Another AAS question... lesson plan related

[DragonflyAcademy]

We just got All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2..DD, grade 1 and DS grade 4 have never had phonograms before..

 

I did the initial assessment with both of them with the AAS level 1 yellow cards as directed in the teacher guide. They each have a small handful of phonograms they did not know. I've been teaching those and reviewing them briefly each day.

 

Do I also move ahead to the next step, in the teacher guide which is the formal instruction of specific phonograms while I do this review of the ones they did not know? Do I just skip ahead to the ones they didn't know or do I start at the beginning of this section and work through it..??

 

 

When do I move my older to level 2?

[siloam]

We just got All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2..DD, grade 1 and DS grade 4 have never had phonograms before..

 

I did the initial assessment with both of them with the AAS level 1 yellow cards as directed in the teacher guide. They each have a small handful of phonograms they did not know. I've been teaching those and reviewing them briefly each day.

 

Do I also move ahead to the next step, in the teacher guide which is the formal instruction of specific phonograms while I do this review of the ones they did not know? Do I just skip ahead to the ones they didn't know or do I start at the beginning of this section and work through it..??

 

 

When do I move my older to level 2?

 

You start spelling lists in step 6. Just move quickly through the steps they know. This program assumes you are really starting from scratch.

 

Step 2 is more important than it appears. Some kids can't hear the different sounds. My 2nd dd couldn't hear the difference between short i and e nor both sounds in blends. I ended up having to go through a separate program to correct those issues.

 

I wouldn't skip ahead because some of the spelling/syllable rules covered later in level 1 are only reviewed briefly in level 2. For example when to use C and CK or when to use C vs. K. Just more through book 1 more quickly. My oldest finished it in 24 days, one day for each step.

 

Heather

 

[Wheres Toto]

Did you wait for Mastery before moving on? We are going through much quicker than I thought we would.

 

My son already knew all the phonograms except the 3rd and 4th sounds for the vowels and Y. If all we did everyday was review those, he's get bored fast so we moved on (although we are doing the reviews everyday and he's starting to get them).

Step 2 was segmenting and he had no problem with any of the 2 or 3 sound words.

Step 3 introduced the letter tiles and which are vowels or consonants. He had no problem with alphabetizing the tiles and understood pretty quickly the vowel/consonant difference.

We did Step 4 today and he had no problem with the sound cards at all - he was able to do all of them without a problem. He did them by pointing to the letter tiles today, tomorrow I'll have him write the letters.

 

I'm just wondering if we continue moving so fast if he may have a problem soon. I looked a little ahead and don't think any of the short vowel sounds will cause any trouble because he knows them very well (thanks to Leapfrog).

[MerryAtHope]

Did you wait for Mastery before moving on? We are going through much quicker than I thought we would.

 

My son already knew all the phonograms except the 3rd and 4th sounds for the vowels and Y. If all we did everyday was review those, he's get bored fast so we moved on (although we are doing the reviews everyday and he's starting to get them).

Step 2 was segmenting and he had no problem with any of the 2 or 3 sound words.

Step 3 introduced the letter tiles and which are vowels or consonants. He had no problem with alphabetizing the tiles and understood pretty quickly the vowel/consonant difference.

We did Step 4 today and he had no problem with the sound cards at all - he was able to do all of them without a problem. He did them by pointing to the letter tiles today, tomorrow I'll have him write the letters.

 

I'm just wondering if we continue moving so fast if he may have a problem soon. I looked a little ahead and don't think any of the short vowel sounds will cause any trouble because he knows them very well (thanks to Leapfrog).

 

It sounds like you're doing well! As long as you can see that he has mastered the concept of the step, you can move on to the next one. With that first step, it's ok to proceed while still mastering a few of the extra sounds, but with other steps, you do want mastery of the step before moving on. You don't want him to be bored, keep the lessons light and fun and continue moving along. When you hit a concept that he doesn't know as well, slow down in that step. HTH!

 

Merry :-)

[MerryAtHope]

We just got All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2..DD, grade 1 and DS grade 4 have never had phonograms before..

 

I did the initial assessment with both of them with the AAS level 1 yellow cards as directed in the teacher guide. They each have a small handful of phonograms they did not know. I've been teaching those and reviewing them briefly each day.

 

Do I also move ahead to the next step, in the teacher guide which is the formal instruction of specific phonograms while I do this review of the ones they did not know? Do I just skip ahead to the ones they didn't know or do I start at the beginning of this section and work through it..??

 

 

When do I move my older to level 2?

 

You can go ahead to step 2 while you continue reviewing the phonograms. It only takes a minute or two to review 4 phonograms in a day, so you have plenty of time to round out a 15 or 20 minute session. In future steps you want mastery of each step before moving on, but with that first one it's ok to continue as long as your child knows most of them.

 

As to when to move your oldest to Level 2, that will depend on your 4th grader & what gaps he has. Some of the steps in Level 1 will be very easy--likely he knows how to spell most of the words. It's fine to "fast track" through what he knows and not make him spell all of the words. What you want to do with each step is make sure he has not only mastered spelling the words, but that he understands the concept, because it will also apply to longer and harder words throughout the program. When you hit concepts he doesn't know, slow down and spend a bit more time in those steps. Make sure he can demonstrate the concept back to you, and then move on. And if you aren't sure he knows all of the words, choose a sampling that you think might be difficult, and see how he does with them. If he knows them, you can move on, if not, slow down and do them all.

 

My kids started at the end of 3rd and 5th grades, and only needed a few weeks with the Level 1 content, and then were ready to move on.

 

HTH! Merry :-)

[truebluexf]

I agree with the above. We just started a few weeks ago, and I'm just going through each step as needed. For DS, this has been quick, and he is on step 12 in less than that many school days. At this point we are doing one step each day, just to make sure he knows the material included. There have definitely been small things here or there that he has learned in the process. I do expect he'll be in the next book in a couple more weeks. DD1 is on step 8 and doing very well too. I expect the rest of the level to take her a bit longer, but even she is learning quickly at the moment. It's been awesome to see her aha moments. :) She is spelling words she didn't even realize she could spell!! :)

 

So basically....I would continue to do go over each step, even that means one per day. The older ones will continue moving on quickly until you fully hit their level, and the youngers will likely slow sooner. As for the phonograms, it wasn't until I had done the first few steps, in order, that I realized it said in the book that they first 2-4(?) could be done simultaneously. :)

[siloam]

Did you wait for Mastery before moving on? We are going through much quicker than I thought we would.

 

I came from a program that covered the phonogarms also, so they already had mastery, but that said you have the whole book to master them. In addition, the 2nd sounds of the vowels aren't covered till the last lesson and those with third sounds and the various sound of y aren't covered till later books.

 

You will be fine if you move ahead.

 

I'm just wondering if we continue moving so fast if he may have a problem soon. I looked a little ahead and don't think any of the short vowel sounds will cause any trouble because he knows them very well (thanks to Leapfrog).

 

Right now it is easy because he does already know the information. There shouldn't be any problems. Just adjust the pace as you go according to his needs.

 

Heather

[cajunrose]

My 7 year old (2nd grade) flew through the steps and then we are at a roadblock at the c or k lesson. It just isn't clicking for her. I'm trying to figure out another way to teach this to her.

[MerryAtHope]

My 7 year old (2nd grade) flew through the steps and then we are at a roadblock at the c or k lesson. It just isn't clicking for her. I'm trying to figure out another way to teach this to her.

 

What part of the step isn't clicking for her? Does she understand that C has 2 sounds, and when it makes each sound? Does she try C first each time? Can she tell when C doesn't work when you make the words with the blank for the first sound?

 

She may just need more time to grow. Sometimes when my kids hit a roadblock, I take a week or so off, and review all of the mastered cards so far. We do shorter lessons when we do that--about 10 minutes instead of 15-20, so it feels like a break & they regain confidence. Sometimes that's all it takes for them to then be able to come back to a lesson and get it. But, let us know what part of it seems to be tripping her up & maybe we can help you brainstorm.

 

Merry :-)

[cajunrose]

She knows that a c makes 2 sounds, but it seems like she doesn't care when you are supposed to use a c or a k...lol She will spell cash with a c then spell can with a k. Makes no sense....I'm baffled..rofl

[golfcartmama]

We have fast tracked level one and are stuck at lesson 19. DS is 7 and in 2nd as well. We're stuck on the k and ck. Day 3 tomorrow...I'm hoping for the click!

[MerryAtHope]

She knows that a c makes 2 sounds, but it seems like she doesn't care when you are supposed to use a c or a k...lol She will spell cash with a c then spell can with a k. Makes no sense....I'm baffled..rofl

 

Have you tried taking her back through the activities with the tiles from step 16, where you put a blank tile in for the first letter? I'd have her explain it to you--ie, say, "What sounds can C say?" (/k/ or /s/). "Great! Now, how can we tell which sound C is going to make?" She should be able to tell you that it says /s/ before e, i, or y. Have her show you with the tiles--have her pull down each one as she says it and put the C before each one & make the sound.

 

Then have her pull out some tiles that C will say /k/ before, and emphasize that C will say /k/ before any other letter besides e, i, or y.

 

Then ask her, "If I want to try to decide whether to use C or K when I'm spelling a word, which letter do I try first?" She should be able to tell you that we always try C first.

 

Build the words in the examples with the blank tile in front, and for each one ask, "which letter should we try first?" © "Good! Does C work here? Why/why not?"

 

Eventually I would say, "What should we do?" and see if you can get her to verbalize something like, "We need to try C first."

 

Then with the step 17 words, do the tiles and go through each one with the blank in front & see if she can eventually teach it to you. You might even say, "you get to be the teacher today!" You tell her the word and see if she can tell you how to decide what first letter each word needs.

 

Once she can walk through with the blank-tile method, then let her try to write them. If she gets one incorrect, don't correct immediately as she writes it--give her a moment or two to try to self-correct. Then walk back through the question--which one do we try first? If she tries C and it's the wrong choice, see if she can say why it's wrong instead of you telling her--ask questions to get her to think about the word. If she writes K first and K is wrong, see if she can tell you why, and also see if she can tell you what she should try first.

 

HTH some! Merry :-)

[In2why]

She knows that a c makes 2 sounds, but it seems like she doesn't care when you are supposed to use a c or a k...lol She will spell cash with a c then spell can with a k. Makes no sense....I'm baffled..rofl

 

 

I used a whiteboard, and as soon as my son used the wrong letter I would ask, is the next letter an E, I, or Y? I also had him repeat that rule all throughout the day. We also did the dictated spelling words twice before he got it.

 

I am enjoying the program, since I was a natural speller and never learned the rules. I find myself having lightbulb moments. :D