TREATABLE. That's why, in my first reply to the poster, I suggested checking out things. It could be eyes. It could be nothing, nothing at all. But having worked in elementary as a teacher's aide for several years, I have to say I agree with Laura's comments, and I would not just wait and hope it goes away.

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That's why, in my first reply to the poster, I suggested checking out things. It could be eyes. It could be nothing, nothing at all. But having worked in elementary as a teacher's aide for several years, I have to say I agree with Laura's comments, and I would not just wait and hope it goes away.

 

Thank you for your post to me. I am Jennifer (the original poster of this thread) and I have gained much insight from it. I do tend to agree with you. That is why I am seeking information. I have had that "feeling" for about a year now that my daughter just isn't progressing at the rate that seems to be "normal" I also have a 10 year old son and he is bright. He has had none of these issues I am seeing with my daughter so I know that I'm not necessarily doing something wrong with how I'm teaching. Tyler does fine where Serenity has just really struggled since day one. She not only struggles with reading (by far her hardest battle) but she also struggles in Math. I do suspect that something more may be going on with her.

 

I would probably like to get her tested but I don't even know where to start. We don't have a great deal of money and my public school is of little to no help. We do have insurance but how would I find out if insurance would cover testing. Heck, I don't even know what kind of testing to start with.

 

Any help or advice on the testing issue would be appreciate.

 

Jennifer

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What version did you borrow? The older ones (red cover, blue cover) are more philosophical, while the 5th edition (white) is more technical. I hear there are also teaching guides available now, too.

 

 

5th ed. It wasn't readily practical for me. There is definitely technical information put in there, but IMO there is little excuse for not including a step-wise (outline format) progress for instruction. Even if there are a few examples to show the flexibility of the program. I need that visual conciseness that comes with a graphic organizer, or even a linear outline. I didn't want to have to create this myself (as I needed it), and in the end I didn't put forth the effort because the underlying problem with this and other orton-gillingham programs was writing. My DD has been reading since she was three (self-taught CVC decoding), and still she struggles with the mechanics of writing at 6.5 (though she is a fluent above grade-level reader). The program was an upside approach for my DD's needs, so I needed something else to help her along with reading that didn't rely on writing.

 

So Spalding may work for every child, but I needed something different to work better for my child.

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My son was a late bloomer. We worked on reading every single year, from the time he was four on. Nothing really worked. He did every step late. And now, at 11, he reads at least on a fifth grade level if not above.

 

I was not in the "better late than early" school. I was not, and am not, a relaxed homeschooler. But my son did not read until he was good and ready. And now he's fine.

 

For the record, he also talked late, potty trained late, and walked late. He does all of those things well now, too.

 

I don't know what he would have been "diagnosed" with in public school. I hope that a reassuring, experienced teacher would have told me, "we'll keep working on it, but it could just come together for him in his own time." Which is exactly what happened.

 

Dee

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My son was a late bloomer. We worked on reading every single year, from the time he was four on. Nothing really worked. He did every step late. And now, at 11, he reads at least on a fifth grade level if not above.

 

Dee, Thank you so much for your experience with this. I have also talked to many other parents that swear that their kids were behind in many things but finally "got it" and now, just like your son, are doing very well if not above average in academics.

 

I know that there are two sides to every story and I respect both. Some kids do have true learning deficits but I also believe that some just truly aren't physically ready for certain things but do eventually get there.

 

Thanks again for your input.

 

Jennifer

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Thank you for your post to me. I am Jennifer (the original poster of this thread) and I have gained much insight from it. I do tend to agree with you. That is why I am seeking information. I have had that "feeling" for about a year now that my daughter just isn't progressing at the rate that seems to be "normal" I also have a 10 year old son and he is bright. He has had none of these issues I am seeing with my daughter so I know that I'm not necessarily doing something wrong with how I'm teaching. Tyler does fine where Serenity has just really struggled since day one. She not only struggles with reading (by far her hardest battle) but she also struggles in Math. I do suspect that something more may be going on with her.

 

I would probably like to get her tested but I don't even know where to start. We don't have a great deal of money and my public school is of little to no help. We do have insurance but how would I find out if insurance would cover testing. Heck, I don't even know what kind of testing to start with.

 

Any help or advice on the testing issue would be appreciate.

 

Jennifer

 

Here are some websites that might help:

http://www.dys-add.com

http://www.mislabeledchild.com

 

We had 2 of our kids tested at the Psychoeducational Clinic at our local university. It was a good bit cheaper than private practitioners, but they were very thorough and helpful. Insurance reimbursed part of the cost.

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I just decided to post my experience because of the "homeschoolers don't know what they're talking about" tone of that open letter. However, if a parent believes their child ought to be tested, than they should go ahead. My life experience with my son informed my belief that he was a late starter. (Not that I didn't worry!) My story is just one data point. Learning difficulties are of course a reality for some kids. And they should get help when they need it.

 

I did consider testing. After doing my research, I decided to try WRTR first, and it worked for us. We began in the middle of third grade, when my son was just turned nine. I began to be comfortable with his reading level after about a year of WRTR. Now he does a ton of reading, appropriate for his age.

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I borrowed WRTR from the library, and read the book. Then I tried to figure out what a lesson might look like. It is not very straight forward - I think they need someone to teach the author about technical writing if the book is meant to be an instructional tool and not just a philisophical tretise.

 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

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You've got to remember, WRTR was written to professional teachers, not homeschoolers. It was the first of the approaches I tried, and let's just say I threw it at the wall for a while! But I finally realized the flaws I was seeing were because of the audience. A professional teacher might like reading about all the research and studies. We just want to know the big picture and how to implement it. A teacher needs freedom to take the basic concept and plug it into the materials or framework she already has (state or school requirements, etc.). She likes to make lesson plans. A homeschooler typically wants it handed to them, ready to go, pbj-proof, and in toddler nap portions. So WRTR's flaws for us are because it was written to a different audience. Doesn't mean you can't beat the beast and implement it; I did. (Though I quickly switched to SWR, when I saw how much more it offered me and might have considered AAS if it had been around.) And if money is tight, you sure can't beat free at the library or $17 from amazon! And now the Spalding Foundation has written further plans to make it easier to implement. So it really is fine, just a matter of what suits your situation.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest teaqueen

I would like to share that the WRTR can be a most effective method and is not as difficult to use as some believe. It does take practice and a good understanding of the method. I have had great success with it as a remediation method for older students who struggle with reading, spelling, writing, and self esteem issues as well. Seems that people who struggle with self esteem issues often have trouble knowing how to spell. The marking system is not that difficult.

I know I could not appreciate the method when I first saw it, and thought that it was completely ludicrous. However, once I wrapped my mind around it, it is very logical and I have found young people fascinated with it.

I have been teaching the method for 20+ years -- all ages and for a variety of reasons. I would be delighted to share what I know.

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Guest dherring

I have used both WRTR and SWR. I currently use SWR. SWR is much more user friendly, or rather was. I hear that WRTR has changed some, so perhaps that too might be fine now. I love SWR...I'm one of those that will always use SWR, but you'll never hear me say that it is for everyone.

 

It does take some prep time, but I think it's an awesome curriculum! I am a natural speller and even I have learned a lot from this program. Once you begin, it's easy to implement. You just have to tailor it to your own families needs.

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First post on WTM - sorry for not formerly introducing myself....

 

I use SWR, too - started out with it in our first year of h/schooling last year with my dd and ds, then 6 and 10. I quickly dropped it for my ds who spells extremely well, but kept it up for my dd. If the SWR hard-cores knew how lax I am with it, they'd probably take away my manual LOL. But, I do like the program and am very happy with the results so far. Yes, there's a huge learning curve and it's not easy to start the program, but once you have it, you have it (and you even enjoy it!). Reading the manual a couple of times is necessary for it to start sinking in.

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Heather- I really appreciate this review! Thank you! Obviously, there are a lot more posts in this thread for me to search through, so sorry if you have already answered this, but I didn't think that AAS covered reading. I know that they sell a reader, but how do they teach reading? Do they teach reading just by reading their own words? Also, what do you do for grammar? Do you use something else for grammar? Do you have your children write original sentences as they do in SWR with AAS? Hope you don't mind me asking more questions.

 

Ok I will do my best to explain it, but I can only do so in comparison to SWR not WRTR. I can also address some of the points Ellie brought up

 

SWR introduces all 70 phonograms up front. On the first list you will cover CVC words or CV words, including short and long vowels. I think by the 2nd or 3rd list you are covering diphthongs too. Now each lesson does have specific phonograms to review, usually about 10. But the words really aren't grouped in any order. You keep track of spelling rules by 1. dictating the rule into the child's log (you read the rule they write it out word by word). 2. When you run across a word that uses a spelling rule, you write that word in your log under the rule. Markings are used for visual distinction. For example when you use a silent e you draw a half circle from the e to the vowel it makes say its name. You also double under line the e (because sometimes it is there for other reasons, like because English words don't end in v-love). Where letters have more than one sound you put the number of that sound above the letter. Now for 1 you put nothing, so bet has no markings because /e/ is the most common sound of E. Be though would have a 2 above the 2 because /E/ is the 2nd most common sound of E.

 

AAS groups words according to sound or spelling rule, but let me back up because it actually starts before that. The first thing AAS does is introduce the phonograms. Now the child should gain familiarity here, but mastery of all of them is not needed. Next you cover phonemic awareness. What is that? That is the ability to hear sounds in a word. To hear that be has two sounds and so does ate (even though it has three letters). If a child can't hear separate sounds they can't spell. I didn't find any work in SWR on phonemic awareness, so that is one place where AAS is a stronger program. From there it introduces the first sounds of vowels, their short sounds. All the words will have their short A sounds, then short I, ect... About now I suspect you are asking if they study the words in groups how do the child learn to spell them outside the groups? You get a set of word cards with AAS, and after you cover them in the spelling you put them behind a "review" tab. Once you have a couple sets you shuffle them and begin to practice. With each new sound learned you shuffle them into the old cards and practice them in isolation till you are sure they are mastered and then you move them to the "mastered" tab.

 

Now I will try to deal with Ellie's points:

 

 

 

True AAS doesn't cover handwriting.

 

AAS does cover spelling and reading (new readers will be out starting in April, but the cards can be use read to practice reading without the readers).

 

AAS had dictation sentences the child writes, in early levels, then the child moves to making their own sentences in level 4 I think, so punctuation, capitalization and simple composition are also covered in AAS. This is also reinforced in the Key Cards (Key Cards also will cover spelling rules). Level one has a Key Card in which the child reviews that a name starts with a capital letter. You also practice alphabetizing in, review vowels and consonant definitions, and work on claping syllables in level 1 (I own the other levels but haven't used them yet. I know they cover more).

 

Beyond phonemic awareness the other thing SWR doesn't seem to cover is syllable rules. It does teach a child to break words into syllables, and some of the rules teach how vowels can be change sounds based on where they are at in the syllable, but it doesn't give the rules of syllables. In SWR you have to know how to pronounce the word before you can break it into syllables. In AAS it teaches the syllable rules, so a child can encounter a word and work through strategies to figure out how to break it into parts and pronounce it.

 

Last is that SWR expects a certain time commitment, more than I wanted to give with 4 students. With AAS people who do short sessions with lots of review are seeing good results. While the program prompts you to review at the beginning of each "step" which would be about once a week for my 7yo I review daily. She covers the key cards, then spells 5 words aloud (hard for her to do but it is helping her to visualize the word) and then read 10 words (to build reading fluency) then we do a part of a lesson. She tried SWR and by list 5 was convinced she was a horrible speller. She didn't get the "think to spell" precess where a word like of might be pronounced with a /o/ instead of a /u/ sound to remember how to spell it. The first 5 lists have a lot of those type of words (love, of, mother-and school was another tough one for her). AAS teaches that o can say /u/ so it solved the problem just by changing programs. SWR is a good program, my oldest two started it later and did fine with it (my 2nd dd spend a year leaning the phonograms before I started the spelling and my oldest was a natural speller), but for my 7yo it was way too much way to fast. I would have had to stop work on the phoograms for another year and then start it again, and I just wasn't up to it.

 

But the biggest difference for me is that AAS is much easier. I got my packaged, cut apart the cards (now they come perforated, so that is even easier now) and then it was open and go. I don't have to do any prep work or learning how to use it. They even have gray boxes where they give trouble shooting hints. It took me 6 months of covering the phonograms and reading SWR to be able to use the spelling part of the program. Now part of that is because the author is very detailed, and you don't find out HOW to do the spelling till page 70 something in the SWR manual. Being dyslexic myself I am a slow reader and it took forever for me to get there.

 

If you are talking if one is better than the other they are both good (or all three counting WRTR). But if you are talking ease of use I think AAS has the other two beat, but I can only speak for WRTR based on the amount of people who moved from it to SWR and thought SWR was easier. :001_huh:

 

I agree now that I know SWR it isn't that tough, the learning curve up front was the problem. Now it is the time commitment and pace that did work.

 

Heather

 

 

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Again, this may already be answered but I just haven't reached the post yet. BUT one other difference that I have seen is the tactile element of the tiles. What do you think of these?

 

Just for clarity, I would like to say as someone who has used SWR for years, I didn't even recognize it the way Siloam described it, lol. SWR has a chapter on building phonemic awareness, including games and exercises to practice the skills. Almost all the things she described as doing in AAS, I've also heard SWR users do. In SWR we draw lines and mark the reason for the silent E. My dd never had an issue with syllable breaks, so the SWR explanations were enough for us. There are instructions for oral spelling and doing spelling bees. I've even heard of SWR users having their dc spelling the words BACKWARDS! The major difference between AAS and SWR is that AAS is an open and go format with clear plans (from what I can tell), where SWR is a series of tools (word list, enrichments to go with the word list, and a tm filled with ideas on how to teach it) that the teacher has to pull into their own lesson. Kids are all so different, and each program has its place. For some kids, the pacing of AAS would never fit. For some moms, the learning curve and having to decide how to teach it would make SWR impractical. But they're both very good programs.

 

As far as the /u/ sound for O, well I think WRTR teaches 4th sound, don't they? So there it's not distinct to AAS. People focus too much on the nuances. Look at the tools the programs give you and which is going to be the most practical for YOU to implement. SWR has tons of tools, but you have to be the magic and decide what you want to do each day and how to implement it. That's great if you have an accelerated student, someone who needs a different approach from standard, like doing things your own way, or where you want to toss everything to independent with the companion cd's. AAS is all spelled out (haha, spelled out), ready to go. SWR includes instructions for teaching reading, where it seems like people have commented that AAS isn't the best way to teach reading. (remediate spelling yes, teach reading no)

 

They're both good programs. WRTR, which I started with, is the forerunner of SWR. Think the negatives of SWR (plan your own lessons, etc.), but with less tools and perks. At the price point ($17 on amazon) it's great for the mom who feels comfortable doing her own thing and can turn a barebones program into just what she needs. (Yes I know there are now levels and more thorough plans for WRTR, but I haven't seen those. They'd have the potential drawbacks of all plans as far as fit, who they're designed for, etc.) They're all good programs and more similar than they are different. (conceptually similar, very different functionally) The things people are doing with AAS, they could have done with SWR or WRTR. It's just with AAS, you're gaining the wisdom of an experienced teacher and how she's tweaked it, turned it into lesson plans, and fleshed it out. If that's valuable to you, buy it. They're all good, just different.

 

There, keeper of the peace. :)

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Oh! Oh! Oh! I'm getting close to my answer...

 

When teaching early readers with these methods, do you wait until they've been introduced to all the phonograms and then let them read, or do you use "readers"? I have "readers" from Starfall and have seen "readers" in the library (leveled by grade or just a number). I'm confused by it all....

 

Nancy in NC

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Heather- I really appreciate this review! Thank you! Obviously, there are a lot more posts in this thread for me to search through, so sorry if you have already answered this, but I didn't think that AAS covered reading. I know that they sell a reader, but how do they teach reading? Do they teach reading just by reading their own words? Also, what do you do for grammar? Do you use something else for grammar? Do you have your children write original sentences as they do in SWR with AAS? Hope you don't mind me asking more questions.

 

AAS is still being published, so this will be easier down the road as she plans more readers, and to publish a pre-reading level for before level 1 that will help with learning the phonograms.

 

The one thing I don't like for LD learners, regular learners would probably be fine, is how quickly the phonograms are introduced. I prefer the Pre-ETC books, how they cover roughly one letter sound a week. That said I think AAS will work fine as long as a parent was willing to camp out in step 1 for a while and learn the consonants. They don't really have to master them, just a majority. The rest they can master as they go with gentle reminders.

 

AAS works on hearing the individual sounds, and encourages the child to say the sounds after they have built the word with the tiles. For a child learning to read they would sound the word out instead of just say the sounds.

 

Then in the review you are encouraged to allow the child to read some of the spelling cards. This is much easier for most kids, looking at a single word on a card, vs looking at a page. There also are no picture clues for them to use in guessing, so they have to read it. While all my kids doing AAS right now are readers already, I do have the middle two reading 15 word cards a day to build fluency.

 

For grammar I am using FLL for the middle two, nothing for my 6yo ds. I don't follow the script, but just look at the topic covered and cover them in my own way, then memorize the poems and grammar definitions. Because I am also using WWE we don't use the copywork. We do the narration, but only orally.

 

My oldest is doing Analytical Grammar (after having done the Junior version last year), and it is one of my favorites.

 

In level 1 the child begins to do simple dictation of phrases (2-3 words), in level 2 it bumps up to whole sentences, in level 3 they introduce the writing element where the child composes simple sentences, which continues through level 4. Level 5 and 6 aren't out yet but should be less than a year out.

 

Nope I don't mind the questions at all. My oldest has already expressed a desire to master AAS, then go back to SWR and start it from the beginning. She really wants to be good at spelling, so SWR isn't out of the picture, just set aside for now.

 

Heather

 

 

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Thank you for the response! I guess the only thing that has me peeking at AAS is this:

 

I really like the idea of the tiles- it sounds like fun. Maybe they aren't all that helpful?

 

I like the tabs for the 3X5 box, and I'm not sure that I understand well enough how SWR work to implement them into it

 

There is something about having all of the lessons laid out for me that is appealing.

 

However, I do like the sentence writing that SWR does. Also, I like the grammar being included in SWR.

 

 

 

AAS is still being published, so this will be easier down the road as she plans more readers, and to publish a pre-reading level for before level 1 that will help with learning the phonograms.

 

The one thing I don't like for LD learners, regular learners would probably be fine, is how quickly the phonograms are introduced. I prefer the Pre-ETC books, how they cover roughly one letter sound a week. That said I think AAS will work fine as long as a parent was willing to camp out in step 1 for a while and learn the consonants. They don't really have to master them, just a majority. The rest they can master as they go with gentle reminders.

 

AAS works on hearing the individual sounds, and encourages the child to say the sounds after they have built the word with the tiles. For a child learning to read they would sound the word out instead of just say the sounds.

 

Then in the review you are encouraged to allow the child to read some of the spelling cards. This is much easier for most kids, looking at a single word on a card, vs looking at a page. There also are no picture clues for them to use in guessing, so they have to read it. While all my kids doing AAS right now are readers already, I do have the middle two reading 15 word cards a day to build fluency.

 

For grammar I am using FLL for the middle two, nothing for my 6yo ds. I don't follow the script, but just look at the topic covered and cover them in my own way, then memorize the poems and grammar definitions. Because I am also using WWE we don't use the copywork. We do the narration, but only orally.

 

My oldest is doing Analytical Grammar (after having done the Junior version last year), and it is one of my favorites.

 

In level 1 the child begins to do simple dictation of phrases (2-3 words), in level 2 it bumps up to whole sentences, in level 3 they introduce the writing element where the child composes simple sentences, which continues through level 4. Level 5 and 6 aren't out yet but should be less than a year out.

 

Nope I don't mind the questions at all. My oldest has already expressed a desire to master AAS, then go back to SWR and start it from the beginning. She really wants to be good at spelling, so SWR isn't out of the picture, just set aside for now.

 

Heather

 

 

 

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Just started using SWR a couple months ago and really like it. This way of teaching reading and spelling makes so much sense to me. I especially like how you work with the phonograms and rules constantly through the word lists. I really like the charts. I am finding it well worth the time investment to learn the program.

 

I also have WRTR 5th edition and it is definitely geared to a classroom teacher although I am sure it could be used by an experienced homeschooler.

 

AAS is great if you do not have the time or energy to wrap your head around WRTR or SWR. But if you are able to learn a method and put plans together yourself, WRTR and SWR are definitely good options. SWR does give you some ideas for schedules.

 

I would suggest using SWR but getting WRTR so you have the background information as well.

Edited by HiddenJewel
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I'm not familiar with SWR. Is this dictation? AAS has that.:D

 

SWR has some dictation in the spelling enrichments. The student also writes original sentences (first orally and then written) for the words they are learning. There may be other sentence work but that is as far as I have gotten.

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Thank you for the response! I guess the only thing that has me peeking at AAS is this:

 

I really like the idea of the tiles- it sounds like fun. Maybe they aren't all that helpful?

 

I like the tabs for the 3X5 box, and I'm not sure that I understand well enough how SWR work to implement them into it

 

There is something about having all of the lessons laid out for me that is appealing.

 

However, I do like the sentence writing that SWR does. Also, I like the grammar being included in SWR.

 

My 9 and 11yo choose not to use them, but my 7yo adores them! I know that for myself the way the spelling rules are worded in SWR...I just don't click with. Demonstrating it with the tiles clicks for me, and I prefer the simpler verbage used in AAS for the rules.

 

I also do like how the words are grouped by spelling rule, because the last time I gave my oldest a diagnostic she actually scored lower than she did at the beginning of the year. We both attributed this to not applying the rules she already has memorized. I think taking a break from SWR and focusing on the rules will be good for her. The words in AAS, have been on the easy side for her through, so I suspect that by the time we finish AAS, she will be ready to go back to SWR and will test better, especially when we combine the review system of AAS with SWR.

 

I never did the grammar work in SWR, because I use FLL and WWE. I do at times miss the sentences in SWR (not the ones the kids write, the ones for spelling), but my kids adore not having to listen to them. :blink:

 

Other than the ease of use, and just meeting a need right now, I think the biggest plus for AAS is how little time I need to spend on it to get results. The time commitment of SWR always drove me batty with 4 kids.

 

Heather

 

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  • 14 years later...

I used that book to teach me all the spelling rules. I love it. I used the printing instructions to help me teach printing to 5-6 yr olds. I used the list of words for spelling lessons. I used the phonograms. It made me feel competent. Confident. 
I taught my 7 children homeschooling. 
I used another program for daily lessons. But I inserted the correct spelling rules. 

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