Switching from AAR to OPGTTR

[Brooke]

I have an upcoming  1st grader/prek kids this year.

My older son is a very strong reader and we started with teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons and have done both AAR levels 1 and 2 and have level 3. Most lessons in both levels feel like a waste of time and money. We can fly through a lesson in 10 minutes total. 
 

Now that I have a 4 year old as well I’d like to try OPGTTR before committing to something like AAR again. He is expressing interest in reading so we are going to test the waters. To make life a little easier I think OPGTTR could be used for both kids. 
 

If a child had completed AAR levels 1 and 2, which lesson should we start with in OPGTTR? Has anyone ever tried this and can it be done? 

[Clarita]

39 minutes ago, Brooke said:

If a child had completed AAR levels 1 and 2, which lesson should we start with in OPGTTR? Has anyone ever tried this and can it be done? 

From halfway through AAR level 3, I went straight into reading with my eldest and go through the rest of phonics via spelling. Since you say your older son is a strong reader I wonder if he kind of progresses like my kids where after a while of AAR somehow they can figure out reading on their own even if some of the words they encounter contain phonics that they haven't officially learned yet. 

I had thought with my children to switch to something simpler like OPGTTR at that point, but it still felt like busywork reading a page of random words and sentences when they could be reading something with more substance. (Clearly based on my other post I'm still trying to figure out reading instruction beyond the ability to read.)

Edited August 7 by Clarita
typo

[Brooke]

12 minutes ago, Clarita said:

From halfway through AAR level 3, I went straight into reading with my eldest and go through the rest of phonics via spelling. Since you say your older son is a strong reader I wonder if he kind of progresses like my kids where after a while of AAR somehow they can figure out reading on their own even if some of the words they encounter contain phonics that they haven't officially learned yet. 

I had though with my children to switch to something simpler like OPGTTR at that point, but it still felt like busywork reading a page of random words and sentences when they could be reading something with more substance. (Clearly based on my other post I'm still trying to figure out reading instruction beyond the ability to read.)

Yes! This explains my situation exactly. It’s like something clicked and he’s reading many words that have never been covered at all. He can pick up something like magic tree house and read it with fluency. There might be words here and there he might need help with but really not that often. Part of me is wondering if it’s worth going through all of this if he’s got it. He did all the challenge words with no issue as well on the fluency sheets. I still want to make sure he gets thorough instruction but the time could be spent doing something else. 

[HomeAgain]

Why not move him into something like the upper books (4-8) of Explode the Code for daily phonics work, but start to separate reading and spelling out?

I had a kid who read well early.  We dabbled a bit with spelling, he wasn't fully ready to go beyond the basics.  We set that aside and worked on just reading comprehension for a while instead, adding in copywork and different spelling lessons.

[Brooke]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

Why not move him into something like the upper books (4-8) of Explode the Code for daily phonics work, but start to separate reading and spelling out?

I had a kid who read well early.  We dabbled a bit with spelling, he wasn't fully ready to go beyond the basics.  We set that aside and worked on just reading comprehension for a while instead, adding in copywork and different spelling lessons.

Thank you for this suggestion! We have explode the code 1-4. I might go ahead and try that out because he does enjoy explode the code. We can start with book 4 and work our way up. I do have spelling workout A ready for him. Do you think spelling work out and explode the code would be too much? His handwriting has improved a lot in the past few months so I have been giving him short sentences to copy.

I also have first language lessons that we plan on starting next week.

[HomeAgain]

4 hours ago, Brooke said:

Thank you for this suggestion! We have explode the code 1-4. I might go ahead and try that out because he does enjoy explode the code. We can start with book 4 and work our way up. I do have spelling workout A ready for him. Do you think spelling work out and explode the code would be too much? His handwriting has improved a lot in the past few months so I have been giving him short sentences to copy.

I also have first language lessons that we plan on starting next week.

Most kids I know use either one or the other at a time, along with a writing program.  I think you should write out what a sample schedule would look like and how it would look over two weeks before you make a decision.

[Brooke]

12 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

Most kids I know use either one or the other at a time, along with a writing program.  I think you should write out what a sample schedule would look like and how it would look over two weeks before you make a decision.

This is good to know! I was wondering if the spelling was sufficient enough with explode the code. I’m also wondering if it’s enough for handwriting too. If it is enough it will really help open up our schedule to make room for FLL and WWE.

Language arts has so many pieces to the puzzle so it is hard to figure out as a first time homeschooler. Thanks so much!

[Clarita]

3 hours ago, Brooke said:

I was wondering if the spelling was sufficient enough with explode the code. I’m also wondering if it’s enough for handwriting too.

Try it out. Technically Explode the Code isn't sufficient, but I know people who've made it sufficient with minor tweaks or it's enough for their child (by the time they finished the Explode the Code their child could spell). Since your child's only in first grade you have some wiggle room to see how it goes. 

[Momof4sweetkids]

I had a similar experience with my oldest. We still finished AAR but I didn't have her read every word if she got it and we didn't do all the activities. I looked at simplifying with OPTTR for my second but it looked like it still recommended doing letter tiles and flashcards so I thought I could just simplify AAR instead of switching.

[Brooke]

21 hours ago, Momof4sweetkids said:

I had a similar experience with my oldest. We still finished AAR but I didn't have her read every word if she got it and we didn't do all the activities. I looked at simplifying with OPTTR for my second but it looked like it still recommended doing letter tiles and flashcards so I thought I could just simplify AAR instead of switching.

Thank you! That’s a good point. We start next week so maybe I can decide once we get going and find that flow. 

[alpinegrace]

Hi Brooke! It sounds like you need to pick up a copy of The Well Trained Mind 🙂 It will serve you well and help answer those "Am I Doing Enough? Or Too Much?" questions. It really has been an invaluable resource for me!

That being said, I've used OPG and AAR pretty much exclusively with my kids. I agree that OPG will save time. The scope and sequence for teaching the phonograms are different in the programs, but in general you would want to pick up on/around lesson 84 in OPG to make sure you're covering everything. If you've only completed level 1-2 in AAR, then your child is still missing many of the long vowel pairs (ai, ay, ea, ie, oa, ue). They would also need to be taught a lot of the silent letter pairs (igh, augh, ought, gn) or some of the less common ones like ci making the sh sound. They may be reading very well now, but I do think its important to complete phonics as I think it does translate to better reading and spelling down the road. And it really only takes 15 minutes a day. If I were you, I would flip through the index of lessons in the back of OPG and see where you would feel comfortable starting your child. As an incoming first grader, they would be doing great starting at lesson 84, and you could finish the book by the end of the school year if you did one lesson a day. You could always skip lessons you feel your child is comfortable with, though the recommendation is "two review and one new" each day. OPG covers some great words at the end of the book that he likely could not read right now (technique, etiquette, Xavier, repetitious).

Being an incoming first grader though, I would expect your child to be still working on phonics, starting spelling, writing, and maybe grammar. You could do both Spelling Workout and Explode the Code. Explode the Code is mostly for phonics reinforcement, but I think it provides good handwriting and a little spelling practice, but not enough to use as a spelling curriculum. A few pages a day is sufficient imo. I would also start Writing with Ease (WWE) level 1 and if you wanted, First Language Lessons (done orally). If my child knows how to write the letters already, then I don't require a separate handwriting program, I just require their best handwriting when they do the copy work in WWE. 

Lastly, for your 4 year old. Many people, including myself, dislike the first 26 lessons in OPG that teach the letters. The poem is just too wordy and feels forced. We prefer to use Leapfrog Letter Factory (cheap on prime video) and flashcards (have the child tell me if the letter is upper/lowercase, the letter name, and its sound). I highly recommend checking this video out, it's old now, but all of my kids still love it. Then when your child has automatic recall of all the letters and their sounds, start on lesson 27 in OPG.

 

[Brooke]

18 hours ago, alpinegrace said:

Hi Brooke! It sounds like you need to pick up a copy of The Well Trained Mind 🙂 It will serve you well and help answer those "Am I Doing Enough? Or Too Much?" questions. It really has been an invaluable resource for me!

That being said, I've used OPG and AAR pretty much exclusively with my kids. I agree that OPG will save time. The scope and sequence for teaching the phonograms are different in the programs, but in general you would want to pick up on/around lesson 84 in OPG to make sure you're covering everything. If you've only completed level 1-2 in AAR, then your child is still missing many of the long vowel pairs (ai, ay, ea, ie, oa, ue). They would also need to be taught a lot of the silent letter pairs (igh, augh, ought, gn) or some of the less common ones like ci making the sh sound. They may be reading very well now, but I do think its important to complete phonics as I think it does translate to better reading and spelling down the road. And it really only takes 15 minutes a day. If I were you, I would flip through the index of lessons in the back of OPG and see where you would feel comfortable starting your child. As an incoming first grader, they would be doing great starting at lesson 84, and you could finish the book by the end of the school year if you did one lesson a day. You could always skip lessons you feel your child is comfortable with, though the recommendation is "two review and one new" each day. OPG covers some great words at the end of the book that he likely could not read right now (technique, etiquette, Xavier, repetitious).

Being an incoming first grader though, I would expect your child to be still working on phonics, starting spelling, writing, and maybe grammar. You could do both Spelling Workout and Explode the Code. Explode the Code is mostly for phonics reinforcement, but I think it provides good handwriting and a little spelling practice, but not enough to use as a spelling curriculum. A few pages a day is sufficient imo. I would also start Writing with Ease (WWE) level 1 and if you wanted, First Language Lessons (done orally). If my child knows how to write the letters already, then I don't require a separate handwriting program, I just require their best handwriting when they do the copy work in WWE. 

Lastly, for your 4 year old. Many people, including myself, dislike the first 26 lessons in OPG that teach the letters. The poem is just too wordy and feels forced. We prefer to use Leapfrog Letter Factory (cheap on prime video) and flashcards (have the child tell me if the letter is upper/lowercase, the letter name, and its sound). I highly recommend checking this video out, it's old now, but all of my kids still love it. Then when your child has automatic recall of all the letters and their sounds, start on lesson 27 in OPG.

 

This is very much helpful. Thank you so much. My first grader does know how to write all of his letters and numbers so it’s good to know that explode the code and WWE would be enough for handwriting. 
 

I am going to look at lesson 84 later on and see if I think it’s a good starting point. 
 

That’s good to know about the first 26 lessons for my 4 year old. I think that’s why I switched to AAR with my older son because he hated how those first few lessons were even though he has an excellent memory. 
 

I do have a copy of The Well Trained Mind but need to re read again. I am always worried I will drop the ball in an area that I shouldn’t. 
 

I am definitely saving this response. Again thank you!

[Brooke]

On 8/9/2024 at 11:50 PM, alpinegrace said:

Hi Brooke! It sounds like you need to pick up a copy of The Well Trained Mind 🙂 It will serve you well and help answer those "Am I Doing Enough? Or Too Much?" questions. It really has been an invaluable resource for me!

That being said, I've used OPG and AAR pretty much exclusively with my kids. I agree that OPG will save time. The scope and sequence for teaching the phonograms are different in the programs, but in general you would want to pick up on/around lesson 84 in OPG to make sure you're covering everything. If you've only completed level 1-2 in AAR, then your child is still missing many of the long vowel pairs (ai, ay, ea, ie, oa, ue). They would also need to be taught a lot of the silent letter pairs (igh, augh, ought, gn) or some of the less common ones like ci making the sh sound. They may be reading very well now, but I do think its important to complete phonics as I think it does translate to better reading and spelling down the road. And it really only takes 15 minutes a day. If I were you, I would flip through the index of lessons in the back of OPG and see where you would feel comfortable starting your child. As an incoming first grader, they would be doing great starting at lesson 84, and you could finish the book by the end of the school year if you did one lesson a day. You could always skip lessons you feel your child is comfortable with, though the recommendation is "two review and one new" each day. OPG covers some great words at the end of the book that he likely could not read right now (technique, etiquette, Xavier, repetitious).

Being an incoming first grader though, I would expect your child to be still working on phonics, starting spelling, writing, and maybe grammar. You could do both Spelling Workout and Explode the Code. Explode the Code is mostly for phonics reinforcement, but I think it provides good handwriting and a little spelling practice, but not enough to use as a spelling curriculum. A few pages a day is sufficient imo. I would also start Writing with Ease (WWE) level 1 and if you wanted, First Language Lessons (done orally). If my child knows how to write the letters already, then I don't require a separate handwriting program, I just require their best handwriting when they do the copy work in WWE. 

Lastly, for your 4 year old. Many people, including myself, dislike the first 26 lessons in OPG that teach the letters. The poem is just too wordy and feels forced. We prefer to use Leapfrog Letter Factory (cheap on prime video) and flashcards (have the child tell me if the letter is upper/lowercase, the letter name, and its sound). I highly recommend checking this video out, it's old now, but all of my kids still love it. Then when your child has automatic recall of all the letters and their sounds, start on lesson 27 in OPG.

 

We did lesson 84 today and it was a great start and so much quicker! I have hope this transition will work for us. Thanks so much!