Best kick butt language arts program that worked for you...

[momsuz123]

what is/was it?

 

I need ideas. My oldest taught herself to read mostly. My middle, well, that's another story. Phonics is hard - we are working on that.

 

Reading, well, that is hard, she is reading at a 2nd grade level - but hates it.

 

Writing/spelling - closer to a first grade level.

 

She is now 8, technically going into third grade, and just got accepted into a charter school that pays for $1500 for non-religious curriculum. So, I am trying to think of different curriculum that is out there or just what worked for you kids.

 

Thanks.

[Aurelia]

Spelling - Apples & Pears, All About Spelling (I prefer A&P. DD struggles with spelling and we stalled out with AAS twice.)

Writing - Writing with Ease

Grammar - First Language Lessons

For general English, I really like Galore Park's Junior English program, but it requires at least a 3rd grade reading level. Another option is WRTR (the Spalding site also sells grade level manuals), which covers phonics, spelling, and writing up through third grade. WP's Readers to Real Books LA program looks like it might be right up her alley, but it's a Christian publisher, so your charter may not be ok with that. 

Calvert sells Discoveries in Reading and Writing Fun which would cover reading comprehension and very basic composition, plus handwriting.

 

For us, Apples & Pears, WWE and my own program of reading have worked well, but as DD is getting older I feel she needs more grammar and writing practice, so we are doing MCT Island (which she loves) and next year are trying WP LA. 

[FriedClams]

K/1/2 - FLL, copy work, and lots and lots of reading to / with / aloud by student

 

3+ - general LA - CLE

[MerryAtHope]

For spelling, All About Spelling totally turned school around for my kids. Here's my review. They were at the end of 3rd and 5th grades and were about a year behind in reading. They went up 2 grade levels the first year, and it really made spelling easier for them. When I was teaching them how to read, I looked and looked for a program like All About Reading--I ended up cobbling together my own stuff from various sources, but that's one I'd definitely check out to see if it's a fit for you and your kids. They have some free summer reading printables  you can download to see what it's like.  Handwriting--Handwriting Without Tears is really good for letter formation, and if your dd has any issues with reversals, it's helpful for getting rid of those. If by writing you meant composition--honestly I'd do more informal writing for now and focus on reading and spelling. It's pretty hard to write even a sentence if you have to think about how to write very single word--you lose your train of thought and it becomes very frustrating.  I like to add in writing after kids have mastered about 1000 words. A program that has helped me when they are ready for writing, is Essentials in Writing--link to a review I did on that.   

 

Hope you find what works well for you and your kids! Merry :-)

[Mandy in TN]

MCP Phonics and Word Study

 

I wish I had something wonderful, but I really just came to see what other people suggested and give you a bump.

Mandy

[sbgrace]

Apples and Pears Spelling has been absolutely fantastic for my weak speller. I highly recommend it. I think they have a reading program too (Dancing Bears?) that I've heard good things about, though she may be beyond that and just need practice.

 

We're using MCT this year and I'm excited about that. You might look into Essentials in Writing. It's video based and has both composition and grammar. The author told me there is enough review to start most kids at their grade level even if they are behind, but he'll help with placement. 

[Momma H]

The Logic of English rocks.

We are doing foundations and it is pretty much my dream curriculum. It is Orton Gillingham, has all subjupects together, is multi-sensory, you don't have to take classes to teach it, it is really fun and my kids love it.

[The Governess]

Spalding. I used it with Hooked on Phonics for incremental reading practice (using Spalding to teach the phonograms).

 

I also like All About Spelling.

 

Writing With Ease and First Language Lessons.

 

Lots of read-alouds and discussion of good literature.

 

That should cover it. :)

[Mom0012]

what is/was it?

 

I need ideas. My oldest taught herself to read mostly. My middle, well, that's another story. Phonics is hard - we are working on that.

 

Reading, well, that is hard, she is reading at a 2nd grade level - but hates it.

 

Writing/spelling - closer to a first grade level.

 

She is now 8, technically going into third grade, and just got accepted into a charter school that pays for $1500 for non-religious curriculum. So, I am trying to think of different curriculum that is out there or just what worked for you kids.

 

Thanks.

My son has really struggled with writing and spelling. I used SRA's Spelling Mastery with him and he did very well with it. SRA has a number of direct instruction programs that are excellent for struggling learners. We also used their Reasoning and Writing program, Funnix (by the same author as the other programs) to learn to read, and Connecting Math Concepts for math. They also have a program called Reading Mastery that I have never used. The main reason I only stuck with Spelling Mastery for the long run is because the programs are pretty intense and my son was really giving me a hard time about them. I was also short on patience because I had to work one-on-one with him for so long (hours) and I am just not good at that. My inclination would be to try the spelling and then either Reading Mastery or Reasoning and Writing (if you are interested) and see how it goes before adding in anything else. I think you would likely get good results.

[laughing lioness]

AlphaPhonis w ETC

IEW poetry memorization program.

Read alouds at least 15 min a day- science/history, lit

WWE  and FLL

Seq. Spelling

 

[Farrar]

Everyone here knows I adore Brave Writer.

 

I think there are such different approaches for language arts that you have to start with what you believe is the right method and what you think will work for a particular kid.  Do you believe in original writing for younger children or not?  Invented spelling writing or not?  Vocabulary, grammar, etc. as separate subjects or incorporated into an overall study?  Reading comprehension as a separate subject or just read and discuss?  There are many paths in the world of language arts.  The end goal is usually similar, but the paths can be so divergent.

[LBoogie]

We haven't started it yet but we are using Writing Tales for 3rd this year. It really looks promising.

[EowynR]

My son was in the same boat, and finally we found vision therapy. His new glasses have made all the difference, and thankfully, we learned that he was only using one eye at a time, so he also needs therapy.

 

Reading was hard because it was physically painful.

 

Just a thought.

[alicai]

My oldest dd was an early reader who hit the wall and I used All About Spelling to break down that wall (prevent a major reading problem) and teach her reading from that point. My younger DD is a completely different learner who has nowhere near the retention for spelling rules of my older dd and I am also using AAS with her to teach her reading now that she's beyond the point of basic phonics. She is progressing amazingly. Spelling and reading skills can progress at very different rates but what you can spell, you can read, and you know why. I consider AAS an extremely thorough phonics program if you can hang with adapting it.