Spelling Curriculum for an Excellent Reader...AAS? Saxon? Help!

[MEVmom]

Hi, I'm new here. This will be my 2nd year homeschooling. Last year it was just DS in kinder. This year it will be my DS up to 1st and DD entering K. I am still really feeling my way around.

 

DS is an avid reader. I stopped doing phonics in the middle of kinder because he can read through Genesis on his own. He reads The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe every 3 days. I don't even know what level his reading is on. He just skipped straight from learning to decode to being able to read everything! So that's great, except I don't know where to jump in with spelling.

 

I ordered Spelling Workout A per the recommendations in WTM, but one look tells me it is way too easy. It looks like a lot of busywork and it doesn't appear to teach the rules behind spelling. Since he didn't complete a phonics program, I fear he will be weak on the rules despite his excellent reading skill.

 

So now I'm scrambling to find something. I don't want a lot of gimmicks. Just a straightforward program that teaches rules without a lot of flashy games and tons of prep on my part. I've already reached information overload and am kinda freaking out!

[Shawna in North CA]

You might like The Phonetic Zoo. There is a wonderful review of the program on this board.

 

TPZ comes with a very insightful DVD lecture by the program creator, Andrew Pudewa, who explains "Spelling and the Brain", and why it is not uncommon for really high reading ability to not transfer to spelling ability.

 

TPZ combines auditory and visual learning, and the best part is that it is almost completely independent on the part of the student.

[NotSoObvious]

Hmm...At first I was going to say no to AAS, but since he's so young...

 

You could always use AAS to just teach the rules, and march through it pretty quickly. You could even skip the tiles if he doesn't like/need them. Then you could slow down when he starts to get challenged.

 

We love AAS but my advanced 3rd grader didn't need it when we started homeschooling. It was way more mommy-intensive than she needed. But, if she was younger, I would have used it. I would have wanted to make sure she didn't have any gaps!

It's very open and go and you can move as fast as you want.

[NotSoObvious]

And I would agree- don't go with Spelling Workout. He's too young to need all the nonsense in there.

I used it for one year with my advanced dd and it was great because she LIKES the busywork and it gave her something to work on while I worked with my other dd. I don't know how much she learned though. We are starting Megawords this year.

[Shawna in North CA]

Oh yikes! I missed that your ds is in kinder! (my eyes read "2nd")

 

Phonetic Zoo may be too independent for him, especially if his fine motor writing skill are kindergarten level. (My ds was off-the-charts in reading at age 5, but could barely hold a pencil!)

 

AAS would be my choice for a young speller.

[ChrissySC]

Simply Spelling or similar CM method of spelling.

 

He is bright and receptive. Seems he wants things fast and quick. Take a look. Studied dictation and copywork are what I would advocate.

[Parker Martin]

We are not very far into it, but my son loves Sequential Spelling, and our sons sound similar. If your son doesn't like to write, you could do it orally.

[MEVmom]

Thanks for the ideas so far. My son is also good at writing so no worries there. I already had him copying sentences out of the catechism last year in K.

 

I've noticed a lot of people like AAS. It does look good, though I'm not wild about the tiles. Having never seen the program I don't really get how that aspect works. But if I can do it without them, that would be good. Someone mentioned "mommy intensive"...how much so? With adding another child to the rotation this year, I'm still trying to figure out how to work the schedule. I don't want to be doing 45 min of spelling!

 

My son can work independently, though he does gaze off at times. I know he will do any work I set before him, but I also feel that the busywork in Spelling Workout wouldn't challenge him. And like someone else said, I don't want him having gaps in his learning that will come back to haunt me later. Since last year was just kinder, he's never done spelling. I have no idea how well he will take to it. He does tend to be the kind that sees it once or twice and then knows it.

[duckens]

Is there a placement test you can take for AAS or any other spelling program you are considering? He may know more than you think.

 

If you want to make sure your child does not have any gaps, you could use the spelling lists of whatever program you choose, but just march through them as fast as you can. Here's how:

 

1) Set a timer for 5 minutes (or 3 minutes). Read the lists to your child and have them spell as many words as they can in the time allotted. When the timer goes off, spelling is done for the day. If your child knows all of these words, why would you spend a week reviewing them for a post test at the end of the week?

 

2) When your child has missed 3 words (or 4, or 5), you are done for the day. Turn the timer off. Have your child write these words X times each. Review the rules that apply to these spelling words. Perhaps have your child write them into sentences.

 

3) On the next day, set the timer again. Start with the words your child missed the day before. Then continue through the lists until your child misses another 3 words or until the timer goes off.

 

This philosophy of spelling makes sure that your child is working on words they don't know instead of spending 5 days on words they mostly already know (like traditional public school spelling does).

 

There is more information about this style of spelling in the book/curriculum Spelling Power. I do not recommend Spelling Power for a child as young as yours, because I do not think that it explains spelling rules in the detail and vocabulary that a young child needs. However if you like this system, you may eventually change over to Spelling Power.

[MEVmom]

I see what you're saying....the problem is I don't know all the formal rules so I wouldn't be able to tell him why things are spelled the way they are. I'm an excellent speller, but I don't remember how I learned. And I don't remember the rules either.

 

With my son, my expectation is that he's going to get it quickly like he does with everything else. I just don't want to miss anything that he needs.

 

I'm kind of leaning towards AAS. But what materials do I need? There seem to be several kits.

[Dana]

My son was a self-taught reader.

He went from not being able to read at age 5 to reading Lord of the Rings at age 7 (and complaining about why the movie was completely wrong and destroyed the book... so we knew he understood the book).

 

We used Spelling Workout in 1st and 2nd grade and there was no retention.

 

I had The ABCs and All Their Tricks as a phonics reference (and it's a good book to have). I switched to All About Spelling and it was such a better fit.

 

We didn't do phonics, since my son was clearly already reading, but he had problems pronouncing words he hadn't heard. AAS helped with that.

He disliked the tiles at first, but I felt they helped - in particular with segmenting words and getting syllable divisions. I think that is an important component.

 

We spend 15-20 minutes on spelling a day. When the timer goes off, that's it. Sometimes we may work on two lessons in the same day with neither checked off. I do a good bit of review and moving ahead.

 

If you go with AAS, start with Level 1: teacher's manual & student packet. Get a kit too. I'd go with the basic kit. I wanted the tiles (a key component in my mind) and I used the CD a lot with the first level.

 

I have found that my son's pronunciation has really improved along with his spelling. He's internalized the rules in a way that I still haven't, so he's able to say why we'd spell a word in a certain way. I really like how AAS states rules and exceptions (and that's also where I'll refer to ABCs to look at how many exceptions there are).

 

AAS has been the best curriculum switch I've made.

[MEVmom]

Thank you, Dana. That was very helpful, especially since our sons sound so much alike. Sometimes I'm a little freaked out by my son's reading ability...I feel like where do I go from here, you know?

[Ellie]

Success in reading doesn't automatically equal success in spelling. Phonics rules and spelling rules are not the same thing. :-)

 

There will always be "gaps." :-)

 

My usual recommendation is Spalding. Although it is teacher-intensive, the teacher gets to decide how much time will be spent each time she teaches.

[Grover]

DS was similar when I started him on AAS at 4.5. He mostly needed to know he could spell so he would try :glare: We raced through level 1 in under a month, and we're now on level 5 (a year later). It has been very good for reassuring him that he *can* spell. FWIW we gave up on the tiles after the second week, although DD likes playing with them :)

[weyland]

My now-13 year old was a self-taught reader at 4 and was quickly advanced reading Iron Giant and Trumpet of the Swan in Kindergarten. He is also an excellent speller, state spelling champion ths year and narrowly missed going to DC for the Scripps spelling bee last year. In his case, he sees the words, he knows what they are, that is how he learned to read. I taught him enough phonics to decode unfamiliar words, but that is about it. The thing that helps him most with spelling is knowing root words and having experience with words. I've never done a spelling program with him, we've done copy work and dictation (Simple Spelling I think it is called was great for this) and started English From the Roots Up in 3rd grade. Although I do use AAS for my dyslexic/dysgraphic 11 year old and precocious early-reading (but not to the point as your son or my first son) near-5 year old, I think it may not be needed for someone who learns from seeing. The explanation of common rules during dictation was more than enough.

[boscopup]

AAS is very teacher intensive, as in, the teacher is guiding the child the entire lesson. There is zero independent work.

 

We used AAS levels 1-3 with my advanced reader. They went very quickly and taught him a lot of phonics rules. We then switched to R&S Spelling, which is fairly independent. It's working very well for us. R&S appears to teach the same phonics rules. One thing I kind of wish I'd done with DS1 is taken him through R&S Phonics 2 in first grade. I think that would have well covered phonics for him. The grade 2 R&S Spelling book is a bit random, but grade 3 gets into phonics, and grade 4 looks a lot like the phonics grade 2 book. It's that heavy in phonics.

 

The lessons are short with exercises that work with the words. They've been just right for us. I also put the words in Spelling City for extra practice.

[SnMomof7]

I guess my first question would be - does he need a spelling program? Some excellent readers are great spellers too - natural spellers. Some aren't (my oldest daughter reads up a storm, spelling doesn't come naturally for her though).

 

I might wait and see if he can spell on his own or not.

 

If he can't though, AAS is a great program - we use and love it. It is teacher intensive, but really - it's only 15 minutes/day - if you can swing that :).

[sleeplessnights]

I would recommend AAS. We also had two really early readers here, but I knew that spelling was a completely different skill and I didn't want to miss something important. I wanted to be able to move at our pace, not complete a certain number of pages a day. We started AAS in first grade with level 1. Working two days a week, we finished the first three levels that year. Towards the end of level 3 we slowed down and started doing one step (lesson) a week. We did levels 4 and half of 5 in 2nd grade, and now we're finishing up level 5. The dictation in the program is perfect and helps to review previous spelling concepts. And the program is totally open and go.

 

The only problem with moving this fast is that it can be pretty expensive. However, seeing as you have another child that will use the program, your cost/child is half!

 

You will need the spelling interactive kit (one time purchase) and the level you are doing. I would recommend getting the first two levels to start. You also need something to stick your tiles on. We used the refrigerator for the first two years, but we finally purchased the recommended 2' x 3' magnetic white board.

 

Enjoy!

[MEVmom]

Several of you have mentioned doing more than one level in a year. How is the work divided? Do you do a lesson every day or one per week? Is there a weekly test or is it not that kind of method? Honestly I have limited knowledge about the various methods of teaching spelling. And without having the book in front of me it's hard to guess how to plan for the year.

[MEVmom]

Several of you have mentioned doing more than one level in a year. How is the work divided? Do you do a lesson every day or one per week? Is there a weekly test or is it not that kind of method? Honestly I have limited knowledge about the various methods of teaching spelling. And without having the book in front of me it's hard to guess how to plan for the year.

[fourisenough]

I have a question for Boscopup. I don't know how to quote previous comments, so bear with me. I'm curious about your transition from AAS to R&S spelling with your 8 year old. I'm trying to figure out what to do for my daughter who will be 8 in October. She is an advanced reader and seems to be a natural speller, but I would like for her to learn the explicit spelling rules, so I want to introduce a spelling program this year. A friend has AAS levels 1 & 2 that she has offered for me to use, but I haven't yet set eyes on the full program. I can't wrap my head around it and therefore can't decide whether it will be overkill for my situation.

 

I'm tempted by R&S and have looked at the samples for both the 3rd grade and 4th grade levels. From the one sample lesson I can see, it looks like the 3rd grade is a little more phonics-ish, while the 4th grade samples appear to be pretty hard-core spelling rules. Having obviously seen both, where would you place a child like my daughter? Also, is there built-in review of the actual spelling rules with R&S? I suppose I could always make a flash card/review card for each rule as it is introduced and have her review them regularly. Your thoughts, please?

 

Oh, one last thing. How much religious content exists in the R&S spelling books? I realize the publisher is a christian organization, but I'm not sure how much is sprinkled into the spelling books.

[boscopup]

Stephanie, I would probably go with grade 4 in your case. It does review grade 3 rules. Grade 3 tends more toward what phonograms make a word's sound, whereas grade 4 gets into syllabication and more details about the phonics. It's more like what is taught in AAS.

 

That said, it is VERY Christian. R&S uses Biblical content throughout their materials.

 

You might look at HTTS (I have book 3 sample on my blog somewhere - for grades 4-6). It is an O-G based program like AAS, but has a more difficult set of words available. The words are all in the TM for grades 1-12. The TM is called How to Teach Spelling, and the workbooks are called How to Spell (1-4, not grade levels).

[Dana]

Several of you have mentioned doing more than one level in a year. How is the work divided? Do you do a lesson every day or one per week? Is there a weekly test or is it not that kind of method? Honestly I have limited knowledge about the various methods of teaching spelling. And without having the book in front of me it's hard to guess how to plan for the year.

 

The samples on the website for each level (pdf files) give a table of contents and I think the first lesson for each book. You can also check out samples at Rainbow Resource so you can get a feel for how the book looks.

 

The first few lessons in level 1 are getting used to the phonograms, tiles, and sound cards. We're finishing up level 4 right now. We definitely don't go as quickly as some people, but my son is absolutely not a natural speller. :lol:

Each lesson has a review at the start - you go over sound cards, phonograms, key cards (the rules), and any word cards that your child needs to review. There's new teaching, a list of 10 words and in many lessons some extra words. Starting at level 3 (I think) there are also 12 dictation sentences that use the words. At level 4, there's a writing station where 5 words are given that the child uses to write sentences. My son generally tries to make them into a story or put them all in one sentence.

 

There aren't any tests, although if you wanted to use the cards and make your own, you sure could. I think the reinforcement via review is enough. I have seen improvements in my son's spelling and it did start very soon after we switched to AAS. When he misspells a word now, I can ask him about the rule and he'll generally remember.

 

My planning for AAS is really just to use the timer and move on when he's done with 15-20 min. I do continual review by putting the words he misses in the next lesson. When we do dictation, I'll toss in sentences he missed from prior lessons.

[MEVmom]

I like the timer idea. Thanks!

[Katy]

If he's that advanced, I'm not sure I'd go with a formal curriculum. There are lots of spelling lists by grades online, why not print out a bunch of them and see how it goes?

 

If he can already spell most of the words on K-3 word lists, you could even start studying spelling bee words (those lists are also online).