A home for their hearts Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Right now we are using AAS, although I love it, it takes a lot of time and it is very expensive. Does Spelling Power teach the rules of spelling like AAS does? I really want my dc to learn the spelling rules so when they come upon a word the don't know how to spell they can fall back on the rules. How much teacher prep is there for Spelling Power. Please, anyone who has used both programs I'd love to hear your comments! TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurad1125 Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I've never seen AAS. We do use Spelling Power and it does teach rules (which is why I selected it) BUT I don't find the way it teaches rules to be very helpful. As an example, the last group we did (we're in level A) has this rule: "/or/ can be spelled or as in corn, oar as in boar, oor as in door, our as in your, and ar as in dwarf." The word list was: or for your more four glory door morning story before It doesn't give any rhyme or reason for why you use a particular spelling of /or/ in a particular word. So ds just guesses. It drives me crazy. It must drive him crazy too because he actually asked me for a list of spelling rules he could work on with his other memory work. Friday I picked up a used copy of Grammar of Spellng and we're going to try it. We'll probably use the rules and word lists from it but study them in the Spelling Power way (test, study, test) because ds prefers that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 It doesn't give any rhyme or reason for why you use a particular spelling of /or/ in a particular word. So ds just guesses.I was under the impression that there is little rhyme or reason (unless you study etymology) as to when and why you use a particular spelling of many phonemes, especially when those phonemes can involve double vowels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I tried Spelling Power, but like Laura, I was incredibly frustrated by the supposed "rules." I prefer that AAS teaches individual patterns first, giving rules where there are rules, and then putting it together & seeing if the child can remember one from another. But as for AAS taking a lot of time, how much time are you spending? I set a timer for 15 minutes & just do that. We don't try to finish a whole lesson in one day or anything. Would that help you? Even with Spelling Power it's not independent so you'd spend about that much time with that too. And with Spelling Power there's a 150 page intro to read on how to implement the program (though you can do a 10-page "quick start," to get started. But to really use it to it's fullest you're supposed to read all that.). Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I was under the impression that there is little rhyme or reason (unless you study etymology) as to when and why you use a particular spelling of many phonemes, especially when those phonemes can involve double vowels. True in some cases, not true in others. I got the book The ABC's and All Their Tricks a few years ago & was surprised to learn just how many reliable patterns & rules there are. Some patterns show up at the ends of words only, or before a final l or n, while others are used in the middle of words. Anyway, it's a helpful resource I pull out when I'm looking to see if there are clues. Also some patterns are much more common than others, and it can help kids to learn the common ones first and then work in the less common ones one at a time instead of throwing a bunch of different ones in at the same time. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaof2andtwins Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I have used both, and my preference is for AAS. I confess that when we first started using AAS it was time consuming, but that was because I was trying to do one step per day. NOT GOOD. Now, I do one step a week or there abouts. It takes us only about 15 minutes per day or less. I have two children in two different levels of AAS. Typically I approach my planning this way. Monday~Introduce lesson/spell with tiles Tuesday~Review and spell on paper Wednesday~Review and spell the "more words" on paper Thursday~Review and dictate phrases or sentences Friday~Review or skip Now, some lessons have more "lesson" to them and that might determine what I do on each day. However, that is a general plan. My girls both know and understand the rules because they repeat them regularly in review. Also, dictation is a fantastic tool for teaching spelling, and AAS has it included. Jennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quad Shot Academy Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 It doesn't give any rhyme or reason for why you use a particular spelling of /or/ in a particular word. It must drive him crazy too because he actually asked me for a list of spelling rules he could work on with his other memory work. :iagree: The "rules" are not helpful rules at all. My son was also asking for a list of rules as to why one time "or" was spelled this way and the next time, that way. He has no visual memory, so he could not figure it out. We switched to AAS and he loves it and all the rules! IMO, AAS takes less time that Spelling Power. My son would spend 30 minutes whining while filling out the steps on the worksheet. After three months we never made it off the first page! With AAS we have spent 15 minutes, 3X's a week and have gotten through two books in 1 year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 (edited) FWIW... We were using Spelling Power and shared the same frustrations as those above. I am now having Blue go through the levels of AAS to LEARN the rules, then I will return to Spelling Power for our long-term spelling plan. For each step, I use the tiles and cards to introduce the new rule. I then have him write the 10 new words (on paper or in his Spelling Power book on the daily test page, where there is room for corrections if needed), have him spell the extra words orally, then write out the 6 sentences (on the same paper or on the sentences page of the Spelling Power book). At a seperate time, I give him a quick oral quiz of 10 words he needs to review. Doing it this way, we can do an entire step in one sitting, and finish in 15-20 minutes tops. He is actually LEARNING the rules now, and I think he will do great when we return to Spelling Power. Edited November 17, 2008 by Colleen in SEVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 Does anyone know why AAS levels 3 and 4 are $10.00 more than levels 1 & 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quad Shot Academy Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Does anyone know why AAS levels 3 and 4 are $10.00 more than levels 1 & 2? The books are longer (thicker). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 The books are longer (thicker). Also there is more in the material packets which are included with the set. (If you look at the individual material packet prices you can see these go up $5 also). Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.