TheAttachedMama Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Hi Everyone, Can anyone explain how Reading Lessons Through Litterature works? I am specifically interested in how it could be used with an older child in 3rd or 4th grade. If you could share a typical weekly routine that your older child uses, I would be VERY, VERY grateful. And if you could share how much your child does independently of you in spelling with this program, that would also be helpful too. I've looked at the samples, and I am not sure I get it. Are all of the phonograms and spelling rules taught in level 1? Or just the most common? After that is it just a list of words with a story? And you mark up the list using the instructions? How do these lists relate to the free spelling journal she has on her website? Do you use that too? I just don't get it. :) Background...in case you have any free advice: My oldest son (going into 4th grade) has made it half way through AAS 4---however, he continues to test in the 25th percentile in spelling on the Woodcock-Johnson test. He has mastered what has been taught in AAS, but he still spells worse than most kids his age according to this test. He has always tested low in spelling, but I always told myself that it was because those tests use a lot of sight words and AAS introduces words in a different order. I kept telling myself once he had made it through AAS 3 things would start to pick up in the spelling department. But they haven't. Do we just stick it out with AAS? And trust in the process and hope things improve in the future? Do we jump ship? As he goes into 4th grade, I am really hoping that spelling doesn't become a roadblock to his other writing, you know? So what should I do this year? I have downloaded and read the samples, but I am still not getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewe Mama Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I am in this boat as well. I read through RLTL, but I'm rather at a loss as to how to implement. Faith is struggling with spelling. Everything else is great, but she just started AAS 2 and it is painful for both of us. Looking forward to hearing more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 My son is only 5. Monday through Friday we review the phonograms. On Tuesday I introduce a new phonogram and give him 3 to 5 spelling words. On Friday he gets a spelling quiz. We are halfway through the first book and he hasn't misspelled a word yet so I don't know what to do if that happens. :laugh: He wanted to learn young so we spent more time with the phonograms than most people before starting the spelling words which I believe is why he does not misspell words. I only introduce one new phonogram a week but I believe you're supposed to introduce two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 If your son is already familiar with the phonograms, you could easily start in level 2 of RLTL. For my 7 year old, this is what a typical week looks like for him. He is very familiar with the phonograms so we only review those on Friday. The other days of the week we alternate days of spelling words and reading the story. Here's an example: Monday: spelling list #60 Tuesday: read story #60 Wednesday: spelling list #61 Thursday: read story #61 Friday: review phonograms and review spelling words from that week (we don't really do tests because he doesn't seem to need them) But the thing I love most about RLTL is the flexibility. My younger son only does 10 words per week at the most and reviews phonograms more often. So he may only read a story once a week, or even once every two weeks. So you really have the freedom to use it however it works best for your family. As far as independent learning, there isn't much with RLTL. You are calling out the phonograms as they are writing down their spelling lists, and you'd probably want to listen to them reading the story in order to make sure they are pronouncing words correctly. The spelling rules are just introduced as you use them in words. I actually have flash cards of the spelling rules and we review those several times per week (I purchase the SWR spelling rule flash cards because they are very similar to RLTL's rules). I think that has helped tremendously with remembering the rules because then I can ask them "why is that word spelled that way?" when they are writing down spelling words and it really helps cement in their minds the whys of spelling. (This has worked well for my older kids that aren't even currently using RLTL!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAttachedMama Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Thanks! So, say I was already doing ELTL 3 three days per week. How would RLTL schedule in with that? And when you say "Spelling list"-- Is the child suppose to copy over the spelling words as marked up in the samples? Or is that a test on those words? (They study for awhile and then I quiz them?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 According to Wafarers: Monday - ELTL Tuesday - RLTL new spelling words Wednesday -ELTL Thursday - RLTL spelling test Friday - ELTL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 We actually do ELTL Monday through Wednesday and RLTL every day. But I am also using it for reading instruction, so I feel it is best for us to do RLTL every day. It really doesn't take too long once you find your rhythm, but again, that is where the beauty of its flexibility comes in. If it only works for you to do it twice a week, than that works too! The spelling lists are the group of either 10 (levels 1 & 2) or 15 (upper levels) words that you teach to go with each story. You take each word individually and call out the phonograms as the student writes them down. For example, if you are spelling the word "each", you tell your student what word you are spelling. They you say "write the phonograms that says E, e, A" and they would write on their paper "ea". They you would say "write the phonogram that says ch, k, sh" and they would write "ch" on their paper. I usually have my kids then look at the word and read it to me again, just to solidify they know what it says (this is very beneficial to them, especially when it comes to the longer words). If your son needed the extra practice, you certainly could have him copy the words. Once they read the story, they will see the words again and practice them that way. As far as the markings, we do that right after they have finished writing down the individual word, and that is where the spelling rule instruction comes into play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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