sixpence1978 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I really do like the looks of AAS and how it emphasizes why things are spelled a certain way. I ordered it for my DS going into 2nd grade. However, he is already a natural speller and knows all his phonograms because of the phonics work he has done in K and 1st. I'm worried that AAS will move much too slow for him. And speeding him through the books at a quicker pace, while it is something I could do, is also quite expensive for a child that just doesn't need much help in the spelling department. Just for reference, he did CLP Building Spelling Skills book 1 in 1st and only missed about 10 words total. Should I just go ahead and do the AAS that I ordered, or should I look for something else. He would love a program that includes puzzles or unscrambling (I know some people don't like that). My one hangup is that I have a younger DD who will just be starting K this year and I have no idea what type of speller she will be. Any suggestions please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimnactmom Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Take a look at Spelling Workout. It has crossword puzzles and unscrambling, word search, mixed-up words and more. I'm not sure about the lower levels because we started at Level E (5th grade.) My ds likes it. You may need to start a level above if your child is really good at spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I do not know for sure what AAS is, but I do like Spelling Workout and used it with my older children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I should add that my older children were average spellers, no problems, but no amazing natural skills either. They always scored well above average on standardized testing for spelling but won't likely win big spelling bees kind of thing. I am planning to use Spelling Workout in the fall with my 6 yr old. He is a natural speller and is excited about the book. I am not sure how it will go, but I expect to be happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 We're in book 2 of AAS, and I have one who struggles with reading and spelling and one who's a natural. My natural loves AAS, mainly b/c of the tiles. We have them on magnets on a white board and he really loves it. hth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimnactmom Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 My ds was an embarrassingly awful speller. This is his absolute worst subject. He has improved a lot since we started SW. Now, he is just below average- up from horrible, terrible, atrocious, bordering on impaired. In addition, he likes the program. What more can I ask for? He actually likes working on his most challenging subject because SW makes it fun (and he's not so terrible anymore.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence1978 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Thanks everybody. I was thinking that SWO would be right up his alley. I'd put him in Level C though because B looked much too easy for him. The only thing that has held me back from using SWO is I've heard there is a writing portion to it. My DS is terrible when it comes to writing his own sentences. It's something we are going to be working on this year, but I don't want that portion of SWO to frustrate him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen in NJ Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Take a look at Spelling Workout. It has crossword puzzles and unscrambling, word search, mixed-up words and more. I'm not sure about the lower levels because we started at Level E (5th grade.) My ds likes it. You may need to start a level above if your child is really good at spelling. My girls and I love Spelling Workout too. We like the Spelling Words in Action section. Here lesson has a short story that uses some of the spelling words. The stories cover a variety of topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 The only thing that has held me back from using SWO is I've heard there is a writing portion to it. My DS is terrible when it comes to writing his own sentences. It's something we are going to be working on this year, but I don't want that portion of SWO to frustrate him. The writing section at the end of each SWO lesson is more of a supplementary activity that seems to be designed to give a student some writing/composition experience, not to improve his spelling skills. Instead, we use other materials for writing/composition skills. Here are a couple examples from SWO-C (none of the All-Star Words are from the List Words section of the lesson): ***All-Star Words*** - moth - sausage - awkward - altogether - brought - Write a song title for each All-Star Word. Then get together with a partner and compare titles. ***All-Star Words*** - cent - sent - scent - blue - blew - Write a story using each word. Then mix up the All-Star Words. Swap papers with a partner. Rewrite their story using the All-Star Words correctly. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence1978 Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 Ha Ha... Well, I showed both spelling programs to my DS and he really wants to do AAS. I thought he would jump all over the puzzles in SWO. But he really wants to do the magnet tiles. So, I guess we'll be giving it a try this year. I can always reuse it for my DD, who just doesn't pick things up quite as easily as my DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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