Stellalarella Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 OK, so I got the AAS 1 instructor manual and I am successfully using it with DD8 and DS6. We made our own tiles from a download on MamaJenn.com, phonogram flashcards and rule flashcards. I am not using word flashcards--I just open the book and give the dc words to spell for review. The 8 year old seldom uses the tiles. The six year old uses the tiles once or twice a week. Honestly, I find them kind of a pain to deal with. OK, so we need AAS 2 soon for dd. What is your experience with tiles, flashcards for AAS2 and AAS3. Did you really get $19.95 worth out of the student pack? Or can I just keep on same track purchasing only the instructor manuals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 :bigear::bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 The main thing you'd be missing is the word banks, which are important. Those are not in the TM at all. Honestly, if you're not going to use the whole program, you might want to look at a different program. Perhaps How to Teach Spelling would work better for you? It's inexpensive and uses the same phonograms/rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFourSons Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I agree with pp, you would be missing out if you didn't have the student pack. The info on the key cards and word cards is not in the TG. If you have 2 students at the same level, I would only buy one student pack for them to share and use together or take turns with. The most important aspect are the flashcards and syllable cards and wordbank cards, and I think two sets of these is a waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility7 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I kinda disagree with the PPs... We use AAS and while I do buy the student packs, I find that I rarely use them as intended. We do use the tiles when DS wants to (sometimes he prefers to write instead) - I do always use them when introducing new concepts where the tiles have several letters on them (like multiletter phonograms, suffixes, etc.) because I think visually it helps to see the vowels/consonant differentiation as well as the grouping of letters together. If you make your own tiles exactly as the AAS ones are made (same letter combos), that would be fine. As far as cards... all of the rule card and key card info IS in the TM. I make my own, since our memory work is on 4x6 cards not 3x5, and I want it all in the same box. As for word cards... we don't use them. I think it is funny to have flashcards for spelling, since you can't "flash" the card for your child, kwim? But I suppose if your DC was having trouble and you needed the regular review of the words and wanted to be able to separate out what he knew and didn't know, they would be helpful. Though you could certainly make your own for that too. We just don't do it that way (we do a lot of informal review of reading and spelling concepts which seems sufficient for DS right now). As for the word banks, jail, etc. - word banks are helpful, and I do have DS read through the lists just for visual memory, but I think you could probably find some online if you have the time to look. Amusingly, the thing we use the MOST from the student pack is the progress sheet. DS LOVES coloring those things in as we complete a lesson. If I didn't buy the student pack, I would totally make a progress page. It's crazy how much it excites him to see his progress. Come to think of it, I should make pages like that for every subject we do! haha! I'm also creating a Language Notebook with DS now, which includes all of the stuff that would normally be in the student pack - pages for each "Ways to spell...", word banks for different sounds/phonograms, homophones, contractions, rule breakers, etc... I find I actually far prefer that to all the "randomness" of the student pack pages (what am I supposed to DO with their Silent E book? Homophone list?). We just add to our notebook as we go through the lessons. Much easier and more organized for my tastes, and it will give DS something to easily refer back to. Moral of the story - I think you are able to get buy without the student pack if you are willing to spend the time and energy to DIY the parts that you need... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 Can you tell me more about the word banks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) Can you tell me more about the word banks? The word banks are lists of words that follow a similar pattern, like sheep, street, keep all use the EE pattern. These help develop a visual memory of patterns, which is important for patterns that have to be visually discerned (ie, there isn't a rule to tell you why it's "sheep" instead of "sheap" etc...). I'm one who definitely gets my money's worth out of having a materials packet for each child. Now, I didn't use the Level 1 packet as much--my kids already had all of those words memorized, so they didn't need those. They did need to learn some of the additional sounds for the phonograms, and some of the rules. In Levels 2 on up though, they needed all of the instruction. The cards help you customize the review for each child, so that you can do as much or as little review as each child needs. If you have a child who struggles with spelling, you'll probably need to do a lot of review. You could keep lists of words and phonograms etc... I suppose, but for some kids it would get confusing to do it that way. I use the review box daily, so it's worth it here. About the "flash cards"--actually I DO "flash" cards at my kids. The word cards can be used for reading practice or for visual reinforcement after they spell a word, or for visual reinforcement if they are struggling with a word and so on. I show the word cards to my kids a lot. Level 2 comes with syllable tags (laminated like the letter tiles), a syllable division rules chart (3 rules), a 1-page set of word banks, a jail, the progress chart and completion certificate, plus the cards. Level 3 comes with a Silent E booklet (consumable--you can get extras for $2.50 each), suffix tiles, homophones list (consumable, you could use notebook paper for this), the 1-1-1 rule chart, syllable division rules chart (4 rules), word banks (different from L2), ED word sheet (you cut them up and do a sorting exercise with these), progress chart & completion certificate, plus the cards. Hope that helps you decide! Merry :-) Edited October 26, 2011 by MerryAtHope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I too was debating on whether to get a student packet for level 3. I need it right now so dd8 can begin AAS3 since she just finished AAS2. We use the tiles for teaching the lesson and both my dd's will use them for the first couple of lesson builders. But for spelling they both want to write on the marker board instead of using the tiles. We use the flash cards because each of my dd's want to SEE that they spelled the word correctly. And showing them my book or saying it's correct has a different feeling for them. So I like the flashcards. As for the word banks and the use of them in our home, we use them. At first I thought they were silly. Then I realized that it's building the skills of recognizing what we learned with other words. Now when they read a story with one of the word bank words in it 90% of the time they don't have to sound them out as they just remember the rules and the word from the bank. Plus I like having the cards and rule cards for each of my children in the right area. I know that the cards behind master are pretty solid for that child and the review are for review. No writing in notebooks or keeping notes. The cards pay for themselves when it comes to prep and time. I like open and go and that's why we switched to All About Spelling and I needed this post to remind me that is why I like the student packet so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 Thank you Merry and other pp The info on the student packs does help me decide. I just needed more info before I made that kind of investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 Merry, do you know where I could find the links to print off the Progress Chart? I had found it on the AAS website a few weeks ago, but now I am unable to locate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny_P Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Confession: I don't use the tiles or the student pack. It makes the program more streamlined for me, and I don't think ds has suffered. I review when I need to.... You can download the E book for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Merry, do you know where I could find the links to print off the Progress Chart? I had found it on the AAS website a few weeks ago, but now I am unable to locate it. Not sure if you have to be a member for this http://www.thechatterbee.com/group/allaboutspellinglevel2 If the link doesn't work, I'm sure you can email AAS and they will email the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melis Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Good Morning :) We love AAS and are on Level 3. We have consistently used the tiles and a whiteboard, but we haven't used the cards much at all (in any of the levels). The word banks are nice, but I think you could easily make up some of your own to cut corners. The cards just haven't been necessary for my son's learning style and it sounds like maybe that is the case your children? Of all the cards, I like the Key Concept cards best ;) I have already purchased Level 4 and have the cards... it will be interesting to see if we start using them as the lessons become more challenging. Have a great day! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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