Calling AAS users!!! Do you need a SEPARATE phonics program?????

[Leanna76]

My DD just finished up K last Spring using MFW-K and 100 EZ Lessons. She reads pretty well and has been doing ETC this summer. I am planning to use AAS-1 for First Grade, but wondering if I need a separate phonics program??? I am thinking of AAS-1, their readers and ETC. Is that enough??? Thank you!!!

[Aurelia]

No, you don't unless she didn't grasp any of the material in 100EZ, and honestly, I wouldn't bother with ETC. She will get phonics reinforced through spelling. ETC was a waste of time for us.

[FairProspects]

Yes, we do because ds needed the phonics for reading faster than AAS was providing them. For example, the last step of AAS 1 introduces long vowels, but ds needed those for his level of readers about a year ago. AAS 1 does not even introduced r-changed vowels or silent letters both of which he needs for even leveled readers. If you have a child who is reading well intuitively, then perhaps you don't need phonics, but for a sequential or parts-to-whole learner you will definitely need more work.

 

Ds also just really needs constant review on phonics and it only takes a few minutes a day so it is worth it to us. We use OPGTR - simple, painless and thorough.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I chose AAS because my youngest taught herself to read and hadn't had a formal phonics program. It's a phonetic spelling program.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I do simply because you can't over teach phonics. My 6 1/2 year old ds struggles. He is my SN kiddo. This fall we will use AAS 1, Phonics Pathways, Reading Pathways, ETC and the phonics that comes with MFW. He finished the MFW K phonics and will be starting MFW 1st grade phonics in Sept.

 

This is strictly because I would rather over teach than under teach. My oldest dd struggles with pronouncing words at times. Not bad, but the one that really frustrates me is she says PINT with a short i sound. She was public schooled until we started homeschooling beginning her 5th grade year. She did not learn to read with phonics but that whole word junk (NO offense to ANYBODY that may use that method, it just does NOT work for me!!!!!)

 

So that is why we use so much- well plus the fact that ds needs all the reinforcement he can get to understand and retain the progress he makes!

[ahancock]

I am the type that doesn't want another "curriculum" to teach, but I agree that unless you have a super reader, you need more phonics reinforcement. My solution is that I add in using Mcguffey readers. We are just now in the Primer, but go through each lesson slowly. These are the best readers that I have ever encountered, and I have really dug. The progression isn't too fast. A lesson might have most words that the child is reading in AAS 1, but might have a couple of new words, like "down" and "boy." Before my son reads the story that day, I go over what "ow" says, and write cow, now, how, etc. on the white board. Then we go over what "oy" says, and I write on the board toy, joy, boy, etc. Then he reads the story. I make him read that same story 2 or 3 days in a row in addition to our AAS lesson. By then, he has mastered those sounds, and we then move on to the next story. I would not do this alone for phonics, but with AAS, it works great, and I don't have to worry about him being "behind" in the progression. We also use ETC, but only because my son really needs it. I wouldn't add in more work unless that is the case for your child too.

[SnMomof7]

For our family, we did need two separate programs. DD #1 learned to read much more quickly than she learned to spell and she needed a lot of leveled reading practice. We use AAS to teach the encoding side AND as a sort of intensive phonics review :).

[kristinannie]

I am using AAS1 in K and it is working great for my DS. I am using it as a review though since we are behind where we need to be in reading. I am using MCP Phonics (I do the writing) to keep up with that as well as phonics games from Struggling Reader. I do think that AAS can stand alone to teach phonics, but it seems to be like it will be mostly review for your DC since you have already done 100EZ. It really depends on how much AAS is behind where you are right now and whether you feel like your DC needs more. If you can just explain the rules as they come up in reading, then maybe you don't. I definitely do though.

[boscopup]

If she is still needing phonics for reading, I'd still use a phonics program (ETC is probably fine for that). I dropped phonics for my oldest when I started AAS, but he was already reading at a 4th grade level, so it was ok if we just used AAS as our phonics program (as he learns the phonics for spelling, he applies them to reading). The syllabication and open/closed syllable lessons at the end of level 1 got him over the hump of 4th grade level words. But for a child that is reading at grade level and still needs to learn phonics in order to read words containing those phonograms, I'd definitely stick with a phonics program. AAS won't hit all the phonograms right away.

 

My middle child is taking the normal, slow route to reading. We're doing ETC, among other things. I plan to continue that until he is reading really well. We'll start AAS probably his K year (next year). He's doing great with ETC and really likes it. It has helped him move a little more towards reading without sounding out every.single.word. :) He also enjoys the writing (strange boy that he is).

[veggiegal]

Not really, IME. My 6 year old learned a lot of his reading skills from AAS. We were doing leveled readers from the library every day as well. The one caveat is that AAS goes quite slowly on phonics once the reading really catches--but IME, at that point structured phonics became less necessary, as new sight words were easily memorized, and new phonics pieces (vowel combos, r-controlled vowels, etc.) quickly picked up.

[mamamoon]

:lurk5: