km123175 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 I know there have been lots of threads about AAR. We already have the "kit" letters and we have AAS Level 1 and 2 cards/student packs. I'm wondering if it is possible to use the AAR teacher's book along with the student activity book to implement the program? My middle daughter is very much a hands on learner - I'm very much not a hands on learner or teacher. I'm thinking that having the teacher's guide would give me good direction in the order of presenting the material and would tell me which activities could go with those lessons. I realize that the readers are an integrated part of the program, but we have about a million readers around the house (including some very nice fly leaf publishing books, and other graduated reader sets); so, I'm less interested in that and more interested in adding some hands on stuff and strategies for teaching without needing to create them myself. We've been using phonics pathways, which is a solid program that is easy to implement. The 6 year old is learning to read with it, but she's not having much fun with it. I'm trying to find a way to make it more enjoyable without breaking the bank. I'm impressed with the AAR method and wondering if we can implement it with only some of the materials. I think she is "almost" ready for the Level 2 set; so, I don't want to spring for the entire level 1 set if we're only going to use it for a very short time - even if I realize I can use it for my younger in a couple of years. Finding the sets used for more than a few dollars off is difficult and if I'm going to spend about the same as for new, I'd rather give the author my $$ and her full due. :) Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 If you are willing to do some extra leg-work, you might be able to make that work. If you substitute other books, just be aware that those books will likely introduce words with sounds that have not been taught yet. As long as your child doesn’t experience frustration with the other books, that is fine. You may find that you need to pre-read stories to decide when to schedule them, or that you need to pre-teach an extra concept or two in order to be able to use a story. AAR introduces letters and sounds in a purposeful, incremental fashion, so it may be difficult at times to find other stories that line up. But, since you have a lot and don't think you'll need much of AAR 1, you could consider not getting the readers for L1, and then decide after that if you'll want the full L2, or if you want to try it without the readers again. Also know that when AAR schedules a story, it includes discussion in the teacher’s manual to help the child prepare for the story, to increase interest and comprehension skills as they read. To see an example of this from level 1, look at Lesson 5 included in the sample Teacher’s Manual. Level 2 will also teach vocabulary. The lesson goes over how to model comprehension strategies as your child reads the story, and covers discussion afterward as well. To see an example of this, look at Level 2, Lesson 4 included in the sample Teacher’s Manual. The levels have a lot of helps built in for you and your student--so, whether or not you use the readers may depend on whether or not you need and want that help. You mentioned just using the Activity book; do know that the AAR word cards are different words from the AAS cards. In AAR, you use the word cards for increasing reading fluency--you rotate through them for 2-3 minutes each day until your child can read them easily, without having to sound them out. HTH as you decide what to do! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
km123175 Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Merry, Thanks so much for this response. The 6 year old won't be doing AAS for a bit; so, I was hoping it might be possible to use the AAS cards - here I'm assuming similar/same words and similar/Same order of introduction - so we would use tiles and cards we have and buy the teacher guide and the activity book - not the entire student kit. Is that feasible or is that getting into too much trouble? Will the future levels require specific readers like the first 2 sets do? I just feel like that's the part that makes it seem l,e a LOT of money - especially when I could just teach with what we've got. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 The cards in AAR are considerably different than AAS...it would be difficult to try to line that up...if possible at all. As for readers, you could line up your own, but.... 1) AAR introduces things in a very different order so I would think it would be difficult and 2) The readers are fantastic! and a great part of the program! It is expensive but we have found it very worth it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdownie Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Fwiw, AAR resells very well. You'd be out the cost initially, but when you are finished with it, someone else will want it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Merry, Thanks so much for this response. The 6 year old won't be doing AAS for a bit; so, I was hoping it might be possible to use the AAS cards - here I'm assuming similar/same words and similar/Same order of introduction - so we would use tiles and cards we have and buy the teacher guide and the activity book - not the entire student kit. Is that feasible or is that getting into too much trouble? Will the future levels require specific readers like the first 2 sets do? I just feel like that's the part that makes it seem l,e a LOT of money - especially when I could just teach with what we've got. Thanks again. I haven't analyzed to see how the AAS cards might line up, so I'm not sure on that. Looking quickly, AAR 1 covers twice as many words as AAS 1, and quite a few more difficult blends and compound words. With regard to the readers, I believe all the levels will have readers--I know Level 3 will. Approximately 50% of the lessons specifically use the readers--in Level 1, this is when comprehension is taught. In level 2, vocabulary is also covered in relation to those stories, along with additional comprehension strategies. Without the readers, half of the lessons won't be usable and you'll need your own lesson plans for comprehension and vocabulary. Read through the samples in L1 and L2 to get a feel for what the story-related lessons are like--that might give you an idea as to whether you want lessons with that kind of help, or whether you're happy to come up with that kind of thing on your own. Also, the readers have several features built into them to help young readers. In Level 1, the line breaks are at the end of phrases, rather than whenever there is no more room on a page, which helps children develop natural phrasing. Also there are light tracking lines for students who need help developing good tracking habits. For all levels, the paper chosen is non-glare paper, and the illustrations specifically try to not give away the story line--kids can't just guess based on pictures in most cases, they need to decode the words. These may or may not be important features for you and your young reader--just something to evaluate as you consider what might be the best fit for you! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahelle Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Also, the readers have several features built into them to help young readers. In Level 1, the line breaks are at the end of phrases, rather than whenever there is no more room on a page, which helps children develop natural phrasing. Also there are light tracking lines for students who need help developing good tracking habits. For all levels, the paper chosen is non-glare paper, and the illustrations specifically try to not give away the story line--kids can't just guess based on pictures in most cases, they need to decode the words. These may or may not be important features for you and your young reader--just something to evaluate as you consider what might be the best fit for you! Merry :-) Thanks for pointing out these features. I hadn't really noticed, but now that you mention it I'm glad for all those things - especially that the pictures don't totally give away the story! I have a good little guesser who really has a hard time with decoding! But I also like the natural phrasing now that you've brought it to my attention. First I thought the readers were pricey, but I have to say now that they've been worth it for us. I have an older beginning reader (almost 8) and she really likes the AAR books because they are thicker and look like chapter books. She also likes the illustrations. She thinks most of the other books she can read are "baby" books. And I can see her point. One thing I did consider for the flash cards was using the AAS cards and then making some of my own cards to fill in the words that aren't in AAS. The teacher's manual does tell you what the cards will be for each lesson. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Merry - you seem to know a lot about AAR so maybe you could help me. :001_smile: My youngest has been doing OPGTR and ETC. She's pretty much stalled out at Lesson 50, she's struggling with beginning blends. I want to try a different approach to see if helps and give her more practice. She does well with more hands-on. Things I've been considering: -using AAS as a reading program, for now. Start at the beginning to reinforce the sounds (though she's good with cvc words) but move quickly until we hit a point where she has trouble. Would it be worth getting the AAR readers to use as well? Would we need all three Level 1 readers? -Continue with AAS or return to OPGTR when she gets past blends? -Continue with AAS until she is ready for AAR2. Is there a point we can get to with AAS1 and 2 that will get her ready to start AAR2? -buy AAR1 even though we would end up starting half way through or going through the beginning very quickly. My least favorite option since it's expensive (and we really don't have the money right now), I hate trying to sell things and I have no more children that I will be teaching. My son ended up learning to read very quickly and easily. My daughter needs much more deliberate instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
km123175 Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 I finally AAR used for a reasonable price; so, I grabbed it up. I should have it in hand by the middle of next week. :) Thanks for the help. Now I'll be keeping my eyes out for the AAR 2 used - because my 6 year old already easily blends CVC and CCVC and CvCC words well. We've just started working on long vowel sounds - she gets it, but again it isn't fun. So, I'm thinking we'll go pretty quickly though this and then be ready to move on to The next set. Thanks again Merry for all of your words of wisdom - on this question and the other AAR and AAS threads. :) ETA: I've been trying to post this for days - but sometimes the forums don't give me the box to type in. I'm not sure what the glitch is with that! Kimberly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Blends are really hard for some kids. These start right around the halfway point of AAR 1. If you have AAS already, you could try doing more work with the tokens and counting sounds in a word, and also having her point to the tiles and saying the sounds in words with blends. If she gets it with that, great! If you find that she still struggles or that you want more lesson plans that are geared towards reading, then AAR would probably be worth it. If you don't already have AAS, then I would probably lean towards AAR personally, since you said she needs more deliberate instruction. It's really geared towards reading more than AAS is. You could start with the 2nd reader, The Runt Pig, as that is where the work with blends starts. The first book, Run, Bug, Run! doesn't have any consonant blends (it has mostly cvc words, and also words with th, sh, and ch). So you could save a little there. You can see the samples for the readers and for the TM, and that might help you decide what would work best too. Here's a placement test to help you decide when she's ready for Level 2 if you decide to fill in until then. HTH some! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 We've added the Recipe for Reading workbook 3 along with AAR 1 to help cement those blends. Ds 2 is stuck in the same spot. :) The workbook is really helping and it has multiple chapters on different types of blends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Thank you for answering Merry. After looking through our AAS (I have 1 and 2), and a million other things, discussing it with dh, I think we've decided to go ahead and get AAR. I already know blends, especially beginning blends are hard for her. It makes sense to me to go right to a program that is meant to teach them. I figure we'll go through the beginning quickly just to reinforce what she already knows and then go slower when we start hitting the point where she has trouble. I don't need the interactive kit since I have the tiles from AAS (and honestly won't use the CD) so I'm just looking at the teacher manual and student packet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 You're welcome, and I hope she does well with it! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junepep Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Merry, I just wanted to say thank you too :), your thoughtful posts (both in this thread and others) have convinced me to give AAR a try with my younger daughter. We're pretty excited, it should arrive this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 My thoughts. Make your own cards with index cards and a marker. It tells you what to make in the teacher's guide. Use your tiles you already have. Sub in your own readers. Like OP said, they won't match up for letters taught. Get the student book if you can to do the activities and it will also have lots of reading and you can see what words are in the readers. Now with this said I have all of it and it is fabulous together and the boys are loving it. We just started and it is what they needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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