AAS users (All about spelling)

[Alison in KY]

If you've found success with this program, and you have a bad speller, can you give me an idea of how you tackle each lesson? Also, I don't really understand why she put in the extra words...do you cover all of those and do ALL of the dictation sentences/phrases?

 

This is my 3rd spelling program that I currently own. I tried to figure out Natural Speller, but I guess I'm not so good at doing something like that, I want an open and go program. Any suggestions or comments about AAS would be welcome. We're starting level 2, but I just realized when we did level 1 that I only went over the words and none of the rules, so I missed some basic info.

 

Thank you,

Alison in KY

[ELaurie]

On the first day, I review phonograms and spelling rules, and introduce new spelling words. I introduce the new concepts outlined at the beginning of the chapter. Then I have him spell the new words using letter tiles.

 

On day two, I have him write the words on a white board, or on paper. On days three and four, I have him write his spelling words on paper if he did them on the white board the previous day, or write the suggested dictation sentences and phrases.

[Julieofsardis]

We actually skipped 1 altogether as he had some prior phonogram memorization. I do not think you are as far behind on that front as you might think. There is review in the beginning of the program and you can spend a little more time on those lessons if necessary.

 

We usually cover 1 lesson per day. I will introduce the rule and spell a couple of words with tiles, then let ds write the rest of the words on a dry erase board. Depending on the lesson, we sometimes do not even use the tiles. We just start out with the dry erase board. We then go on to dictating sentences. If he does well with those, I call it good and move on. This still only takes us 15-20 minutes.

 

Of course, we also do the review work at the beginning of each lesson.

 

HTH

 

Julie

[bethben]

Day 1: Teach new lesson

Day 2: spelling words done with tiles, review phonogram cards, key cards, etc.

Day 3: spelling test - write out spelling list on paper along with dictating phrases (although level 3 doesn't have the short phrases)

Day 4: Dictate sentences

 

We've changed it up a bit in level 3 since there are more sentences. I usually dictate 4 sentences a day for 3 days but keep everything else the same.

 

Beth

[Sandy in Indy]

We're just finishing up Level 1. So far, we've been able to cover most lessons in one day, but I think we'll slow down in Level 2. I don't always do the extra words...it just depends on whether ds has the concept or not. If I feel he's done well with the lesson words, then I do the phrases and call it wonderful. I ALWAYS go over the concept cards...ds can probably quote those in his sleep! Those "rules" are what really make the program.

[Tree House Academy]

I just do 15 minutes or so a day. I find that, especially at level 1, this pretty well covers a lesson a day (but my son is 9).

[Alison in KY]

Thank you ladies, that is a big help. Anyone else?

[Once]

Day 1: Teach new lesson

Day 2: spelling words done with tiles, review phonogram cards, key cards, etc.

Day 3: spelling test - write out spelling list on paper along with dictating phrases (although level 3 doesn't have the short phrases)

Day 4: Dictate sentences

 

We've changed it up a bit in level 3 since there are more sentences. I usually dictate 4 sentences a day for 3 days but keep everything else the same.

 

Beth

 

This looks like a great routine. Do you do all the review at the beginning of each lesson or do you pass over that by the end of the week?

 

I really love AAS but we are still getting through the early books and dd finds it easy enough to only need one day on each lesson (or there about). I am sure when we get to the tough stuff we will have to slow down. I like the look of your week!

[melopher]

I do around 15 min. a day, 4 days a week. How I break it up depends on how much reinforcement she needs on a lesson. Lately I've been spending 1 day introducing the new material, using the tiles, and having her spell about half of the words/phrases/sentences on the white board. The 2nd day we'll review the new material, and spell the second half of the words/phrases/sentences on the white board. Usually that's enough time for her, but if I see she's struggling I'll stretch it out more, or throw in a day of review. I like that they give so many words/phrases/sentences because it makes it easier to stretch the lesson out.

[Quad Shot Academy]

We take from 1 day to two weeks to do a lesson. I just keep lessons at about 10-20 minutes depending on the age. Typically on day 1, I review any cards behind the review sections, teach the new lesson, have the child spell a few words with tiles to make sure they get the concept and dictate a few sentences. On day two, I review any cards behind the review section, take about 10 mastered word cards, mix them in with the new word cards, have the child spell them on the white erase board, and dictate a few more sentences (sometimes this is spread over two days.) I only use the "words for extra practice" if the child struggled with the lesson. I mix the mastered words with the new words because I find it is just too easy if they are following a rule. If all the words end in "ace", there is no challenge, this requires them to think about each word. Hope that helps!

[Catherine]

go back to level one long enough to learn the rules. The rules, and the phonograms, are the essence of the program and IMO without them, you'll miss 90% of the benefits of it. The rules are on the "Key Cards".

[sandalwood]

Some days we can cover 1 lesson in a day. Other days, we cover a lesson until my child "gets it" -- which could be a couple of days or several days. Most of the time, we can go pretty quickly. However, I don't move on until he has mastered that lesson.

 

Everyday we review the cards, work with the tiles and practice the dictation & spelling words. I give more dictation than the book suggests. We spend about 30 min. a day on spelling.

[Melmc]

go back to level one long enough to learn the rules. The rules, and the phonograms, are the essence of the program and IMO without them, you'll miss 90% of the benefits of it. The rules are on the "Key Cards".

 

:iagree: I had my 5th grader start at level one, as well as my 3rd, for this very reason. She thought it was super easy and we moved quickly, but reviewing that stuff was important. She did complain, but we never spent long on spelling and did one lesson (sometimes more) a day. Now that we're getting into more challenging steps in another level, she understands why I had her go through that level.

 

I've seen the biggest change in spelling with my 3rd grader. The rules are sticking and I see him self-correcting his work now which never happened before.

[Julieofsardis]

For an older child that has had a thorough phonics program and learned the basic phonograms, I just don't feel it's necessary to go back to level one. Level two reviews the k and c info and the double letters l, s, and f. It also reviews making words plural and open and closed syllables.

 

If the child is having trouble with any of those concepts, they can always hang out on the review until it's cemented.

 

Now, I will say that my ds had already had a lot of phonemic awareness type excercises through ETC and Reading Reflex when we began this program. So, if that is a struggle for your dc, you might indeed need to go back and work on that. But there is brief work in segmenting at the beginning of level 2.

 

I am one to use curriculum to suit my needs, so I just tweaked level 2 to work for us. I'm just trying to save you some money.

 

Julie

[Alison in KY]

I think one of my biggest problems with spelling has been that I hate hate hate studying rules. I mean it's just plain blah to me. But then I'm not a kid anymore, and just because I can't retain the rules doesn't mean my kids can't, right? I just know how to spell things mostly because I was just able to memorize the actual word spelling pretty easy as a kid.

 

So then I start to wonder why I have to do this stuff with my kid, why can't I just do the words only...this has somewhat changed my question, but I think this is why I skipped so much stuff in level 1. Any feelings on this? Please go ahead and tell me why I should go through all the steps with my kids, even though it's so blah to me!

 

Thanks again,

Alison in KY

[Catherine]

spelling at all. His older brothers used SWO and did just fine with it. He needed more explicit teaching\awareness of phonograms and rules. I would not bother at all with any step that your child just "gets". There's no need. For my ds, somehow the phonics he already knew from reading (he easily learned to read more than a year before we started spelling) did not translate to spelling. These skills use different parts of the brain, I'm told. Some kids will move the knowledge around, some won't. So, to answer your question, don't spend any time on stuff your child doesn't need.

[arcara]

I think one of my biggest problems with spelling has been that I hate hate hate studying rules. I mean it's just plain blah to me. But then I'm not a kid anymore, and just because I can't retain the rules doesn't mean my kids can't, right? I just know how to spell things mostly because I was just able to memorize the actual word spelling pretty easy as a kid.

 

So then I start to wonder why I have to do this stuff with my kid, why can't I just do the words only...this has somewhat changed my question, but I think this is why I skipped so much stuff in level 1. Any feelings on this? Please go ahead and tell me why I should go through all the steps with my kids, even though it's so blah to me!

 

Thanks again,

Alison in KY

 

Well, most people choose a program like AAS because they WANT or realize that their kids NEED to learn the rules for spelling. My dd was one who just wasn't learning from lists of words. But, many kids do, so if your dc does, that's great! But, you could probably find a cheaper program for that, like SWO. Going over the Key Cards and Phonogram cards at the beginning of each lesson really takes less than a minute! Oh, and if you decide to stick with this program, make sure you don't let your dc see your dislike for memorizing rules. I have to be careful with this with physics...I hate it, but I don't want to pass along these feelings to my dc :)

 

We do all the dictation phrases and sentences and we do all the extra practice words. I don't want to leave out part of the program. It's all designed to work together.

[MerryAtHope]

If you've found success with this program, and you have a bad speller, can you give me an idea of how you tackle each lesson? Also, I don't really understand why she put in the extra words...do you cover all of those and do ALL of the dictation sentences/phrases?

 

This is my 3rd spelling program that I currently own. I tried to figure out Natural Speller, but I guess I'm not so good at doing something like that, I want an open and go program. Any suggestions or comments about AAS would be welcome. We're starting level 2, but I just realized when we did level 1 that I only went over the words and none of the rules, so I missed some basic info.

 

Thank you,

Alison in KY

 

Hi Alison! I'll try to answer your q's first & then put our typical schedule down of how we do lessons.

 

I think the extra words are there to reinforce the pattern, and for word recognition--so the kids not only learn the pattern but they associate the pattern with certain words. I think this becomes much more critical as they get into more advanced words, and there are different choices for how to spell a word--how do they know if "beet" is bete, beat, beet, etc...? There really isn't a "rule" for some of these differences (and add in the homonymns--English is tough!). You just have to know & recognize the words. I've read research that suggests our minds will categorize words, and I think doing word lists like these is one of those associative things that helps with spelling.

 

Now, if your child really has the pattern down, and if you have an older child trying to speed through level 1, you could do some of the words orally. Or, you could only do the words that are not in the dictation--and only go back to working on any words missed in the dictation. But make sure your child understands the pattern and if there is a specific time when it's used. (CK at the end of short vowel words may seem tedious to reinforce, until they need to know how to spell cheek or bake, and why you don't use just c, or ck in those words. If they know the rule, they'll know already).

 

My 11 yo son takes about 2-3 days per lesson, my 9 yo dd takes 4-5 days per lesson. Both are working through level 2. I read the FAQ on the AAS site and decided they could start there.

 

I do all of the words and the reinforcement words and the phrases and

sentences. I think the dictation is important because the phrases &

sentences bring up words from previous lessons for review while adding in words from the current lesson. I think it's important to know that they've not just memorized the rule/pattern for one lesson. Generally my kids will get the words correct the first time, however that doesn't mean long-term retention has happened.

 

A typical lesson for my oldest (11) would be about 15 minutes:

 

Day 1--review cards (including the 10 new words from the last lesson), review word banks, concept review, start new teaching. He might spell the review words orally, or he might write, or rarely chooses to use the tiles.

 

Day 2--finish new teaching, do the 10 main words (written or with tiles, I don't have them do both unless they are not getting it), write 2-3 each of phrases & sentences.

 

Day 3--do the reinforcement words, and write all remaining phrases & sentences.

 

 

For my 9 yo dd, a 15 minute lesson would be more like:

 

Day 1--review cards & word banks

 

Day 2--concept review, new teaching.

 

Day 3--finish new teaching if we didn't on day 2, do the 10 main words, 2

phrases, 2 sentences.

 

Day 4&5 half of the reinforcment words each day plus 2 phrases, 2 sentences each day.

 

Some shorter lessons have taken them a day less each.

 

Some of the days for either child might involve extra work on a word or two they missed, more often my younger. My youngest still sometimes forgets doubling f, l, s (though she can recite the rule perfectly), and occasionally gets tripped up by the r & l words (wants to spell fire, fiyer).

 

HTH! Merry :-)