Targhee Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Who has done this? Has it gone well? How old was your student? How long did it take your student to go from level 1 to their grade level? Any tips or advice in doing this (or NOT doing this)? I am thinking about AAS for next year (4th grade). I was able to sit down with Wanda Sanseri at a homeschool conference for a 10 minute hands-on intro with a couple of other moms. I really saw the merits of the O-G method. My DD has some fine motor issues however, and I knew that SWR / WRTR would be too taxing for her, so I opted for other spelling methods. It was later that year that I became aware of AAS. But it was untested and I didn't want to switch curriculum (spend more money). Soooo, I think her spelling is getting worse :tongue_smilie: and we need to start from the ground up, I think. I just don't want her to be bored to tears while she does it. I have two youngers who can use the program so I don't feel like purchasing multiple levels will be a waste. I just want to know what to expect with starting with an older student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 :lurk5: Been thinking about this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I just started AAS with my 4th grader. I tried a few spelling programs with him over the years but he wasn't able to retain anything. I have already noticed a difference in the two weeks we have been using AAS. He is able to memorize the spelling rules and apply them across the board to other areas. I am so happy with this program! I purchased levels 2 and 3, and I'm hoping to get through both in one school year, but we'll take as much time as we need so that he is really able to cement the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3MonkeysMama Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 My son is at the end of 2nd grade and we started at Level 1. It is a lot of review for him, but in a good way. He was always mixing up his vowel sounds and forgetting "rules". Within in a couple weeks he is doing so much better on AAS. We are moving through the first level at a rapid pace. It seemed like a waste of money at first (to buy a whole level of review), but now I see the merit of starting at the begininning. Thankfully, I have two behind him that can use the same curric. so I don't feel too bad about the money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 It seemed like a waste of money at first (to buy a whole level of review), but now I see the merit of starting at the begininning. Thankfully, I have two behind him that can use the same curric. so I don't feel too bad about the money! Yeah, I'm glad I have 2 kids behind my oldest that will be able to use it. I just ordered levels 1 and 2 for my first grader (reading at a 4th grade level). I know much of level 1 will be review, but I figure it will lay a foundation. At least it's setup so that you can go as quickly or as slowly as you need. I can't wait to start next week when it gets here! :D If you look at AAS threads, I know Merry has posted a lot about using AAS with her kids that were around that age when they started. Found her blog review of it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I started my kids at the end of their 3rd and 5th grade years. We did levels 1, 2, and part of 3 that first year (my oldest was about halfway through 3, my youngest just started 3). After just a couple of weeks, both kids were hooked--my oldest told me it was the most effective program we had used & both told me not to switch again, LOL! I wrote a review & more of our experiences in my blog, for us it's been very helpful. My son (oldest) also has vision therapy issues, so his progress may have been slowed by that some. He is in 8th grade now, and about 3/4 of the way through level 5. We'll start 6 next quarter. We will probably finish level 7 at the end of his 9th grade year or just into 10th. At that point kids are spelling at a high school level, so that is when I expect him to be up to grade level. My daughter is in 6th grade now and just started level 5. She'll be up to grade level soon. We work for about 15-20 minutes a day (20 for my oldest). That's long enough to hold their attention but not so long that they start losing the concepts they've learned. Kids who struggle with spelling often need lots of review, so make sure you use the spelling review cards to their fullest potential and adapt them to your dd's needs. It's designed so you can customize to your situation, something I really like! The longer we use it, the more improvements I see in my kids' writing and spelling. AAS has a nice gradual progression with writing (and my kids were not writing much when we started). Level 1 has words and 2-word dictation phrases. You can make these with tiles if your dd isn't ready to write much yet, and just gradually nudge her towards more writing. Level 2 has dictation phrases and short sentences for them to write. Level 3 goes to all sentences, and then partway through introduces the Writing Station, where kids make up some of their own sentences using 5 or 6 spelling words. Each level nudges them on a bit more, and it has really helped my kids to write more and to learn how to edit their writing by first editing dictations, and then editing their Writing Station exercises. Here's a blog article I wrote about how to help kids use their spelling skills in their writing and how I use AAS to help with that. HTH some, and I hope it will help your daughter! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I started AAS with my third grader this year. We started it in October. I originally had spectrum spelling for third grade and he HATED it. He did not like spelling in 2nd grade at his private school as they did the same thing every week in b/w. So we found spectrum early on. It was color and the activities were varied every week, he still hated it. We changed to AAS and now spelling is his favorite subject. I think that going to the beginning and have it easy is great for his confidence, it has changed his whole attitude. We would already be on level 2 if we did it three times a week, but we are only doing it about once a week this year. We have had to spend a lot of time on writing and math this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I agree with what Merry said. I started my 4th grader in Level 1, but we're only in level 2 now with him in 6th grade, but that's my fault. I was still so worried about him being "at grade level" that I kept bouncing around in curricula. We should start level 3 in about a month, maybe less. He does really well with it and likes it. My dd who is a late bloomer in reading (9 years old and in 3rd for most subjects) is almost through level 1. She really enjoys the lessons and I love how AAS has helped her with her phonics and reading fluency. In the beginning we moved at a step a day pace, now some steps will take us 2 days, or if they are having trouble we can park there for a week. I think you'd be able to move fast in the beginning but will also be able to make sure that any gaps are filled. The glory of AAS is that you move at the child's pace. I also agree that if you're worried about the amount of writing you can always just use the tiles, or a whiteboard (some writing phobic kids love those instead) or do some parts orally. Maybe even use a word processing program and have her type things on a computer and then print it out. I don't think you can go wrong with this program. My kids have also told me to "Stop worrying and just stay with this program, we like it and it works" so I've finally gotten over my grass is greener syndrome in the spelling "yard" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi! I live on the other side of the river from Wanda, but I found her very helpful. She offered to meet with me when SWR wasn't working with my 3rd dd. I wasn't able to take her up on it, but I thought it was really nice of her. BTW as it turns out dd had hearing issues that needed to be addressed. I could probably have made SWR work after that, but it was so much easier to implement AAS that I ended up switching everyone over. At the time my oldest was in 5th grade spelling at a 7th grade level. She went through level 1 in 24 days. I still would start with level 1 because being able to "see" the rules demonstrated with the tiles clicked here more than the mark ups did in SWR. For example with the using C or K rule it is easy to sit there and swap out the tiles to "try" one than the other. With SWR you can mark up the word and write out the applicable rules, but you don't see the side by side comparison as well. I still learned a lot from SWR and really don't regret out time spent in it. Now she is 7th grade and is finishing up book 5. She will start 6 in a few months. Her spelling didn't improve at first, and she didn't misspell single word till the end of level 3, and then it was spelling the pennies as pennys. I think she got the name stuck in her visual memory. About that time I also realize she was relying more on visual memory than the rules with a lot of words, so I started making her teach me all of the analysis sections (which would be similar to the mark ups). After that her spelling took a jump up to a 8.8 grade level. I haven't given her another test since fall. I still have her mark up her vocabulary words via SWR, but I am very comfortable with AAS for spelling and have no plans to continue spelling instruction after we finish AAS. If you decide to try it and the words seem easy, don't focus on the words but on mastery of the rules. Even then, for my kids, it takes time before the own the rule enough to actually apply it outside of spelling time. Over the long term through it is all falling into place. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori in MS Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I am using it with my 5th grade son. We started in level 1 and he is now halfway through level 3. It has done wonders for him. He has finally made progress in spelling and has confidence. The rules make sense to him and he is able to remember them. Highly recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks for all the input! It sounds like I can do this with my 4th grader. I should: start at level 1, focus on the rules, use the tiles if the writing becomes too much (the tiles were my initial draw to AAS!!), be patient on getting up to grade level, plan for about 20 minutes daily, and go read the other AAS threads. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks for all the input! It sounds like I can do this with my 4th grader. I should: start at level 1, focus on the rules, use the tiles if the writing becomes too much (the tiles were my initial draw to AAS!!), be patient on getting up to grade level, plan for about 20 minutes daily, and go read the other AAS threads. :001_smile: Yep you can use the tiles, also you can use air writing, sand writing and a white board. Because they don't require the child to stay within the lines they often are easier for them, requiring less fine motor skills. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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