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Spelling Workout or AAS


Lisa R
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I chose AAS, after trying a couple workbook type programs. I never tried SW, as the samples just didn't do it for me. They seemed like busy work with not much learning? I thought the same about R&S Spelling, which we tried first. We did Sequential Spelling next, but my son asked why things were spelled the way they were. So... I broke down and bought AAS as I'd originally intended to do. We're almost done with level 1 (will probably finish in a couple weeks), and my son is already applying what he has learned to new words that he hasn't spelled before. It's so awesome! The rules are explained clearly, the phonograms are explained clearly, they're taught to listen to each phonogram in a word (via sliding tokens toward them for each phonogram sound - ie, "fast" would be "/f/... /a/... /s/... /t/"), and he gets to spell on the white board with magnetic letters (he loves that) and also write on paper. Dictation is included - starting with phrases and working up to sentences.

 

The program is completely scripted, so you don't have to know how to spell yourself. :D

 

Spelling was really boring both of us before we got AAS. Now, we both enjoy spelling. It's one subject I look forward to!

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We did Spelling Workout in 1st and most of 2nd grade. My son was retaining NOTHING. We switched to AAS and his spelling has improved tremendously. It gives explanations, breaks down sounds (so great for phonics), and gives clear strategies. AAS has helped for both spelling and for reading. I'm very happy with it - and very unimpressed with SWO (for us at least).

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I can't speak much to SW, as I've never even seen it. But we use AAS so I can give my 2cents there!

 

I have a 5 yo who has breezed through OPGTR and is easily reading smaller chapter books like Magic Tree House, etc. (to give you an idea of his reading level). He loves to do word stuff and really loved spelling words with magnets and loves to figure out how to spell words. So I thought it was time to start a spelling program with him formally. Only problem is that he's not very strong in handwriting and gets tired and distracted easily, so I knew that SW was out. But I wanted something phonics based and thought AAS was our best option. He loves it so far, and we're breezing right through it. Sometimes if he's tired of messing with the tiles I just have him do it all orally. I love that I don't have to plan much with it, just make sure I have all the right tiles out and it's very easy to implement. I'm very happy with the program!

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I chose AAS, after trying a couple workbook type programs. I never tried SW, as the samples just didn't do it for me. They seemed like busy work with not much learning? I thought the same about R&S Spelling, which we tried first. We did Sequential Spelling next, but my son asked why things were spelled the way they were. So... I broke down and bought AAS as I'd originally intended to do. We're almost done with level 1 (will probably finish in a couple weeks), and my son is already applying what he has learned to new words that he hasn't spelled before. It's so awesome! The rules are explained clearly, the phonograms are explained clearly, they're taught to listen to each phonogram in a word (via sliding tokens toward them for each phonogram sound - ie, "fast" would be "/f/... /a/... /s/... /t/"), and he gets to spell on the white board with magnetic letters (he loves that) and also write on paper. Dictation is included - starting with phrases and working up to sentences.

 

The program is completely scripted, so you don't have to know how to spell yourself. :D

 

Spelling was really boring both of us before we got AAS. Now, we both enjoy spelling. It's one subject I look forward to!

 

:iagree:

 

We haven't tried SW but we did try SS and it was a big flop for my teaching style. I wanted something more hands on.

 

We are now doing AAS1 and it's my dd5 and dd7's FAVORITE subject now!!

 

Another big deal for me about AAS was that my dd5 was really struggling with reading...and I feared that adding a spelling curriculum would really be a challenge..but not with AAS!! She's spelling AND reading words she was once struggling with!!

 

I'm so far sold and we're just in the beginning of AAS 1!

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We did Spelling Workout in 1st and most of 2nd grade. My son was retaining NOTHING. We switched to AAS and his spelling has improved tremendously. It gives explanations, breaks down sounds (so great for phonics), and gives clear strategies. AAS has helped for both spelling and for reading. I'm very happy with it - and very unimpressed with SWO (for us at least).
:iagree:
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Spelling Workout is definitely something geared to the 'natural' speller. AAS is better for those who find spelling more of a challenge. We use SW and are on book C. DS typically enjoys it because of the puzzles and the fact that he can earn jelly beans by correctly spelling the bonus words. I do stop and spend extra time on a lesson if he has trouble with the concept being taught, though. For example, this week he got hung up on words like 'cough' and 'laugh,' so we're spending a couple extra days to make sure the idea is solid before we move on.

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I discovered that spelling in any workbook type is not going well in my house. We love AAS and have completed two levels and are working on AAS 3 now. I just sold my AAS 1 and 2. It has very good resale value, which is another plus for AAS.

I used to not want to look at AAS because I just wanted one book that does it for me rather than all the cards and tiles. But now I do the tiles sometimes, but I mainly use the TM orally and the kids spell words orally and do the dictation on their individual little white erase boards very happily.

We are officially AAS fans now.

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We started with SWO (seems like a bazillion years ago, but it was only 5 years ago!) with my oldest. It was ok, but it was just too dry, I think.

 

Then I found some links to AAS about 3 years ago and we were sold! My kids think it is actually fun (if schoolwork can be fun, they say!). We don't do it completely by the book because it seems my kids are natural spellers and don't need a lot of repetition. We do one or two lessons each week and it is just so easy and painless for us.

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I started out with SWR and hit a wall about a third of the way in, as kiddo was only just 7 and the words were getting too long. I tried AAS, but we both got tired of repetition and the fact the list for the day had words that were all so much alike. The board business, attractive at first, grew tedious, as well. So, I switched to SW. Kiddo was happy, we did each section in about 2 days, and while he didn't have perfect "memorized" retention, I saw steady improvement in spelling. After we finished C, I looked at D and felt we could use a reinforcement of the underpinnings of spelling, so we re-started SWR. After 18 months off, he'd retained quite a bit, and approached the whole thing with a more mature mind.

 

I guess I am comfortable with steady improvement rather than needing to be reassured that "this weeks words" are down pat, and actually prefer it to get some variety in our life.

 

YMMV, HTH, and whatever other abbreviations apply.:001_smile:

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We're another AAS-loving family! I started when my daughter was 4.5 years old, when she was also learning to read. We're now starting Level 4 this week (she recently turned 6). It has definitely helped my daughter love writing, she wants to be an author when she grows up.

 

I've looked at Spelling Workout now and then, and it doesn't even begin to compare to All-About-Spelling's methods.

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I bought SW when my dd was 4, because she kept asking me how to spell words all the time and so I decided it was time to teach her to do it by herself. After looking through SW, it seemed like it would be too boring for her since she was so young. I then ordered AAS1, and it is a great program that my dd really enjoys. She loves the letter tiles, and the progress charts! The program has helped tremendously with her reading as well. I think we will end up using both (SW for practice), but from looking at both programs I would recommend AAS1 more. Although if there are budget concerns, then SW is considerably cheaper.

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I looked over SWO at my support group's curriculum fair one time and it struck me as pure busywork.

 

My oldest is a "natural" speller and did not do any formal spelling instruction until this year in 3rd. I was originally thinking of using Megawords but then a lady in my support group gave me her old copy of Spelling Power. That has been a really good "fit".

 

My DS seems to need more explicit teaching of the spelling rules so I'm using AAS with him. I started him in Level 1 after he finished Hooked on Phonics. He is just about done with Level 1 and will start Level 2 soon.

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My son is a fourth grader in NOT a natural speller and doing spelling workout level D. He likes it and has improved his spelling a great deal but he definately has room for improvement. Would AAS help? If so, what level do I place him in? I also have a 1st grader who is about halfway through OPGTR and a 5year old in The reading lesson.

 

Any advice?

 

thanks!

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My son is a fourth grader in NOT a natural speller and doing spelling workout level D. He likes it and has improved his spelling a great deal but he definately has room for improvement. Would AAS help? If so, what level do I place him in? I also have a 1st grader who is about halfway through OPGTR and a 5year old in The reading lesson.

 

Any advice?

 

thanks!

 

Marie Rippel says to start an older child in Level 2 and go quickly. At least you have younger kids that you can use it with.

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Since you have younger ones, I'd do a very quick run-through of Level 1, just teaching any concepts your oldest doesn't know. The first step of Level 2 reviews the highlights of Level 1, and you could start there, and use the Level 1 book to show you how to teach those concepts. You'd need a level 1 materials packet anyway, so that he could know the additional sounds for the phonograms the way AAS teaches them (They teach all of the sounds, for example, O has 4 sounds, CH has 3, S has 2, etc...). There is a placement test in their FAQ here. HTH! Merry :-)

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Maybe our kids are just "natural spellers," but we used Spelling Workout and thought it was fine. We went through the entire series with our first child and intend to do the same with our second. (Both children are avid readers; that could be why they're good spellers.)

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WTM uses Spelling Workout but I see a lot of people using AAS. Which one do you use and why?

 

Thanks!

 

 

I love materials and have a bad habit of looking for the next best thing. But I can easily say that I like AAS so much that I can't imagine ever changing. By using AAS it covers our spelling, plus quite a bit of phonics and dictation. Ever since we started using it I have noticed that not only has my son's spelling gotten better, but also his reading. If you haven't noticed, I am a fan. :D

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We started with Spelling Workout, since it was the WTM rec. We hated it!

I didn't like the way they presented some of the long vowel sounds. (Ex: one lesson had 'ea' and 'ee' together, with a bunch of homonyms thrown in - very confusing for a young speller.) Otherwise, it just felt like busywork. DS was an early reader, but struggling with spelling. He had zero retention with SW.

DS hated it because of that awful cheap paper. (He has sensory issues and said the paper felt like it was cutting his skin. I couldn't argue with that, as I can't stand that type of paper, either.)

 

I just switched to AAS in January. I started at Level 1, like the publishers recommend. We are sailing right through it and I will soon be ordering the next two levels. I can honestly say that DS's spelling ability has skyrocketed. In fact, during spelling on Friday DS said, "Wow. I can actually spell now, can't I? This is fun!" This was after struggling with spelling for the past three years and trying nearly every spelling program on the market. :tongue_smilie:

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AAS does seem pricey if you purchase new, and if you want to use it as a phonics program as well the readers are an added cost. But we've found it really cheap thru this site and home school classifieds ($15 per level with tiles included). You have to watch diligently though and be three first or second responder.

 

I decided the cost was worth it because my dd7 likes to know the purpose behind why she's doing things since she won't do her best if she feels like it's busy work--and she needs things to touch to stay engaged during lesson time. Plus you know you're not missing anything because it's very thorough.

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Thanks for this. I was wondering if the student packets are consumable.

 

The student packets are non-consumable; however, the cards are used throughout the levels. So you'll be able to sell or re-use them once the student has completed the AAS program. In the interim, you'll need a new set for each student.

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Well if you're like me, then both! lol

 

I think SWO is most valuable in its upper levels, where they learn the meanings of affixes and roots and practice adding suffixes when you have to change the spelling to do so. Rules for those are reviewed. ETA: I use SWO as a concrete way to reinforce AAS lessons.

 

AAS is a great phonetic spelling foundation, but it too covers some if not all of what I described above about SWO in its upper levels, too. If I had it to do over again, I'd just do Phonics Road. :) But, in answer to your question, I'd run through all levels of AAS in K - 3rd or 4th, then start up w/ SWO E or so in 4th or 5th.

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