Lucia, Looking forward to trying out the AAS program with my boys – it comes highly recommended. Although I'm not sure there's really such a thing as a book that forces you to think. 2) can we do level 2 in a semester if he can skim through them easily. I’m going to look into it! This is what we are recommending here. I still had to figure out how to fit all those content areas into our school day and apply some time limits for daily instruction. I often stop to see if my kids know a word, or they will stop me and ask for a definition. This article helps reveal a good overall perspective. There are some things I liked about it though. Try breaking instruction up into 6-, 9-, 12-, or 18-week segments, or use a program that incorporates both content areas. I hope this helps. My child is 3.5 years old. If your 8-year-old is moving through level 2 of AAR and AAS with some ease, then he may be ready for writing. Assigning just 20 minutes of reading daily for the entire year will help to improve your students’ reading skills and I highly recommend it. I still read aloud to my 12 and 10 year olds. I still read to my high school and junior high students, and I will continue as long as I can get away with it! Go as slowly as your student needs to have a high level of success. Then cozy grammar and iew. Most of our customers wait until their students have a good start in reading and spelling before adding a grammar program. Hi Robin, I am starting out as a 9th grade English teacher. However, the goal should always be mastery of the material and not finishing a level. He can read the last story of level 2 but i saw him struggling with first story in level 3. Instead, you and your child can do things like writing with an index finger in sand or in pudding or on carpet squares or any other tactile surface. We are looking for confident, fluent reading before going on to the next level. By the time my son reached 6th grade and had done IEW for three years, I found I wanted more solid instruction in sentence to sentence organization within a paragraph. – The Sentence Family is a simple and fun program aimed at 3rd through 6th graders. It sounds like your son may be ready to begin AAS. Waiting to add spelling until my son was finished with AAR1 really helped build his confidence. learn to read faster than they learn to write or spell, great reasons to read aloud to your children. Or should I be incorporating more than those 2? Here are some suggestions (in no particular order): – Winston Grammar is a hands-on program with color-coded cards and is generally aimed at students in 4th to 7th grades. Thank you for this article. Would you like to hear how a seasoned homeschooler makes language arts work in her household? I guess I have been feeling a little stressed about spellling because my state requires it to be taught in Grade One… confusing to know what to do. There are levels for 1st-12th grades. AAS teaches words from the spelling angle, and AAR teaches words from the reading angle. However, if you have more questions or concerns, just let me know. Hi, Placement for spelling is based on the student’s knowledge of spelling rules and concepts rather than grade level, reading level, or the words a student has memorized. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend more time doing fun pre-writing activities. Thanks for this pro tip! We have been very pleased with the AAS and AAR programs. "I before E except after C" is a lie. I really liked it. We typically recommend waiting to begin All About Spelling level 1 after finishing All About Reading level 1. But even better are the comments, that really get specific. Please let us know if you have further questions. I find the order of focus list very helpful. there can be different several possible ways of answering any question. I like to do 30 to 60 minutes of daily language arts instruction for kindergarten and first grade, and 60 to 90 minutes each day for second grade and up. Also, AAR 3 and AAS 3 are not “3rd grade” as our levels are not grade level. Thanks a lot!!! Thanks! I wish I could have used this on my son from the beginning. My 5 year old is very anxious to spell everything, but I didn’t want to start him too soon, since his reading is still about half way through AAR 1. I love your reading and spelling programs, and your helpful blog posts to keep us inspired! Both are complete phonics programs, so they are interrelated in that way. We have been doing similar but really appreciate your breakdown of steps. It sounds like he is ready for All About Reading level 3! Yes, many times students do better when they become proficient at one aspect of Language before adding in the next thing. I am using AAR Level 1 with my grandson who is 6. We have a history of dyslexia and my 5 year old is showing all the signs, so I imagine it will take us about 2 years to get to that point. Alia Wong October 7, 2019. I’m happy to hear you found this helpful. If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? The program uses drawing pictures along with a storyline to teach parts of speech and how they relate to each other. You’re welcome, Rebecka! Minette, Is it possible to alternate days for the subjects, or focus on 9 week segments? Yet, even with the late start they were writing well and on grade level within just a couple of years or less. Let me know if you have any questions. The complexity is embedded in the definition: English/Language Arts is the study from elementary through secondary grades of reading, composition, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and dramatics. I just had a thought. Yes, these approaches apply whether the language you are working on is your native language or not. Love your programs just trying to get my head around the timing of everything!! Thank you! But it is great at getting reluctant writers to write, and it teaches solid research skills, especially outlining from a source. Grammar is incremental and uses very short lessons. It’s easy to rush through these things to get to “real” writing is and reading. – Essentials in Writing is both multi-sensory and incremental (my co-worker, Merry, used this for years and was very happy with it). Anne, I started off by working on these topics informally. I have 2 sons… 1 is working on level 1 AAR and AAS (he is 10) the other is on level 2 AAR and AAS (he’s 8) if we are using both curriculums for each child, is that considered covering Language Arts? You are welcome. There are many ways to customize instruction in these areas. He notes that formal grammar should be studied with a foreign language and English grammar in the context of writing and editing, and I couldn’t agree more. Do you have any suggestions for how to set my schedule up for my classroom. It also has grammar included for 1st-6th grade levels, and optional grammar dvd included in Jr. High levels. That means, yes, it is feasible for a student to move through a level in half a year or even less, especially if most of it is review. Please let me know if you have further quesitons. Other lower level writing curriculum give students writing assignments but ask the parent to serve as the scribe, writing what the student says. Do you have any recommendations on writing program? Doing a focused 9-week unit just on vocabulary may not allow enough time for students to really know one set of words before new ones are added. Some to other writing programs to consider: – Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King is incremental. That would mean no writing instruction until about year 3. You are welcome, Lynette. From this and from learning to read, your child will learn that sentences and proper names start with capital letters, that sentences end with periods, question marks, or exclamation points (and when to use each), and many other foundational skills of writing. She is thriving with the visual and hands on approach of AAR so I’m trying to find a good grammar to add it. As for All About Spelling, the article Which Spelling Level Should We Start With? I’m glad this was helpful for you, but if you have questions or need more help, just let me know. Most of our customers wait until their students have a good start in reading and spelling before adding a grammar program. Let me know if you have any more questions as well. You really break it down incrementally. Thanks for helping me to think this through. There are a number of grammar programs available that have either multisensory components or an incremental approach. When your child is ready for more, you can begin to add in writing and grammar. However, there isn’t any harm in waiting until your student has foundational skills in place to begin formal writing.