monalua Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 My son is 7 (almost 8) and just bombed the spelling portion of his CAT test. No biggie, but I'm wondering how to proceed. He is not a natural speller. We are on level 2 of AAS. We love AAR but for some reason we don't like AAS as much. I haven't seen much progress with AAS. I'm contemplating Spelling You See. I know it's a different method for teaching spelling, but maybe that's what he needs - seeing and copying words spelled correctly, instead of memorizing rules? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Well, nobody will be shocked that I would show up on a thread about SYS to sing its praises. I credit the curriculum for having 3 kids who spell shockingly well. One is a natural speller and two are not. SYS has been amazing. The best part is watching them spell something and then immediately realizing it looks wrong, erases and corrects. It comes so naturally to them now to do that. My DD says that when she spells her brain "sees" color blocks around vowel and consonant chunks. My favorite part though is that they love it and it is fairly independent once they are trained in how to do it outside of the dictation test on Fridays. One DS complained for a month when he first started but I just smiled lovingly and insisted he push through...I have never decreased the writing or altered it in any way. I don't mind whining for a bit until a child adjusts. Now he says it is his favorite...go figure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stibalfamily Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 We are nearly done with AAS level 1 and I have to say its just not sticking. We also use and like AAR. So we are in the same boat as you. Next year I am going to try SYS and hoping for a better outcome. When I go to the Homeschool Conference I will pick the level he will be at. Currently we have been working on the same spelling list for two weeks with no progress and I think we need to try something different. He memorizes the rules but can't remember them. :( Another option is Apples and Pears. I'm mulling them over in my mind but I have all summer to decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 We tried AAS multiple times, and it never worked. DD retained nothing and all the little pieces and cards drove me nuts. SYS is working much better. It's not perfect, but I'm not sure what "perfect" would look like with this child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 I feel it takes a couple levels to really start seeing excellent spelling. DD is on level D now and she rarely spells anything wrong unless it is a larger, unfamiliar word. My two DS just started level C after finishing B and I am starting to see that strong understanding for spelling really coming through now, similar to what I saw when DD finished up B and began C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 How are the lessons going? Do they make sense as you do it? Do the rules click? You could always slow it down to allow more time for it to sync in. For us it’s been great. DS likes the rules and remembers them well. We just do a few minutes a day so he’s about to finish AAS 3 but that was doing it slowly over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Sorry to butt in, but wondering for those who use Spelling U See, do you find the spelling transfers over to other writing really well? I have debated often about using this but I can't seem to really wrap my mind around how it would work in helping them spell unknown words. We use AAS and have tweaked it slightly for all of our kids. We only do 1 lesson per week. The lessons tend to stick better that way. My oldest doesn't "see" wrong spellings, so knowing the rules has been helpful for her. It did take a long time for the rules to transfer over to her writing. I'm not sure it would have been any quicker with a different program though... My middle child is much more of a natural speller and I've debated about trying something like SUS with her...but since we own AAS, that's what we use. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monalua Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 41 minutes ago, ExcitedMama said: How are the lessons going? Do they make sense as you do it? Do the rules click? You could always slow it down to allow more time for it to sync in. For us it’s been great. DS likes the rules and remembers them well. We just do a few minutes a day so he’s about to finish AAS 3 but that was doing it slowly over a year. The lessons in AAS are going fine. He does seem to remember the rules and the key cards. I haven't seen it translate to things he writes and it definitely didn't seem to help on the standardized test. But maybe it would be that way with any program at his age? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenkins Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 We have not had any success with spelling you see. At the end of the week they would still be getting the same words wrong. Maybe they aren't paying close enough attention - in not sure. My kids are now using it for copywork. I don't know if we will continue because it is expensive for a copywork book. The program does have interesting information in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitgrl Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 2 hours ago, ExcitedMama said: How are the lessons going? Do they make sense as you do it? Do the rules click? You could always slow it down to allow more time for it to sync in. For us it’s been great. DS likes the rules and remembers them well. We just do a few minutes a day so he’s about to finish AAS 3 but that was doing it slowly over a year. This is how we use AAS, and I would say it has worked for dd, who is definitely not a natural speller. We do about a lesson a week. Oftentimes, I go over the teaching part over two days, then dd has to spell the given list correctly two days in a row. I also keep track of what words she mispells, and tack on five of those to the end of the current spelling list. Most of the time she manages to spell correctly words she's worked on in other contexts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 We use AAS. I will say that it took a long time to really "see results" in spelling with my older. In fact, we set AAS aside for other programs (though not SYS) and then came back to AAS; he's working through it quickly now, and I am pleased with his spelling. He's not a "natural speller" and he tends to work fast & a bit sloppy, which hurts him in spelling. In early elementary especially, it is common for spelling not to crossover across all their writing. SWB makes some great points about that in her Writing With Ease audio seminar: for the first few years, spelling + grammar + punctuation + content can all be operating separately in the child's mind. His spelling is finally coming on board: he's 12. !!!! I would expect to see improved spelling around the time you're doing AAS3. Maybe 4. In AAS3 you begin to give the child words and she invents her own sentences to write with them, and the program has suggestions for working on this skill if the child struggles with it. With my younger, we actually do two sets of review words each day with our oral work: I pull one list of words from the previous level, then one list of words from an earlier lesson in his current level. I just put a sticky flag on the lists and either move it to the next list in that book (if he did well on the list) or leave it and do the list again the next day; if he's having trouble regularly, I have him read the words aloud to me before spelling them. If he's having a LOT of trouble I have him read the words and spell them aloud while looking at them. If he misses any, we say & spell correctly before moving on. My younger child also scored poorly on a spelling section of standardized tests (and on punctuation!) which worried me, but I have noticed that classically trained children especially can underperform on standardized tests in the very early years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 We use AAS. I worried for a little while because she wasn't translating the rules over to her other writing. But that seemed to click somewhere around the end of level 2/beginning of level 3. Now she's doing great and she can tell in her other writing when she has spelled something wrong. We do a lesson over 1 or 2 days depending on it's length, then we spend a couple days doing the dictation sentences and writing station before moving on to the next lesson. I considered SYS for a short time just because I wanted to cut down on teacher intensive programs, but I don't think DD could handle that much writing. She would be so focused on the physical act of pencil to paper that she wouldn't be able to pay attention to the spelling. And she was absolutely appalled at the idea of no AAS, it's her favorite subject! I started using the app instead of the tiles on a whiteboard and that made things so much easier and I don't feel the need for a less intensive program now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Can I just say we use Spelling Workout. It is simple, but the work sheets involve sorting in such a way that it has really worked. It is much less expensive than AAS and SUS. So I was considering AAS or SUS but after reading this thread, I might just stay with SWO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitgrl Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 16 hours ago, Janeway said: Can I just say we use Spelling Workout. It is simple, but the work sheets involve sorting in such a way that it has really worked. It is much less expensive than AAS and SUS. So I was considering AAS or SUS but after reading this thread, I might just stay with SWO. SWO has a great price tag and is nice because it's pretty independent, but was an utter and complete failure in our house with zero retention -- but if it works for your kid, then you should stick with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 13 minutes ago, knitgrl said: SWO has a great price tag and is nice because it's pretty independent, but was an utter and complete failure in our house with zero retention -- but if it works for your kid, then you should stick with it. I wonder if it worked because I took the phonics rules and made activities out of it. I look at AAS and it seems to be doing the same thing, only, has it all prepared for a person. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, Janeway said: I wonder if it worked because I took the phonics rules and made activities out of it. I look at AAS and it seems to be doing the same thing, only, has it all prepared for a person. I'm really glad it is working for your child, and that your phonics activities are going well! I would definitely suggest staying the course! For my older son, I think AAS was more effective because of the continual review component. SWO was not working for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitgrl Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 9 minutes ago, Janeway said: I wonder if it worked because I took the phonics rules and made activities out of it. I look at AAS and it seems to be doing the same thing, only, has it all prepared for a person. That is probably all the difference. I used SWO because that's what SWB said to use. I was new to homeschooling and had no clue what I was doing and had no hs community where I live, and I had not yet discovered these forums. If I find I have no idea what I am doing, I can now come here and get 15 different opinions on what I should be doing. :-) With the next child, I am thinking of using Phonics Pathways for phonics activities ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 13 minutes ago, serendipitous journey said: I'm really glad it is working for your child, and that your phonics activities are going well! I would definitely suggest staying the course! For my older son, I think AAS was more effective because of the continual review component. SWO was not working for him. I am thinking of not using SWO. I am still considering AAS because I need something more visually appealing. SWO is not very visually appealing. But it sounds like AAS is quite teacher intensive. Not sure what to do. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, Janeway said: I am thinking of not using SWO. I am still considering AAS because I need something more visually appealing. SWO is not very visually appealing. But it sounds like AAS is quite teacher intensive. Not sure what to do. Suggestions? Oh, my goodness! Other than coloring your SWO pages .... :) You could look at Spelling You See. More parental work than SWO, less than AAS. This page has downloadable sample lessons for SYS; I like the look of the pages better than what I remember of SWO but not sure if they meet the visually appealing criterion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitgrl Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 We do AAS on the white board, and it's not a workbook, so I would be hard pressed to talk about its visual appeal one way or the other because the student doesn't interact with the book, just a few random sheets here and there. It is definitely more parent intensive than SWO, but it sounds like you do more with your students than just hand them the workbook. Although, I saw on a blog somewhere somebody recorded themselves reading the spelling list, so their kids could do a portion of the lessons on their own, and that would cut down on parent involvement somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 My oldest did levels 1-3 of AAS. Nothing really stuck. At all. And it was so teacher intensive I was starting to dread it. My middle kids have been doing SYS as a copywork program. My 4th grader is dyslexic so we have been remediating spelling with A&P. Because of a shipping mix-up, he has been only doing SYS while we wait for A&P. Even he has made improvements with certain words that he almost always spelled wrong prior. It's simple, but it's sticking (in other writing too) so we will be keeping it next year. (He'll also do A&P.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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