What to do after All About Reading, Level 1

[Phryne]

My six year old and I are about 2/3 of the way through All About Reading, Level 1.  We like it, but I am starting to think about whether we will buy Level 2.  It feels like a really slow program, even though we skip the word reviews presented in list form.  (We just do the cards, the magnets, the stories, and, usually, the workbook activities.)  I know that All About Reading is divided into four levels (not including the pre-reading level, which we did not do because we were past that stage when I found AAR), and it just seems like a long time to spend learning how to read.  (Our friends are all more unschoolish than we are, and more than half of them have kids who self taught at a young age.  It's okay that my daughter didn't, but are those the choices:  self teach overnight at age four, or spend all of ages 6-9 learning?  I thought that, by age seven or eight, we would be working on other aspects of Language Arts, rather than approaching a halfway point in the process of learning simply how to read.  I am now wondering if AAR just wants more of my money.)

It's possible that I'm making a problem where none exists, since AAR is basically working for us, and my daughter is happy, but is it really supposed to take four years (possibly condensed into three if we move quickly) to learn how to read?  If not, can you recommend something that is a bit brisker?

[HomeAgain]

Your reasons are why I decided against AAR.  It looks like a lovely program, but it's expensive and quite long.  It would be worth it if a shorter program didn't work.  We used Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons.  It's not for everyone, but there are several single book programs out there:
The Ordinary Parent's Guide To Teaching Reading
Phonics Pathways
Synthetic Phonics (Parker Phonics)
The Writing Road To Reading

And there are middle of the road programs, too, like Explode the Code.  But all of them are more flexible than AAR.

[Phryne]

Thank you, Home Again.

[Syllieann]

If AAR has more practice and smaller bites than you need, then you may want to go with something else to save money.  I don’t think it will change the amount of time spent learning to read though. If you do a lesson per day in AAR then you are done in about 1.5 school years.  A kid who can do one lesson per day in aar will probably be fine doing one of the other programs over the same course of time.  If your daughter takes a week for each lesson in aar, don’t think that switching to something else will make it go faster.  That is just the amount of time she needs.

There are four levels in the whole program, but she will be able to read beginning readers after level 2 and most children’s books after level 3.  Level 4 includes things that are often not covered at all in other programs.  Things like Latin and Greek roots or influences from other languages (aar4) would just be treated on an individual basis as they come up in reading if you were “done” with a simpler reading program.  My dd, for example, could read Boxcar Children and Ramona books before finishing level 3.  Most people would consider that to be a fluent reader despite having more to learn.  I think you just need to adjust your outlook a bit.  Learning to read isn’t so black and white.  I would personally be inclined to simply continue with something that is working and she likes unless the cost is burdensome.

[ByGrace3]

For us, AAR 1-4 was great. But my two that used it completed the entire series by 2nd grade.

[PeterPan]

7 hours ago, Phryne said:

AAR is basically working for us, and my daughter is happy, but is it really supposed to take four years (possibly condensed into three if we move quickly) to learn how to read?

Given that your dd is not saying she's bored, I would stay put and just pick up the pace of what you're doing. 

 

[Momto6inIN]

We used AAR for my DD10 and are using it now with DD6. Level 1 and the first part of Level 2 went slowly, about 1 lesson per week. After that point, things "clicked" and they were reading more things on their own, even though they hadn't officially learned the rules for those words, and we were able to go through each lesson much more quickly. With my older daughter we were done with all 4 levels sometime in 2nd grade, and somewhere in there we stopped doing the activity pages because they were too easy for her. I project that my 6 year old will follow a similar trajectory.

I would say both my girls were "readers" by the middle of Level 2, so it's not so much that they spend 4 levels "learning to read" and can't read very much before completing all 4 levels. My 1st grader can mostly read a Magic Tree House book by herself in the middle of level 2. But by completing all the levels they then will have a complete knowledge of phonics rules that will serve them as they become more sophisticated readers and encounter unknown words in harder books.

If she's ready (for us that means around 1st grade and done with AAR 1), there's no reason you can't be doing other language arts activities with her, like copywork and spelling. But grammar and composition really aren't necessary (or possibly even appropriate depending on your philosophy) til 3rd or 4th grade anyway. 

[MerryAtHope]

When you're comparing though, remember that many programs just get kids to about a 3rd grade reading level, while AAR takes kids up to high school level word attack skills (in AAR 4, they can read words like horticulture, ocelot, limousine, chauffeur, and so on). Some people do 2 or 3 levels, their kids take off, and then they just use spelling to finish phonics instruction and also to teach spelling rules and concepts, while others find it beneficial to do all 4 levels. Also, the upper levels also cover things like literary analysis for comprehension (for example, making predictions and inferences, comparing and contrasting main characters and stories, discussing the main conflict and character transformation), as well as literary terms (hyperbole, simile, point of view, and more), reading reference materials, reading with expression, English words with Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian influences, morphology, and much more. All of these things are a part of reading, even if they aren’t phonics. So--you may find they cover a lot of the things you were wanting to cover while also working on reading. HTH as you decide what works for your family!

[Phryne]

4 hours ago, MerryAtHope said:

When you're comparing though, remember that many programs just get kids to about a 3rd grade reading level, while AAR takes kids up to high school level word attack skills (in AAR 4, they can read words like horticulture, ocelot, limousine, chauffeur, and so on). Some people do 2 or 3 levels, their kids take off, and then they just use spelling to finish phonics instruction and also to teach spelling rules and concepts, while others find it beneficial to do all 4 levels. Also, the upper levels also cover things like literary analysis for comprehension (for example, making predictions and inferences, comparing and contrasting main characters and stories, discussing the main conflict and character transformation), as well as literary terms (hyperbole, simile, point of view, and more), reading reference materials, reading with expression, English words with Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian influences, morphology, and much more. All of these things are a part of reading, even if they aren’t phonics. So--you may find they cover a lot of the things you were wanting to cover while also working on reading. HTH as you decide what works for your family!

It is very helpful, thank you.  I appreciate the other replies, as well.  I have a lot of thinking to do about what I want out of a reading curriculum:  a fast track to just plain reading, after which I will go my own way for language arts, or something more comprehensive?  I thought I wanted the former, but you make AAR's higher levels sound pretty good.

[MerryAtHope]

21 hours ago, Phryne said:

It is very helpful, thank you.  I appreciate the other replies, as well.  I have a lot of thinking to do about what I want out of a reading curriculum:  a fast track to just plain reading, after which I will go my own way for language arts, or something more comprehensive?  I thought I wanted the former, but you make AAR's higher levels sound pretty good.

 

You can always look through online samples to see if that gives you a feel for what you might want to do--this page has links to all of them from every level. 

[ExcitedMama]

I’m a huge AAR fan. It was very slow at first with DS but once it clicked we sped forward and finished quickly. It gets a lot easier in AAR 2 because after silent e it’s easier to add outside books. I’m repeating the series now with DD and going slowly with AAR1.