Considering switching to All About Spelling -- need advice

[Kate in Arabia]

I have always used Spelling Workout with my kids. My older is a natural speller, has been sailing through this program. He started with level A, and is now in F, easily doing two lessons a week.

 

My poor younger is not a natural speller. I have continued with the program with him, but I feel like I'm really doing him a disservice at this point and need to switch to something else. He did level A last year and is still struggling through level B, but even after a week of work (exercises, word searches, etc. -- I have stopped short of flat-out memorizing drill) he still gets half or more than half wrong.

 

And I thought that he was a poor reader in general. But I just went through the CAT with him last week, and discovered that actually he is a fairly good reader. He did well on the reading comprehension sections. He did poor on language mechanics.

 

I had thought to try All about Spelling next year. I am really not into changing curriculum much (clearly), so this is a step for me, lol. I also have limitations on what I can physically get, in that I really need to try and get everything I need in June; it's hard for me to get more things later, or worse yet to return or exchange.

 

So first of all, is All about Spelling a good choice here? Should I be thinking about something else? Second, do I just get level 1 and the starter kit? Would I need to get levels 1 and 2 for a full year (3rd grade)?

 

Thanks in advance for any and all advice...

[arcara]

I think AAS would be a good choice. I switched my 3rd grader to it this year, and she's doing SOOOOOOOOOO much better with her spelling now! I would recommend getting 2 levels now. Many kids go through level 1, and sometimes level 2, quickly.

[violin69]

I highly recommend AAS for children struggling with language mechanics. Dd would have been bored as she's a natural speller but ds. He really needed this and he's doing very well. We've been moving quickly through Level One. This coming year he will be doing Levels 2 and possibly 3. It depends on where your ds is struggling. If he has the CVC, I'd think to do Levels 1 & 2 or 1 -3.

[Emmy]

I think you will see good results from AAS - I'd get the starter kit and levels 1 and 2 for a complete school year at that age.

[nukeswife]

I used AAS for my son who was in about the same spot as yours this past year. He was in 4th but basically the same, reading comprehension was fine, spelling and mechanics not so much. I would recommend getting Levels 1 and 2 at the very least. He should be able to got through level 1 pretty fast, and even though it may seem too easy I encourage you to just go through it at a quick pace instead of skipping it. By it being easier it will help him build confidence. I thought my son was a good reader and AAS has helped him improve in his reading as well, he doesn't stumble over longer words that may be a bit harder for him anymore.

 

If you would like to ask more questions about it first I encourage you to go to the Chatterbee, It's AAS's forums and the people there are very helpful.

[alegnab]

I think you should switch. AAS is a fantastic program. I also think you should buy the first two levels. And it wouldn't be a bad idea to take your "natural speller" through AAS, too. He would be able to fly through it quickly, but he'd probably learn some things.

[Mommy22alyns]

Another thumbs-up for AAS! I'd buy levels 1 and 2 - you may breeze through 1. And I also agree on it working for natural spellers (Becca is one, as am I). It's a great way to learn the rules without being too stifling or boring for good readers.

[ElizabethB]

A smart child who has learned a fair number of sight words (either directly taught them or picked them up on their own) will score high on comprehension questions but can be actually not that great of a reader.

 

The MWIA or my nonsense word test (New Elizabethian Test) is a better indicator of how he is actually reading: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html

 

Some free options you could try that are similar to AAS are Pollard's Spellers, and, a recent find by Don Potter that I really like, it has Greek and Latin roots, too, "The Spelling-Book Consisting of Word in Columns and Sentences for Oral and Written Exercises Together with Prefixes, Affixes, and Important Roots from the Greek and Latin Languages" by William D. Swan (1854)

 

Scroll to the bottom of Don's Spelling book page for the Swan Speller. The spelling rules begin on page 43. He links to Pollard about 3/4 of the way down the page.

 

http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/spelling_books.html

 

These would require a bit more work on your part to teach, but you could just print out pages you need, or work from the computer and a white board.

[Veritaserum]

Another fan of AAS. :) I second the suggestion to get more than one level in your first order. My 1st-grader is on step 18 out of 25 in level 1. She started in January. I like that with AAS pieces of spelling are bite-sized and easy to understand and learn. It's improving my spelling, lol, to learn the rules. :)

[kalanamak]

 

http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/spelling_books.html

 

 

 

 

Ohhh, and anyone horsey should go to the Pollard book to page 21 and see how the sounds of vowels are compared to the position of a horse tied to a post!! You made my day.

[3lilreds in NC]

We love AAS here too! I'll cast another vote for 2 levels. My girls are 2nd & 3rd grade this year and we're into Level 2 now. We whipped right through Level 1. I've been very, very pleased with this program.

[ElizabethB]

Ohhh, and anyone horsey should go to the Pollard book to page 21 and see how the sounds of vowels are compared to the position of a horse tied to a post!! You made my day.

 

I'm glad you liked it!

 

Isn't Pollard great? I link to her on my website, too, and I own the whole series in hardback, the original 1800's books, you can get old books amazingly cheap through Alibris or abebooks.

 

She has some nice songs and lovely pictures, too. The First Reader is especially nice.

 

Edit: Here's the rest of the Pollard series, she also has readers and a teacher's manual (about 1/3 of the way down in my links, in a larger size font, I've tried to fix it about 10 times, it won't shrink!) http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/phonicsandspelli.html

Edited April 14, 2009 by ElizabethB
Typing at 11:00 PM, added rest of Pollard book links

[Kate in Arabia]

Thanks so much for everyone's comments, they have all been helpful and encouraging!

[alegnab]

...a recent find by Don Potter that I really like, it has Greek and Latin roots, too, "The Spelling-Book Consisting of Word in Columns and Sentences for Oral and Written Exercises Together with Prefixes, Affixes, and Important Roots from the Greek and Latin Languages" by William D. Swan (1854)

 

Scroll to the bottom of Don's Spelling book page for the Swan Speller. The spelling rules begin on page 43. He links to Pollard about 3/4 of the way down the page.

 

http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/spelling_books.html

 

These would require a bit more work on your part to teach, but you could just print out pages you need, or work from the computer and a white board.

 

That looks like a very good book :thumbup1: and a good option for those who can't afford the AAS program or just don't want to spend the money for all six levels. It certainly would require more teacher prep time, and it doesn't get the student to analyze words quite like AAS does. The teacher could get the student to do that, if she thinks about it. AAS has that planned into the program. For example, to determine whether to use c, ck, or k in the word bake, the teacher spells the word bake as "b-a-blank tile-e" and puts the c, k and ck on the side. The teacher then asks the student if the c will work, the student answers no, hopefully, and then has to explain why it doesn't (c would say /s/ because of the e). Then the teacher asks if ck can be used, and the student has to explain why it can't (ck is used only after a short vowel). Then the teacher (or student after he learns it) explains why k is used (we always use k in vowel-consonant-e syllables because it is the only tile that works there).

 

That book would be great to use for a student who needs more practice, since there are lots of short sentences for dictation ("Exercises for Writing"). I'm going to print some of it out, because I think I'll use it quite a bit. Thanks for the link.

[my3starsofthesea]

We've had a lot of success in our house with AAS. My ds has auditory processing issues, and could hardly spell at all. He's a 3rd grader, once we started using AAS, I started seeing huge improvements, now he's spelling better than I ever could imagined. It is a fantastic program.

[tinkgumby]

I will just add that you need to make sure and get everything you need! We put off getting the 2'x3' magnetic whiteboard (finally found one last night at Target for $17), and because of that, we always put off doing AAS! Now that we are actually set up the way we should be, we are doing it again and anticipate moving forward at a faster pace. :)

[alegnab]

I will just add that you need to make sure and get everything you need! We put off getting the 2'x3' magnetic whiteboard ...

 

Just to make it clear, a magnetic whiteboard is not required for AAS. It makes it quicker to get started each day, because the letter tiles don't have to be set up. I was planning to get one, but I didn't get it before the school year started. It didn't take me long to notice that my kids were getting a lot of practice with alphabetizing, which is good for them. So, I may never get a magnetic whiteboard.

[tinkgumby]

Just to make it clear, a magnetic whiteboard is not required for AAS.

 

Good point - thanks. I guess I'm such a visual person that it was too easy for me to skip when tucked away in an index card box - now that I have a giant whiteboard staring me in the face, it's hard to overlook! :D

[alegnab]

Good point - thanks. I guess I'm such a visual person that it was too easy for me to skip when tucked away in an index card box - now that I have a giant whiteboard staring me in the face, it's hard to overlook! :D

 

I completely understand. I had originally decided I would get a whiteboard, because I figured that spelling was more likely to get done if the letter tiles were already in place. But since I didn't decide on a particular board before school started, I decided to try AAS without it. That worked out fine. Then when we added a second line of tiles, I got ds to arrange them after dd did the first line each day. So, it helps that I don't have to arrange them.

[Sew happily ever after]

I agree you don't absolutely NEED a whiteboard. I started using the program long b/4 she introduced the magnet pieces. duh i could have thought of that on my own, but i'm more of a by the book girl. anyway, oldest dd got lots of GOOD practice with ABC order but not having them up on the board.