AAS 3 question

[Meadowlark]

We are starting level 3 tomorrow. I know this has been asked in previous threads, but I'd like to know specifically what a typical week looks like for level 3. I noticed right away it looks "meatier" and the biggest thing I noticed is that there are a LOT more sentences to dictate.

 

Each step in level 2 took us 2, sometimes 3 days if I stretched it out.

 

How long do you spend on each step? Do you just split the sentences between those days, or not do them all? I'm open to tips! Thanks.

 

Oh, and I've always wondered, how do you use the green word cards? Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I haven't gotten them out of the box yet.

[Flowergirl159]

I think you will info in the front of your book about how to use the green cards. The idea is that you spend 15mins a day on spelling. So the first few minutes would be reviewing cards from each of the four coloured sections. Then move onto the lesson. Stop when you get to around 15mins, then the next day review different cards and continue with the lesson, where you stopped the previous day. We are a fair way through level 3. There are 12 dictation sentences each lesson. We usually split the sentences over two days. We only school four days a week so it probably takes us a week to complete a lesson. Hope that helps :)

[jessj]

I only dictate half of the sentences.  I believe it says to choose several, not to do all of them.  That would be a huge chore!  I generally do six sentences, even in the lower levels.  When there were phrases I would do half phrases and half sentences. 

In levels 1-2 we have always just done a whole lesson at a sitting.  It wasn't a problem and my kids breezed through.  This would depend on the age of your child though.  Level 3, we are definitely struggling to do the same.  It does take longer.  We haven't really figured out our happy medium yet. 

[MerryAtHope]

The lessons are meant to be taken at your child's pace, and Level 3 will likely slow that down some. There are more involved rules in this level, so it's actually helpful if you don't move on too quickly--they get to review that rule and the application of it to words over more days, which is better for long-term retention.

 

We typically took 3-4 days, but sometimes 5 or so, per step. Here's a blog on our Typical Week in Level 6, which has basically the same components as L3.

 

For the word cards--this is how you track which words your child has truly mastered. Sometimes it's easy to remember the words within the context of a lesson where words follow the same pattern, but harder to remember them when they are in sentences or on cards that aren't in order. So the idea is that you keep them in review until they are mastered (she can spell them quickly and easily, without having to self-correct or guess). Then when a mastered review is scheduled, you can shuffle the cards and see if they are still mastered. If a word is missed during a mastered review, or on a dictation, you can put it back in daily review. The same goes for any related phonogram, sound, or key cards.

 

Dictation--yes, the dictation is gradually ramping up. Level 1 started with words and phrases. Level 2 added 6 sentences to the dictation, along with 6 phrases, and then Level 3 bumps up to 12 sentences (there are 20 in step 1, but that's just because it's reviewing from L2.) This accomplishes several goals. One, it gradually helps students to increase writing stamina, to get them ready for paragraph writing outside of spelling. I found that after Level 3 is an excellent time to introduce a formal writing program, because my kids had mastered 1000 words by then and had enough stamina and fluency in writing to keep up with more writing.

 

Two, it helps kids to gradually increase their working memory (they are remembering longer strings of words). When we started, my dd could only remember 4 words at a time, and she worked up to 10-14 word sentences. Working memory helps with so many things--multi-step math problems, remembering instructions, taking notes, being able to problem solve, etc...

 

Three, it gives students a chance to develop fluency and automaticity with spelling. We want them not to only know how to write words in lists, but in the context of sentences--and eventually their own ideas. When they have to think about spelling as they write each word, writing is an overwhelming chore. The dictations helps to ease into this process. The dictations also serve as another way of reviewing previously learned words, to see if they are really mastered. 

 

If you have a student who struggles with writing stamina, working memory, or spelling in their writing, the dictations are an invaluable tool. 

 

About half-way through Level 3, a new activity called the Writing Station is also introduced. This has kids making up some of their own sentences, and is a great bridge between dictation and writing outside of spelling. I thought my kids would dread these like they did other writing, but they actually enjoyed them!

 

One last new element in Levels 3 and up is the Word Analysis section. In Levels 1 and 2, the book tells kids what to do and the student doesn't have to think about what strategy to employ. In Levels 3 and up, the program gradually teaches the student how to analyze words so that they can know how to decide which strategy/strategies to use. This is when students start to take ownership of spelling. Some kids don't want to do this work and try to get out of it, but it's important to walk them through and help them learn this, because that's a step closer to becoming independent spellers and writers. 

 

All that to say...don't worry about how long the steps take. The series is designed for you to take it at your student's pace. Level 7 includes words ranked 9th-12th grade, so there's no hurry to get an elementary student there. Instead, work on spelling 15-20 minutes per day and go at a pace your student can master the content. 

 

HTH some! Merry :-)

[kateingr]

Thank you, Merry! Like the OP, I'm just about to begin level 3, and your post was extremely helpful. I'm so much more effective as a teacher when I understand the reasons behind the lessons.

[Meadowlark]

Yes, thanks so much Merry! Your detailed post was so helpful. In fact, I am going to print it off and hang it up for reference :-)

[blondeviolin]

We do one step a week, but only because my 7yo is ahead and I was zooming through this and I didn't feel like doing more than that. Realistically, it's enough material for about 2 days.

[petepie2]

It SO depends on the child. My oldest is a natural speller and frankly could have gotten by with even a burlap-sack type of spelling program. We just started level 7 a few weeks ago and only do spelling twice a week. Also, she's never had a problem writing several sentences at once.

 

My 7 year old DS is completely different. We do spelling every day, and I have to constantly review. He knows the rules, but he doesn't automatically apply them. Throughout Level 2, we usually completed a step in one week. Some exceptions were the aw/au and ace/ice words. We just started Level 3 last week, and we're not through the review step yet. I have a few index cards with sample words from many of the steps in Levels 1 and 2. Right now I'm giving him 15 or so review words and then three sentences (for step 1). I'm expecting the steps in Level 3 to take more time for him.