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All About Spelling Level 1 with 11 year old
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I borrowed the teachers manual for AAS level one months ago, and have glacned at it briefly. In one sense I think it would be a good fit for my 11 yo struggling spelling, in another I know that he knows all the words in it, and the techniques seem too childish. I would not be able to reuse with my 7 yo natural speller — he’s WAY beyond this. I am planning to use Spelling Wisdom with him in a year or so. I would love to hear from another person who has used level one with an older child. What or how did you modify to make it work for an older learn?
Should I just try Spelling Wisdom for the rest of this year for my older instead and re-evaluate at the end of the term?
I really don’t know as I have been in your shoes, and still am. I have a 13yo who kind of struggles with spelling, well, I think so. He misspells pretty common words, but sometimes I think it’s just a laziness (in this area) or lack of attention/detail in this area. His penmanship is neat/tidy, he is a motivated kid, just struggles with remembering certain words, etc. Anyhow, I have AAS and SW. I tried AAS and as you mentioned it is a little young for their age, but was encouraged to not skip the lessons, just go through them quickly. I had not understood the program very well and intend to retry it, in the meantime, we’re back to SW. I have bumped up his copywork quite a bit and I believe that is helping as well. So now he has SW and 2 Queens CW books, which he likes very much. He prefers the copywork to be from Queens and the “spelling lessons” to be SW. He just goes over the unfamiliar words and works on those. I believe if we keep this up it we will see some marked improvement.
I haven’t counted out AAS, but I have been overly busy these past 2 weeks to add it in again, but I plan to.
Sometimes I think it’s just laziness in terms of his spelling, also. When he was in PS they didn’t make a big deal over the spelling, but his printing was atrocious. Printing has definately improved in that I can now make out what he is writing. Neatness is coming as he learns to pay close attention and undo many bad form habits. It’s definately coming. I am a little concerned about starting SW dictation too soon, before the printing becomes habit. I don’t want him to be too focused on one skill and slip in quality with the other. I really want to set him up for success.
I think you’re right about the penmanship. I think I’ve read that that should not be a struggle when introducing dictation. Hopefully a more experienced CMer will chime in and give you some solid advice. If it helps, the AAS does not include much writing (especially in the beginning), so that would not/should not affect him in processing the sounds for spelling. I do believe there is some writing later on but I think it’s more in “list” form, not sentences for dictation. Maybe when the writing kicks in (in AAS) it won’t be that big of a deal to write one word at a time, and not having it approached from a dictation perspective. Make sense??
My 13yo doesn’t have any issues with his penmanship or dictation (we’ve been working on it for about 2 school years, maybe longer?) so I don’t worry about that. His issue is just remembering “how” words are spelled and applying that memory to his work (written narrations, study guide ques., letters, etc.).
HTH and hopefully someone else will have better advice.
I really like Spelling Power.
I don’t know if this is helpful, but I will tell you I started my then 10 1/2 YO son in Level A of Spelling Power (very basic) b/c he was new to the English language. It wasn’t dumbed down and he took well to it. It has been great. I am ashamed almost to admit I have let Spelling go for the last few months. It will be coming back into DS, 12, and DS, 9, schedule very soon.
I have not used AAS or Spelling Wisdom so can’t compare. I do really like Spelling Power though and it works well I think for starting at any age (they even discuss this in the user guide portion of the book) at any level. It is also non-consumable and suitable all the way through. Very cost effective.
Just finished AAS Level 1 with my dd (almost 8 yrs.) We have loved it and are looking forward to Level 2! I must say that it is right on her level, but if I had an older student I think it might insult them!!! Level 1 is geared for younger students, but if you prefaced it by letting your older student know that this is simply a review and if you demonstrate understanding we will move through it quickly, etc. Maybe not make them segment 3 letter words… Anyway, depending on the level of struggle, I think it could be beneficial to start at the beginning. AAS also has a really good return policy (1 Year/ Used).
Ok so I started my 12 yr old on level 1. YES it was easy, but did he learn something ABSOLULETLY. Would i have skipped it many things would not make since that do now. I feel that you really need to do it in order with this program and it all is worth it. Now you could get away without the extra stuff and just find a teacher manual somewhere with an older child. But I do feel strongly that the information in it is vital to the entire program. We did level 1 & 2 with my 12, 11, and 9 yr old in 1 year. It had a few things they needed in each book. We just started the 3 kids mentioned on book 3 and it’s going well. Only doing it about 2 times a week and reviewing often. That’s just my 2 cents. I think it’s wonderful. I have learned so much from this program. Even the simple things like how many sounds o or y really make.
Good luck
Have you looked at Sequential Spelling? It has worked for us. It’s really simple and it shows the kids how to build words using with they already know. For example… in becomes pin, becomes sin, becomes spin, becomes spinning, etc. It has worked with my son when nothing else would. You can download a pretty good sample of it online. It’s really simple, but effective. I mention it because I think what it really did for my son was force him to slow down and think about how to spell the words, and whether or not he could make an educated guess at how to spell something he was unsure of. He was 9 and 1/2 and we started him with level one.
With AAS it is important to start from the beginning. You may breeze through a level or two, but you’re learning the rules and phonograms as you go. You will miss important parts if you skip ahead. Like mentioned above, skip something if you know they’ve got it & mention it’s an in depth review. My dd11 is using level 3, she would be on level 5, but I tried straight dictation for months with so-so results and then a different program for a bit. Level 3 words are easy for her, but the rules she’s learning are very helpful.
Ok. I think maybe I’m even more undecided.
My initial pull was to Spelling Power. I’m trying to sort out how much my consideration of AAS is because people keep telling me it’s the one to go with. I like many of the ideas of it, but I am turned off by the basic over-simplicity that I think will turn my son right off, but can’t know for sure. I would try it if I had the cards, but I don’t think I would get all the sounds for all the phonograms — I’m sure I’d forget something. And I really don’t know that I want to invest in them unless I’m sure this is what I want to go with.
Sequential spelling also looks interesting.
My oldest hates spelling, and it’s one reason we really haven’t done any yet this year. My younger is a little strange — he will often spell as he speaks “Can I have a c-o-o-k-i-e please?”
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