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How many levels did you do in Barton before calling it a day?


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How many levels did you do in Barton before calling it a day? We are finishing up Level 8 with my 12 y/o ds and I’m wondering if I need to do Levels 9 & 10. He’s reading well, albeit slowly. And he’s also in a rigorous Latin program through Lukeion so I know word roots are covered. Thoughts? Keep going or is 8 levels enough?

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 Most people that I know have not gone all the way through.  Can it be a benefit?  Yes.  For those few who go all the way to Level 10 their children seem highly prepared for a variety of things, including SAT/ACT.  However, most of the people I know using Barton that didn't go all the way also seemed to do well on the SAT/ACT and in other areas of their academic life.

 

If you are both feeling done, then be done.  If either you or your child want to keep going, I'd keep going.

 

Sorry I can't be more helpful.  I don't see those levels as necessary, just as really nice to have.

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So ready to throw in the towel. Level 5...I honestly don’t see a lot of improvement overall this year. Both he and I are beyond frustrated. I hate the order of things.

Hugs. 

 

Every kiddo is different.  DD struggled mightily through level 4 (like it was soooooo hard) and breezed through Level 5.  It was a cakewalk for her.  She loved that level (as much as anyone can love a level).  We whipped through it at lightning speed compared to Level 4.  Or even Level 1, 2 and 3.  All of those were hard for her.  DS breezed through Level 1 and 2, started to struggle in level 3 and bombed level 4.  We had to step back and do something else for a while.  I know others have posted that Level 5 was extraordinarily difficult and still others that found it relatively easy after Level 4.  I do wonder what the specific differences are between kids...

 

Do you know what may be tripping him up with Level 5?

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Well he still can’t read anything and all the complicated vowel teams are saved for level 8? So he still doesn’t know a lot of vowel teams. Barton is boring and the readers are boring too. I really can’t argue with him. Irs just the same stuff over and over and over. We want something like a breath of fresh air, instead of the slush we are sloshing through day in and day out.

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ETA:  should have quoted but this response below is directly addressing mamamoose, not the OP.  

 

Well there are a lot of vowel teams that are dealt with in earlier levels.  Are you saying that after Level 4 he still can't read?  That says to me that he has comorbid issues that are making Barton perhaps a really poor fit.  Even though DS and DD struggled in some levels they are both reading at or above grade level now and that is due to Barton.  Reading can be slow but they decode fine.  I'd be concerned that there are more things going on that are tripping up your son.  Barton may very well not be a good fit.  

Edited by OneStepAtATime
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Well if the sentence says, “The boy needs to boil potatoes,†and he’s only in level 5, there are only two words he has learned to read from Barton. So no, there isn’t a comirbid issue. The program doesn’t teach -oy or -oi- until level 8.

The reason I say there may be comorbid issues is based on the feedback of others that have used Barton and the experience with my own kids.

 

While my kids may still trip up on spelling more advanced vowel teams, they are definitely usually able to read them now, and they have not done Level 8.  The exposure to Barton through Level 4/5 opened up their ability to pull apart and reassemble words significantly.  Like night and day.  So even if they haven't had specific lessons in the Advanced vowel teams they can still read those vowel teams or figure them out from context really well now.  The vast majority of words used in English are covered by the end of Level 5.  The higher levels just dig in deeper.

 

My concern is that you are saying  your child cannot read and yet he is at level 5.  Most kids using Barton are reading by the end of Level 4 and usually sooner.  They may read slowly and may need some scaffolding but they can read the vast majority of words they are exposed to.

 

When did you start Barton and how old is your child?  I'm sorry.  I can't remember...  Maybe we could start a new thread so we aren't derailing the OP.  People may be able to help you brainstorm ways to help your child.

 

Hugs.  I know this can be a frustrating process.

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I would never see my sons pick up, from exposure, vowel teams. They just do not figure out words from context as well. If you know most words in a sentence, and don’t know one, then you figure it out from context, then remember what sound the vowel team made ——— well that is very desirable!

 

But I don’t think it’s a particular separate issue if kids don’t do that.

 

Especially if they are limited in exposure to two letters combining into one sound.

 

Do you think your son might pick up the vowel teams fairly easily if you taught them to him explicitly? I think you could teach them from another program and then go back to Barton. It’s an option.

 

I think it depends on how happy your son will be to read various books. Will he be happy to read anything at a lower level? Will he be happy to read Henry and Mudge, and Scholastic Branches?

 

Or is he not going to be happy unless he is reading Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, etc?

 

I think that’s a personality issue, but if you think he would have a lot better attitude to be able to practice with 2nd grade books he would be able to read with vowel teams and “add an e to make a long vowel†it’s an option.

 

If you wanted to skim scope and sequences, I am using AAR with my 9-year-old and I think he will be pretty able to read Henry and Mudge and Scholastic Branches half-way through level 3.

 

It’s an easy call though because those are the books that he would be motivated to read. He doesn’t have a big mismatch between what he would like to read and what is a 2nd-gradeish level. He is delayed with listening comprehension and vocabulary also (and he has a language delay, he’s doing very good for himself). Anyway it’s an easier situation in its way because there is not a mismatch.

 

My older son had a mismatch and it made it harder to deal with because he wouldn’t be happy until he could read Harry Potter, basically. He was just putting up with things until then. He disliked some things less, for sure, though, which can go a long way.

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The reason I say there may be comorbid issues is based on the feedback of others that have used Barton and the experience with my own kids.

 

While my kids may still trip up on spelling more advanced vowel teams, they are definitely usually able to read them now, and they have not done Level 8.  The exposure to Barton through Level 4/5 opened up their ability to pull apart and reassemble words significantly.  Like night and day.  So even if they haven't had specific lessons in the Advanced vowel teams they can still read those vowel teams or figure them out from context really well now.  The vast majority of words used in English are covered by the end of Level 5.  The higher levels just dig in deeper.

 

My concern is that you are saying  your child cannot read and yet he is at level 5.  Most kids using Barton are reading by the end of Level 4 and usually sooner.  They may read slowly and may need some scaffolding but they can read the vast majority of words they are exposed to.

 

When did you start Barton and how old is your child?  I'm sorry.  I can't remember...  Maybe we could start a new thread so we aren't derailing the OP.  People may be able to help you brainstorm ways to help your child.

 

Hugs.  I know this can be a frustrating process.

I just started a separate thread!

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I would never see my sons pick up, from exposure, vowel teams. They just do not figure out words from context as well. If you know most words in a sentence, and don’t know one, then you figure it out from context, then remember what sound the vowel team made ——— well that is very desirable!

 

But I don’t think it’s a particular separate issue if kids don’t do that.

 

Especially if they are limited in exposure to two letters combining into one sound.

 

Do you think your son might pick up the vowel teams fairly easily if you taught them to him explicitly? I think you could teach them from another program and then go back to Barton. It’s an option.

 

I think it depends on how happy your son will be to read various books. Will he be happy to read anything at a lower level? Will he be happy to read Henry and Mudge, and Scholastic Branches?

 

Or is he not going to be happy unless he is reading Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, etc?

 

I think that’s a personality issue, but if you think he would have a lot better attitude to be able to practice with 2nd grade books he would be able to read with vowel teams and “add an e to make a long vowel†it’s an option.

 

If you wanted to skim scope and sequences, I am using AAR with my 9-year-old and I think he will be pretty able to read Henry and Mudge and Scholastic Branches half-way through level 3.

 

It’s an easy call though because those are the books that he would be motivated to read. He doesn’t have a big mismatch between what he would like to read and what is a 2nd-gradeish level. He is delayed with listening comprehension and vocabulary also (and he has a language delay, he’s doing very good for himself). Anyway it’s an easier situation in its way because there is not a mismatch.

 

My older son had a mismatch and it made it harder to deal with because he wouldn’t be happy until he could read Harry Potter, basically. He was just putting up with things until then. He disliked some things less, for sure, though, which can go a long way.

I actually spent the better half of the day perusing other "O-G" curriculums. He will NOT be happy with second grade readers at all. He might put up with it if its less painful than Barton for some time, but I'm not sure that jumping back would be the solution, and level 3 might not even get us far enough back to cover what Barton saves for the end. I am seriously tempted to toss out Barton and come back later--we finished level 4 a year ago but wanted to refresh so we spent the first 3 months of the year going back through the entire level, even though he wasn't all that frustrated. 

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I feel ready to throw in the towel too and I am only in level 3. It has been driving me crazy. I also do not like the order of things. I think I will do level 4 even though I heard that one is hard but I think that one might be useful with attack skills for multi syllabic words but after that I do wish she was exposed to more phonograms.

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My son is reading now. We are on level 8 but we didn't finish. He so wanted real reading and writing and because he can so we dropped it in January.

 

Do I think it would help him to finish? Yes. Do I think it should take priority over other things at this stage in the game?

 

I honestly don't know. He is very near being a teenager and has a lot to do but I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in the towel yet. I'll leave it on the shelf for awhile.

 

I would say he started reading real books like The Great Brain and Where the Red Fern Grows sometime during level 7. He could read Nate the Great in level 6. Easy book as far as context so his slowness and struggle in reading didn't affect comprehension as bad.

 

It is hard to stick with it though. So tedious. I empathize.

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