What is the big differences between Spalding method/WRTR and AAS?

[momsuz123]

I am using AAS and like it a lot, also enjoying AAR. WRTR has been mentioned a lot saying that AAS is a spin off. What are the big differences? Thanks.

[boscopup]

AAS is NOT a spinoff of WRTR (Spalding). AAS and Spalding are both spinoffs of Orton-Gillingham. AAS is probably closer to O-G than Spalding is now.

 

The biggest difference that I've seen is that Spalding gives all the phonograms and rules up front (or most of them, then adds the rest as you go), and has word lists that vary. AAS works on one phonogram or rule at a time, giving word lists that focus on that phonogram or rule. In that way, AAS is much more incremental.

 

AAS also has built in dictation with spiral review. Spalding doesn't have any sentence dictation.

 

Spalding has children mark up words. AAS has children use tiles with no marking.

 

AAS spends more time explicitly working on syllabication, analyzing words and identifying the syllable types. Spalding has each word dictated by syllable (so the student writes the word separated into syllables, for example, "baker" would be written "ba ker" in their notebook), but I didn't see as much emphasis on learning the syllable types.

 

Spalding has the teacher dictate all the sounds in a word for the student to write. AAS teaches a particular phonogram/rule and then has the student work with words that follow that phonogram/rule, so the student knows each of those words will use it.

 

Oh, and another big difference... price. :lol:

 

ETA: Both programs use the same phonograms and rules, for the part (though AAS adds an /E/ sound to 'i' and 'y', and there are a few other minor differences). It's just how they are presented that is completely different.

Edited January 4, 2012 by boscopup

[Tranquility7]

I originally tried WRTR and it did not work for us. We are now using AAS VERY successfully for both reading and spelling.

 

The main differences in my experience were that AAS is really a kind of "implementation" of the WRTR ideas. I found WRTR hard to implement because I had to figure out "what to do" each day. AAS gives that structure and is easy to follow, but fundamentally teaches the same kind of phonograms, phonics, and spelling rules.

 

Another main difference I noticed (and that contributes to AAS being a winner for us) is that I found WRTR random, whereas AAS is more systematic. With WRTR the words on a list were usually completely unrelated phonetically, so you would have to talk about a variety of different phonics rules during the lesson. AAS is much more focused in that it teaches a particular rule, and then a bunch of words that follow that rule. That just works much better for us.

 

Also, WRTR teaches handwriting alongside of spelling. AAS doesn't really include handwriting, though we have worked on it as we write out words anyway.

 

Oh, and WRTR also teaches a form of "coding" the phonograms that, while I understand the philosophy, I found unnecessarily cumbersome in practice. For instance, when you write a word using the second sound of a phonogram, you are to write a "2" above that phonogram, as a sign that it is using the second sound. I found that just complicated for DS, and am glad that AAS doesn't bother with that.

[Tranquility7]

AAS is NOT a spinoff of WRTR (Spalding). AAS and Spalding are both spinoffs of Orton-Gillingham. AAS is probably closer to O-G than Spalding is now.

:iagree:Yes, that is more accurate that what I said :001_smile:

[momsuz123]

Okay, thanks. I do really enjoy AAS and love AAR so I will just stick with it. I have just heard a lot about WRTR, so I thought I would ask. I was having a hard time finding sample pages of WRTR, so I really didn't know. I will stick with what I have - AAS and AAR. I will be diligent and patient (as I have been) with dd, and remind myself that we are not on the ps schedule anymore - it is our own schedule.

Thanks all.

[HiddenJewel]

Spalding has the teacher dictate all the sounds in a word for the student to write.

 

I'm not exactly sure on Spalding, but with SWR the student dictates the sounds in the word before writing, not the teacher. Big difference in processing. If the teacher is doing the dictation, the student is missing a large part of the learning process.

 

 

The biggest difference I saw between AAS and SWR is that with SWR the student uses multiple sensory inputs when learning the word lists. Also with SWR the phonograms and rules are continually reviewed as the word lists are worked through instead of focusing just on one rule. SWR emphasizes writing the words instead of using tiles. For us, that is an important distinction as writing the word can affect the brain differently than moving objects.

 

I love, love, love how well Marie did in setting up the AAS instructions and layout! Very professional work.

[stm4him]

I totally agree with these posts and have found them to be true in our home. Everytime I pick up my copy of WRTR (and I've used SWR also) I think to myself over and over, "AAS covers that and more." And my daughter is learning much better with AAS' systematic approach vs. the way SWR was laid out. I personally think the extra cost is worth it. I think that SWR's diagnostic spelling tests are wonderful, as are the McCall-Crabbs Reading Tests. And I think that WRTR has helpful information on analyzing different kinds of reading material but other than that I think AAS covers everything.

 

stm4him

[Ellie]

Spalding is the method. WRTR is the manual. :)

[Ellie]

You know, people say that, but since Mrs. Spalding published WRTR in 1957, somehow it doesn't seem accurate to say it that way any longer, especially since as far as I can tell, Spalding is still in use much more than O-G. And I still maintain that AAS is a Spalding spin-off.

 

JMHO, of course.:)

[boscopup]

You know, people say that, but since Mrs. Spalding published WRTR in 1957, somehow it doesn't seem accurate to say it that way any longer, especially since as far as I can tell, Spalding is still in use much more than O-G. And I still maintain that AAS is a Spalding spin-off.

 

O-G is still in use all over the place. :confused: It's typically used more for dyslexics and such, but it's definitely being used. I just saw a website yesterday for a private school for dyslexics, and it boasted using O-G methods (pure O-G, not one of the spinoffs).

 

Spalding is very different from O-G because of the change in how the words are done - the varied lists instead of the word families. Spalding basically speeds the process up. That's not bad or good necessarily. It's just very, very different. OTOH, AAS is still presented like an O-G program. If it is basically O-G repackaged, why on earth would it be a "Spalding spinoff"? What did it get from Spalding? I've used both, and they are really nothing alike except the phonograms/rules are the same. So the part that they have in common is the part that Spalding got from O-G. ;)

 

SWR is clearly a Spalding spinoff. It uses the varied word list method with phonograms/rules taught up front. Again, that's a huge difference from O-G/AAS, and it's probably why kids with LDs often use a real O-G program - it's going to be more incremental. I actually tried Spalding after using 3 levels of AAS because my son didn't need the incremental nature of AAS. I did like it, though we stopped using it because it lacked sentence dictation, and that's what my son needs most (the sentences in AAS were great for spiral review). We're now using a mix of R&S (independent) and HTTS (like AAS, but with the ability to move faster, plus it has harder words/sentences available - and it's all in one TM that only costs about $26). HTTS is also O-G based. AAS is a lot closer to HTTS than to Spalding. Again, AAS is nothing like Spalding except the two parts that Spalding took from O-G - phonograms/rules. AAS clearly took those from O-G, so I'm confused as to how AAS would be a Spalding spinoff, when everything else in the program goes back to O-G methods that Spalding doesn't use. :tongue_smilie:

[boscopup]

I'm not exactly sure on Spalding, but with SWR the student dictates the sounds in the word before writing, not the teacher. Big difference in processing. If the teacher is doing the dictation, the student is missing a large part of the learning process.

 

You're right. I went back and looked, and the students are supposed to say the sound, and the teacher is supposed to dictate the sounds of the phonogram that make that sound in this word, then the students write the correct phonogram.

 

I don't know if SWR does it that way or not, but that's how it's done in Spalding. So in the word "do", the students would say /d/, then they and the teacher would write the letter 'd', then the students would say /oo/, and the teacher would say it's the phonogram that says /o/-/O/-/oo/, and they know that's the letter 'o', so they write the 'o'.

 

Still very different from AAS, where the students already know the phonogram likely used for this particular list. Some students need it that way, and some don't learn as well if it's that way.

[Ellie]

O Again, AAS is nothing like Spalding except the two parts that Spalding took from O-G - phonograms/rules. AAS clearly took those from O-G, so I'm confused as to how AAS would be a Spalding spinoff, when everything else in the program goes back to O-G methods that Spalding doesn't use. :tongue_smilie:

I stand corrected. :)

 

I continue to maintain, though, that AAS is not as comprehensive as Spalding. Maybe I'm just living in denial. :lol:

[boscopup]

I continue to maintain, though, that AAS is not as comprehensive as Spalding. Maybe I'm just living in denial. :lol:

 

I do agree with that. :) AAS is meant to be just spelling, while Spalding is meant to be reading, writing, spelling, etc. AAS doesn't teach punctuation or anything like that. It's just words and dictated sentences (which did help with my son's writing ability, but it wasn't "writing instruction").