CLE LA Question regarding spelling and AAS

[lorisuewho]

My oldest is currently in kindergarten. We are currently on book two of All About Spelling. I expect that he will complete book 2 by the end of spring. He is doing well with the program, but I am looking to use CLE Language Arts next year. Will I be able to drop the AAS? Is the spelling in CLE rule-based and complete?

 

I have my next son coming up to kindergarten next year and I want to use AAS with him. However, I really don't want to have two children in AAS. It is so teacher-intensive and although I love it if I could just use it with one child I think that would save me some sanity.

[Mom28kds]

CLE 1st grade covers phonics. No "Spelling" really but covers things like when to use "ge" vs "dge" or when to use "ch" vs "tch" and "ui" vs "ue". I like CLE. I have never used AAS though so I can't compare.

[lorisuewho]

CLE 1st grade covers phonics. No "Spelling" really but covers things like when to use "ge" vs "dge" or when to use "ch" vs "tch" and "ui" vs "ue". I like CLE. I have never used AAS though so I can't compare.

 

I think providing guidelines like you say is spelling :001_smile:. Thank you.

[staceyobu]

We are in second grade CLE now. They do teach the rules for spelling. Each week has a spelling list that they practice with through the week. DD's spelling has dramatically improved in my eyes this year. I've heard that it is not as thorough as AAS and if you have a child that really struggles with spelling, AAS may be the way to go. However, CLE seems to be working fine here and is almost completely independent.

[lorisuewho]

Thank you for these responses. This helps!

[jer2911mom]

We started the year with AAS 1, which we are about 4 lessons short of finishing, and then added in CLE LA 1 later in the fall. I am finding tremendous overlap between the two and we have pretty much dropped the AAS altogether. The spiral review in the CLE LA 1 is really making the rules stick for my dd. The rules are practiced repeatedly. I felt that with AAS, it was much more on me as the teacher to make sure there was adequate review.

 

With AAS, the pace felt much slower. The rules in CLE LA 1 seem to come fast and furious, with new ones every day. But I think my dd likes that challenge better. I can see where each program has its place with different children's needs. With AAS, it seems to be a bit more mastery, focusing on one step at a time until you get it. With CLE, it is very much a constant spiraling review.

 

HTH,

Kathy

[lorisuewho]

We started the year with AAS 1, which we are about 4 lessons short of finishing, and then added in CLE LA 1 later in the fall. I am finding tremendous overlap between the two and we have pretty much dropped the AAS altogether. The spiral review in the CLE LA 1 is really making the rules stick for my dd. The rules are practiced repeatedly. I felt that with AAS, it was much more on me as the teacher to make sure there was adequate review.

 

With AAS, the pace felt much slower. The rules in CLE LA 1 seem to come fast and furious, with new ones every day. But I think my dd likes that challenge better. I can see where each program has its place with different children's needs. With AAS, it seems to be a bit more mastery, focusing on one step at a time until you get it. With CLE, it is very much a constant spiraling review.

 

HTH,

Kathy

 

This helps a lot! Thank you! I think we will just start with CLE spelling next year and let go of AAS. If it isn't working for us, I can always start back up with AAS3 later.

[Mom0012]

This is really going to depend on your child. I used SWR with both my children when they were young (which is intensive like AAS) and then switched my daughter to CLE. She is what I would consider a strong speller, but I think of CLE as being more like the spelling I had in school where you get a list of words to memorize each week, learn some rules here and there and then move onto a new list the next week. After a year and a half of CLE spelling, I saw that while my daughter always got 100% on her spelling tests, she no longer could easily spell words that she hadn't had before a "sound at a time". That was in 3rd grade and over a few months, we quickly went through the SWR lists up to her grade level and she was back up to speed. Her reading also took a real leap after those few months with SWR.

 

We then continued to use CLE spelling, but I just added in Megawords about a month ago to give her what I think will be a stronger foundation. Again, she still gets 100% on all her CLE tests, but I see her making mistakes in her writing at times that show she could use some more help in this area. Once we finish level 1 of Megawords and I'm feeling confident it's going to be good for her, we will probably drop CLE's spelling altogether.

 

Now, if I had moved my son from SWR to CLE spelling, I believe it would have been disaster. He is not a natural speller at all and has needed to use an intensive program all the way through. He's in 6th grade now and things are really coming together for him. I dropped SWR after 1st grade with him (it was taking us 40 minutes a day), but I found something else that was not quite as intensive, but still put a lot of focus on phonics and morphographs -- SRA's Spelling Mastery (similar to Apples and Pears). He has done beautifully with it and I believe it has not only helped him with his spelling, but with his reading as well.

 

Lisa

[lorisuewho]

This is really going to depend on your child. I used SWR with both my children when they were young (which is intensive like AAS) and then switched my daughter to CLE. She is what I would consider a strong speller, but I think of CLE as being more like the spelling I had in school where you get a list of words to memorize each week, learn some rules here and there and then move onto a new list the next week. After a year and a half of CLE spelling, I saw that while my daughter always got 100% on her spelling tests, she no longer could easily spell words that she hadn't had before a "sound at a time". That was in 3rd grade and over a few months, we quickly went through the SWR lists up to her grade level and she was back up to speed. Her reading also took a real leap after those few months with SWR.

 

We then continued to use CLE spelling, but I just added in Megawords about a month ago to give her what I think will be a stronger foundation. Again, she still gets 100% on all her CLE tests, but I see her making mistakes in her writing at times that show she could use some more help in this area. Once we finish level 1 of Megawords and I'm feeling confident it's going to be good for her, we will probably drop CLE's spelling altogether.

 

Now, if I had moved my son from SWR to CLE spelling, I believe it would have been disaster. He is not a natural speller at all and has needed to use an intensive program all the way through. He's in 6th grade now and things are really coming together for him. I dropped SWR after 1st grade with him (it was taking us 40 minutes a day), but I found something else that was not quite as intensive, but still put a lot of focus on phonics and morphographs -- SRA's Spelling Mastery (similar to Apples and Pears). He has done beautifully with it and I believe it has not only helped him with his spelling, but with his reading as well.

 

Lisa

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciate your taking the time. I just don't know how to tell at age 6 whether my child is a natural speller or not.

[jer2911mom]

This is really going to depend on your child. I used SWR with both my children when they were young (which is intensive like AAS) and then switched my daughter to CLE. She is what I would consider a strong speller, but I think of CLE as being more like the spelling I had in school where you get a list of words to memorize each week, learn some rules here and there and then move onto a new list the next week. After a year and a half of CLE spelling, I saw that while my daughter always got 100% on her spelling tests, she no longer could easily spell words that she hadn't had before a "sound at a time". That was in 3rd grade and over a few months, we quickly went through the SWR lists up to her grade level and she was back up to speed. Her reading also took a real leap after those few months with SWR.

 

We then continued to use CLE spelling, but I just added in Megawords about a month ago to give her what I think will be a stronger foundation. Again, she still gets 100% on all her CLE tests, but I see her making mistakes in her writing at times that show she could use some more help in this area. Once we finish level 1 of Megawords and I'm feeling confident it's going to be good for her, we will probably drop CLE's spelling altogether.

 

Now, if I had moved my son from SWR to CLE spelling, I believe it would have been disaster. He is not a natural speller at all and has needed to use an intensive program all the way through. He's in 6th grade now and things are really coming together for him. I dropped SWR after 1st grade with him (it was taking us 40 minutes a day), but I found something else that was not quite as intensive, but still put a lot of focus on phonics and morphographs -- SRA's Spelling Mastery (similar to Apples and Pears). He has done beautifully with it and I believe it has not only helped him with his spelling, but with his reading as well.

 

Lisa

 

Hi Lisa,

 

I was wondering at what level you started your dd in CLE LA. I am wondering if it makes a difference since there is so much emphasis on the phonics rules in LA 1. From what I understand, CLE spelling moves toward basically consisting of the lists, but at this point in LA 1 I feel like almost the whole program is revolving around phonics rules used in spelling. We have hit LU104 where the official "spelling" words have started, but I would consider a lot of what we are doing now to be learning the rules for spelling (i.e., I don't think of the section labeled "Spelling" to be the only thing we are doing for spelling, especially since we are spelling words a lot outside these lists). So I'm wondering if people come in later and don't get all these phonics rules up front and just see the lists, if it makes a difference. I say all this not really having a good feel for the upper level spelling. I've heard complaints about the lack of phonics emphasis and that the lists morph into more topical lists. I just wonder if the phonics work up front is sufficient to carry through those levels or not. I feel what we are doing right now is really good. I've got Megawords on my list for later, too, though.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

[Mom0012]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciate your taking the time. I just don't know how to tell at age 6 whether my child is a natural speller or not.

 

Sure! And you don't have to know at age 6. If you switch to CLE, just monitor how things are going and know that you can always move back to something more intensive if you need to. I think over time it would become obvious to you if your child was having significant trouble with spelling.

 

Lisa

Edited February 11, 2012 by LisaTheresa

[Mom0012]

Hi Lisa,

 

I was wondering at what level you started your dd in CLE LA. I am wondering if it makes a difference since there is so much emphasis on the phonics rules in LA 1. From what I understand, CLE spelling moves toward basically consisting of the lists, but at this point in LA 1 I feel like almost the whole program is revolving around phonics rules used in spelling. We have hit LU104 where the official "spelling" words have started, but I would consider a lot of what we are doing now to be learning the rules for spelling (i.e., I don't think of the section labeled "Spelling" to be the only thing we are doing for spelling, especially since we are spelling words a lot outside these lists). So I'm wondering if people come in later and don't get all these phonics rules up front and just see the lists, if it makes a difference. I say all this not really having a good feel for the upper level spelling. I've heard complaints about the lack of phonics emphasis and that the lists morph into more topical lists. I just wonder if the phonics work up front is sufficient to carry through those levels or not. I feel what we are doing right now is really good. I've got Megawords on my list for later, too, though.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

 

Hi Kathy,

 

My daughter started using CLE LA in 2nd grade. I'm guessing there is still a lot of focus on reading up until then, but if I remember correctly, in the 2nd grade books, there is a section on grammar, a section for penmanship and a section for spelling. One drawback for us with CLE spelling at that point was all the diacritical (sp?) marks they used. Since we hadn't used CLE before, it was always a hassle to try to figure them out until I finally just sat down and made a chart. Now that we're in CLE 4, I don't think we've seen any of those markings in a while.

 

Lisa

[jer2911mom]

Hi Kathy,

 

My daughter started using CLE LA in 2nd grade. I'm guessing there is still a lot of focus on reading up until then, but if I remember correctly, in the 2nd grade books, there is a section on grammar, a section for penmanship and a section for spelling. One drawback for us with CLE spelling at that point was all the diacritical (sp?) marks they used. Since we hadn't used CLE before, it was always a hassle to try to figure them out until I finally just sat down and made a chart. Now that we're in CLE 4, I don't think we've seen any of those markings in a while.

 

Lisa

 

Thanks, Lisa! It sounds like 1st Grade is where the rules for spelling are hit hard, then. The 1st Grade level doesn't feel as sectioned off as what you described for 2nd, at least not yet. I know some things will continue to be added in as we go along, though.

 

Thanks again,

Kathy

[lorisuewho]

Sure! And you don't have to know at age 6. If you switch to CLE, just monitor how things are going and know that you can always move back to something more intensive if you need to. I think over time it would become obvious to you if your child was having significant trouble with spelling.

 

Lisa

 

Thank you. This is sound advice and I'm going to go with it!