AAR - how quickly through Levels 1-2? and need opinions for DD

[alisoncooks]

After plodding through a few weeks of OPGTR (on Lesson 31), I've come to the conclusion that DD (who'll be 6 in June) needs *much* more practice with her letter sounds and pre-reading skills. She knows all of her letter names & most of the sounds...but still mixes up a few (n/m, b/d, p/t). Plus, she tries to do a LOT of guessing when we read the words in OPGTR. :glare:

 

She does fairly well with ETC Book 1 (independently, even) and with other hands-on methods (letter tiles, etc) but does not do well -- seems overwhelmed and unable to focus -- with OPGTR. I'm thinking about buying AAR Pre-reading and Level 1...heck, maybe go ahead and get Level 2, so DH can REALLY flip his lid when he sees the bill this month...(DH = :toetap05:)

 

So here are my questions:

1. How quickly does one move through the AAR levels? Is it a level per year? or self-paced (like AAS)?
   
2. Do you continue with a phonics program after AAR 2? (Can you do AAS1 and AAR1 simultaneously or do you wait to finish AAR2 then move on to AAS1? Confused about how they fit together...)
   
3. What reading level does AAR take you to? (OPGTR takes you to a 4th grade level, supposedly.)
   
4. Do you think I should go with Pre-reading or Level 1? (I do have a 2nd child, 2 years younger than DD, so it would get used again.)
   
5. I already have the tiles for AAS. What else would I absolutely NEED to do AAR? What can I skip (we are totally skipping the puppet, sorry :D). I have exhausted our budget buying the Bob books sets 1-5 this week (before I realized DD needs some more help)...what's the cheapest way I can do this?
   

 

I'm majorly feeling slack-mommy guilt (we had a very "relaxed" K year), so THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

[alisoncooks]

Bumping for the after-lunch crowd.

Any feedback appreciated! :)

[Lots of boys]

After plodding through a few weeks of OPGTR (on Lesson 31), I've come to the conclusion that DD (who'll be 6 in June) needs *much* more practice with her letter sounds and pre-reading skills. She knows all of her letter names & most of the sounds...but still mixes up a few (n/m, b/d, p/t). Plus, she tries to do a LOT of guessing when we read the words in OPGTR. :glare:

 

She does fairly well with ETC Book 1 (independently, even) and with other hands-on methods (letter tiles, etc) but does not do well -- seems overwhelmed and unable to focus -- with OPGTR. I'm thinking about buying AAR Pre-reading and Level 1...heck, maybe go ahead and get Level 2, so DH can REALLY flip his lid when he sees the bill this month...(DH = :toetap05:)

 

 

 

 

 

So here are my questions:

1. How quickly does one move through the AAR levels? Is it a level per year? or self-paced (like AAS)?
   
2. Do you continue with a phonics program after AAR 2? (Can you do AAS1 and AAR1 simultaneously or do you wait to finish AAR2 then move on to AAS1? Confused about how they fit together...)
   
3. What reading level does AAR take you to? (OPGTR takes you to a 4th grade level, supposedly.)
   
4. Do you think I should go with Pre-reading or Level 1? (I do have a 2nd child, 2 years younger than DD, so it would get used again.)
   
5. I already have the tiles for AAS. What else would I absolutely NEED to do AAR? What can I skip (we are totally skipping the puppet, sorry :D). I have exhausted our budget buying the Bob books sets 1-5 this week (before I realized DD needs some more help)...what's the cheapest way I can do this?
   

I'm majorly feeling slack-mommy guilt (we had a very "relaxed" K year), so THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

 

I am doing AAR Pre-1 with one of my sons and AAR 1 with another. I think if your DD knows her letter sounds you could skip AAR Pre-1 and start off with level 1 ( I like Pre-1 but if you are looking to save money I would skip it). It is self paced like AAS but you can slow it down with lots of review as you need. We also did OPGTR and had to stop half way through because it went too fast. We might go back to it again later because AAR level 2 might not be out in time for us to move directly into it after completing level 1. If you have the tiles from AAS you can just buy the teachers manual and the blast off activity guide plus the three readers.

 

I was actually thinking that if level 2 isn't ready on time (for my son) that I will just buy the level 2 readers (already out) and use them with AAS level 1 and 2 (they coorespond to AAS nicely and prompt you as to when to read the next story in AAS).

[MerryAtHope]

Some answers...

1. How quickly does one move through the AAR levels? Is it a level per year? or self-paced (like AAS)? Yes, it's self-paced like AAS.
   
2. Do you continue with a phonics program after AAR 2? (Can you do AAS1 and AAR1 simultaneously or do you wait to finish AAR2 then move on to AAS1? Confused about how they fit together...) The author recommends finishing AAR 1, and then adding on the spelling program. This way they have a strong foundation in reading & are prepared for spelling too. The programs are independent of each other so students can move as quickly or as slowly as they need to with each skill. Kids generally move ahead more quickly in reading, and you don’t want to hold them back with the spelling.
   
3. What reading level does AAR take you to? (OPGTR takes you to a 4th grade level, supposedly.) The program will work on fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary all the way up to the high school level. It won’t stop after kids learn their phonics. There will be 8 levels of All About reading, divided into 3 components:Pre-reading skills are covered in the Pre-1 level, then levels 1-4 will cover learning to read and phonics. The additional levels will take students up to high-school level reading.
   
4. Do you think I should go with Pre-reading or Level 1? (I do have a 2nd child, 2 years younger than DD, so it would get used again.) Here's a checklist to decide whether you need to start with Pre-1 or if you can jump right into level 1.
   
5. I already have the tiles for AAS. What else would I absolutely NEED to do AAR? What can I skip (we are totally skipping the puppet, sorry :D). I have exhausted our budget buying the Bob books sets 1-5 this week (before I realized DD needs some more help)...what's the cheapest way I can do this? If you are starting with AAR 1, you won't need another Basic Interactive Kit--the letter tiles, magnets, and phonogram cd-rom are the same. Just get the Level 1 Kit and the reading divider cards.
   

Your dd isn't even 6 yet, put all false "slacker mommy guilt" out of your mind!

 

Merry :-)

[alisoncooks]

I am doing AAR Pre-1 with one of my sons and AAR 1 with another. I think if your DD knows her letter sounds you could skip AAR Pre-1 and start off with level 1 ( I like Pre-1 but if you are looking to save money I would skip it). It is self paced like AAS but you can slow it down with lots of review as you need. We also did OPGTR and had to stop half way through because it went too fast. We might go back to it again later because AAR level 2 might not be out in time for us to move directly into it after completing level 1. If you have the tiles from AAS you can just buy the teachers manual and the blast off activity guide plus the three readers.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Boy, I'm wavering on this issue today.

Now I'm back to researching CLE LTR (which, of course, we had and returned when we -- meaning ME -- decided we'd try OPGTR). Blahhhhhhhh.

 

Anyone else? Thoughts which I should pick? AAR 1....CLE LTR?

 

ETA: I was typing when Merry was replying. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[FairProspects]

Ok, my 2 cents. Before purchasing anything, I would at least look at First Start Reading and the K readers by Memoria Press. OPGTR went way too fast for my first ds (this was before AAR came out), and we ended up going with First Start Reading which spends a lot more time on CVC words before getting into long vowels and diagraphs. It worked really well for him, and then we picked back up with OPGTR after the CVC section and nearly finished it (skipped only the last few lessons because he took off).

 

AAR 1 comes out and it looks so fun, so I buy it for ds 2. It moves way too slowly IMHO, so now we are back to First Start Reading which is also working great for child #2. So, for a middling pace program, I really think it is worth a look.