Phonics Road vs. AAS & Megawords...opinions needed

[shanvan]

I'm weighing curriculum choices for next year - thought I had spelling all figured out. Then I read the thread about Phonics road.

 

I have DS 11 who is a horrible speller (but a phenomenal reader). He is making improvements with a combination of AAS and Megawords. DD 8 just uses AAS. I make my own reinforcement worksheets for AAS. It seems to be working, but is a lot of work. I planned to continue with both of these for next year.

 

I see that PR has reinforcement worksheets included. I like that it has jungles. We have been using Shurley English with jingles and they help my DD tremendously. Now here is my dilemma...

 

I would like to continue with Shurley since it is working so well. So that means I probably don't need the grammar in PR. Mainly I would use PR just for the spelling component. I'm drawn to the worksheets and the jingles, but I don't like that DS has to start at level 1 with PR and I'm not so thrilled at watching DVDs to learn the program.

 

To make the decision harder, my DH has recently taken a pay cut of $1000 a month. I have to be much more frugal with curriculum costs than I ever have before. However, if I am convinced PR is going to do the job easier and more effectively than what I'm doing now, we can probably find a way to afford it.

 

So, any thoughts about if PR is worth it in my situation? If you used both PR and AAS is there a huge difference in what is actually taught? If I stick with AAS are we getting to the same place with spelling? My main concern is with my DS getting to some meaty spelling quickly.

 

TIA for any help or advice with this decision.

 

Shannon

[siloam]

I'm weighing curriculum choices for next year - thought I had spelling all figured out. Then I read the thread about Phonics road.

 

I have DS 11 who is a horrible speller (but a phenomenal reader). He is making improvements with a combination of AAS and Megawords. DD 8 just uses AAS. I make my own reinforcement worksheets for AAS. It seems to be working, but is a lot of work. I planned to continue with both of these for next year.

 

I see that PR has reinforcement worksheets included. I like that it has jungles. We have been using Shurley English with jingles and they help my DD tremendously. Now here is my dilemma...

 

I would like to continue with Shurley since it is working so well. So that means I probably don't need the grammar in PR. Mainly I would use PR just for the spelling component. I'm drawn to the worksheets and the jingles, but I don't like that DS has to start at level 1 with PR and I'm not so thrilled at watching DVDs to learn the program.

 

To make the decision harder, my DH has recently taken a pay cut of $1000 a month. I have to be much more frugal with curriculum costs than I ever have before. However, if I am convinced PR is going to do the job easier and more effectively than what I'm doing now, we can probably find a way to afford it.

 

So, any thoughts about if PR is worth it in my situation? If you used both PR and AAS is there a huge difference in what is actually taught? If I stick with AAS are we getting to the same place with spelling? My main concern is with my DS getting to some meaty spelling quickly.

 

TIA for any help or advice with this decision.

 

Shannon

 

Shannon,

 

A couple of thoughts for you.

 

First is you store information in song in a different place in your brain than you do when it is not in song. Usually the only way to retrieve it is by singing it. I personally don't like having to sing songs to myself to remember something. Even if I can't be heard I am embarrassed, so I stayed away for programs that use those methods, even if they are effective. Most of my kids are shy and easily embarrassed, so I figured they would be the same way. You know your kids, and if that might be a problem, a detourant to using the information later for fear of being caught singing.

 

The second issue MIGHT be that pace of PR. I don't know for sure because I haven't used it. I didn't really look into it much. Generally vertical phonics programs introduce multiple concepts at once. In SWR you can cover short vowels, long vowels, vowel teams and schwa sounds all on the same spelling list. It doesn't even focus on one vowel, but will cover all of them. I don't know for sure that PR follows the same philosophical pattern. You are using AAS, so you have seen how it groups things according to rule or sound. That is sometimes needed for some children while other children do fine covering multiple concepts at once. You know your ds, does he struggle with the review once the word aren't in their neat lists? If he does that might be a clue that vertical phonics approach won't work.

 

Now I hope someone who has PR comes along and clarifies how the word lists in PR are arranged. :D

 

Also I believe someone clarified that PR covers syllable rules, can someone clarify that? I want to say someone on another thread told me they are taught.

 

Heather

 

[TracyP]

Disclaimer: I have no experience here.:D

But I think that if you are just looking for spelling PR is probably not the way to go. I think this because I told my dh about PR and he said "I thought you were using ____ for lit" but grammar (I said) "I though you liked _______" but, but ....... I told him he was right it was pointless for spelling. If I wasn't liking everything else it would be different. Anyway I am trying AAS. I hope you find what works.:001_smile:

[PeterPan]

Shannon, if you really felt you needed to change, SWR would make more sense than PR for you. SWR would give you one program to use with both kids, and there is a separate worksheet packet you can buy (My Wise Grammar) that would give you plenty of that worksheet practice you're needing. Thing is, like Siloam says, my concern would be messing up something that is already working. IF AAS is working because of the ways it is different from SWR, then it would be a bad idea to change, kwim?

 

What if you just looked for a workbook series to complement AAS? That way you wouldn't risk messing up the stuff that is already working. MCP, Apples to Pears, something from the grocery store... There has to be some workbook series you could find that would work. Have you tried dictation? Dictation was AWESOME for us in cementing the basics. I'm really keen on the spiraling sentences in the Spelling Plus Dictation Resource book. (Haven't used it, just keen on it, have it in mind for ds.)

[shanvan]

I came to my senses while we were at the skating rink! There is no way PR will work for us. I think both my kids are too far advanced in reading and grammar to be starting back at the beginning with PR. I also read a few posts on the 'what you don't like about PR' thread. That cemented it for me.

 

Heather- Yes, I hesitate to use songs for exactly the reason you stated. I just got tempted by the lure of easy spelling rule memorization. I'm going to stick to the way we are doing things. BTW I love reading your TOG posts. They have been very helpful.

 

Elizabeth - I think I have the SWR reinforcement sheets here somewhere. I'll dig them out and see if they might work for us. That or I'll continue to make my own to go with AAS.

 

You are both right-- in this case change is not good!

 

Thanks again.

 

Shannon