All about Spelling... where to start??

[michaeljenn]

I am considering using AAS for my 7yo, and 10yo.  I am having a hard time deciding where to start them.  I can see starting my 7yo at level 1, but not my 10yo.  However, I hear that they build on each other?!  Both are average spellers.. Help!

[EKS]

I started my 13yo on level 1.  Granted, he has dyslexia, so he had some pretty significant spelling issues.  We went through four levels in one year, if I remember correctly. 

 

All that is to say that I'd start both in level 1.

[desertflower]

I'm no expert, but these are my thoughts.

 

There might be a placement test on the website.

 

I'm about halfway into level 1 and so far it's just 3 letter words.

 

You may want to ask the author as well. She has a forum on her website.

 

Hth

[FairProspects]

Since you are buying level 1 anyway, I'd start the 10 y.o. at step 16 of level 1 and expect to get into level 2 very quickly. You might possibly be able to start the 10 y.o. at level 2 since the first step is review of level 1, but since you are getting level 1 anyway, you might as well do the last few steps in full. You won't be able to start above level 2 unless you are coming from another intensive OG program or tutoring - the scope and sequence is too unique.

[Peregrine]

We're about 2/3 of the way through of level 1 right now. Yes, the beginning is very easy, but I wouldn't skip level 1 entirely. Combine some of the early levels, skipping the tile work, but learning the phonemes and words. Even I've learned new tidbits with what we're doing. 

[jenslp]

I would start with level 1 as some others have suggested.  If you are still in the research stages though, I would also at least look into Spelling Power.  For us it has worked much better and you only need to purchase the one book for any grade and any number of children.  AAS is a great program of course, but for us Spelling Power is the perfect fit.  Good luck!!

[reign]

I agree that since you are getting AAS1 for your 7 year old you could also start the older there. For awhile I just did one lesson a day until my quicker kid was at a spot where she was learning. The lessons usually take us a week now that everyone is learning new stuff.

[kolamum]

It is highly recommended, by AAS, that you start with Book 1. There's a lovely blog post on their blog about how to speed a student through Book 1 or more if needed. :) There's a lot of rules in there, so even if your child knows their phonics inside out you may find there's some rules they did not know.

[Sahamamama]

We've been doing AAS for a few years now. I would start at the beginning (Level 1), but I would go about it this way. I'd enthusiastically say, "Hey, kids, we're going to begin this great new spelling program called All About Spelling!  :D  But I have never taught it before. I need you to help me get going with it, because I don't have a clue what I'm doing here. I need to learn how to teach this program. Since I need to practice, we have to start with Level 1, okay? I realize that you already know that material, but I don't know how to teach AAS. So, we're not only learning that "b" sounds like /b/. We're learning how to use this program, and I need to learn that."

 

That's what I did with my oldest, and it sort of worked. She wasn't totally convinced that I was clueless. LOL. She was still annoyed with "b" sounds like /b/, but she tolerated Level 1 for my sake. Aw, how sweet.

 

At some point during AAS Level 1, both you and your students will realize you are learning things you never knew before. No one wants to admit this with Level 1, but there it is.

 

We moved through Level 1 quickly, Level 2 less so, and Level 3 even less so. In the middle of Level 4 we decided to move out of AAS and into something else. Even though she was able to spell all the words, it was getting harder to actually accelerate the lessons with AAS. She was kind of bored with it, and wanted to study words she didn't already know. She tested into Level C of Phonetic Zoo! We did all three placement tests, because I was unbelieving. ;)

 

At this point (9.5), she's also ready for spelling to be less teacher-dependent. AAS is very teacher-dependent, so keep that in mind with your older student. Do you want spelling lessons to be taught by you (AAS) [and held up by you], or do you want to be able to say, "Do your spelling" (PZ or SP [after five minutes])? At at a certain point, spelling can be like math fact practice, and not need a teacher to run through every detail. I may feel this way because my children are natural spellers.

 

I agree with the poster who recommended looking into Spelling Power and/or Phonetic Zoo. If I was starting with a 10 year old and a 7 year old, I would go through Level 1 with both students (it is a good foundation), perhaps even Level 2 (skip grammar for a week and blitz Level 2 with the oldest), then split them out. I'd put the oldest in PZ or SP, and work with the youngest on AAS 2 and 3. HTH.

[MEmama]

Last year I started my then 10yo on level 2. I explained to him that while he would already know the words, we would be concentrating on the RULES behind the words. That definitely helped ease the sting of it looking too simple. We got almost through level 5 in one year, and will be picking up where we left off. I expect to go much slower from here.

 

I didn't find it that teacher intensive, honestly. But we adapted it to suit his needs--we didn't use the tiles, and we went through it at his pace. He actually got quite a bit of creative writing practice in as well, preferring to make up his own sentences instead of the "boring" ones provided in the book. So, it was limited dictation time as well; I would just choose a few words and he'd take it from there. It's definitely flexible, if you can get over the idea that you must follow a script. :)

[michaeljenn]

WOW... LOTS of info here!  I want to thank each one of you for your replies!  You each have given me a lot to think about!  Also... the blog post for starting with older children was great!  The advice on how to go about starting with an older child was wonderful as well!  THANK YOU!!

 

I think what I may do at this point, is go ahead and get AAS 1 and go through it with both kiddo's.  It will be a prefect fit for my 7yo.  I am also going to go ahead and purchase Spelling Power and start working through it in addition to AAS with my 10yo.  I really want those rules cemented!  They are both pretty decent spellers, as I have not had many problems thus far, but I still think a solid foundation is very important.  I may move on to AAS level 2 with my 10yo as well... I will just see how it goes!!  

 

Thank you again!  I knew I could count on my Hive friends;)