How to help DD Yr2 with writing

[wocka]

My DD has just turned 7 (yesterday) and is in year 2.

She got a 1a in writing, which her report states is working significantly below national expected level.

Her reading level was 2b.

The report lists 9 statements of skill acquisition, which I assume are standard across schools for SATs. She has been ticked as meeting 8 of the 9, which should mean that they are used confidently and competently. The unticked statement is number 7 - I point out all of the full stops on a page of writing in a children's book and I can begin to use them in my writing.

She has been given two targets:
To use sounds carefully when spelling words independently
To try to put full stops at the end of each thought.

Considering that she is significantly below the expected level I would have thought that more would be required to bring her up to the expected standard?

What more can I do at home to support her? I have EducationCity on trial and I am going to subscribe. I will buy her a special note book and encourage her to write a few sentances every day. I would be grateful for any other ideas.

Sorry my post is so long. I haven't posted much before and it is difficult to know what to put in and leave out.

TIA

[mrz]

The targets are small steps to meet the next standard/stage (not everything she needs to do to catch up which would be overwhelming).
I would try "rainbow writing" buy her some lovely sparkly gel pens and when she writes she must change colour after each full stop.
not a fan of EducationCity TBH

[wocka]

Good idea about the gel pens.

Do you have any suggestions for literacy based software as she does enjoy doing things on the computer?

[aries12]

I have a daughter the same age and year (7 next month). 1a is very low in my opinion and the reading is probably a bit low as well.
The following are some of the things I did during the year with my Dd and she has achieved a lot of level 3's but having said that had I not put the effort in I doubt she would have had such a good report.

Perhaps you could get her one of those project copies...get her to draw a picture (fun bit ) on the top part and write a few sentences every day.."Today is Sunday...describe the weather or something she will be doing or did the previous day...I did that a lot when my Dd was in Year 1 and I encouraged her to write properly and I had an eraser in one hand and got her to repeat careless work. It worked to be honest.
Next, if the spellings are poor, look up the spelllings she did during the year or ask her teacher for list of what she should know. Encourage her to do a few a day, write them out, put them in a sentence e.t.c.
Reading is so important so look at the books she can manage without help and spend time reading with her. Perhaps at night time read a story and the next night see if she can read a few pages. Highlight the words she has difficulty with and keep going over them.
Maths...get some books from WHS I have used Collins work books, Mental Maths (Andrew Brodie) and there are plenty of others. Do a few pages or even a page with her every day. Marks and Spencers do books which match the curriculum as well. They have good "times tables" books and a "time " workbook.
Finally, I also ahave a book called "Year 2 No Fuss photocopiables"..probably a teachers book for lesson plans but it has worksheets on Maths, English and Science. It is £12 but good for variation and ready made exercises.
It is difficult to start doing all this but when you see an improvement your Dd will get more confident and faster at doing the work. Give her little treats or take her somewhere as a reward for doing the work.
If there is a Kip McGrath centre near you they may be able to help as well during the Summer, they specialise in Maths and English. I have seen children's work there and it seems very good. All the taechers are fully qualified but I would say try doing the work yourself first.

[aries12]

Forgot to mention good website for imporoving reading skills..Starfall.com and it's free...I would not recommend subscribing to too many software/education websites...maybe allow them as extra "treat" for good work.

[mrz]

I don't think on line software actually helps writing (reading yes writing not IME). Children need to write to become writers ... good readers often make good writers as they understand how written language works (and write like writers not speakers).
www.everybodywrites.org.uk/writing-games/profile/pies-writing-games/
www.alanpeat.com/resources/BOYS.html
webfronter.com/lewisham/primarycommunity/menu2/Courses_Information_and_Resources/Pie_Corbett_Story_telling_into_Writing_220906.pdf

[wocka]

Thanks for all the good suggestions.

I have been doing a lot of work with her over the past few months, although I had been concentrating on maths as that seemed to be her weakest area - she got a 2b in maths although it was a 1b in the autumn.

I had been considering Kip McGrath - there is a centre about 5 miles away.

I will try Starfall.com

[mrz]

www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishhome.htm

www.ks2phonics.org.uk/SwSGames.htm

If she is reading as a 2b I don't think she needs starfall

[teacherwith2kids]

I wouldn't go for Education City for writing.

It has some games to rehearse some 'word level' aspects of writing, and a few at 'sentence level', but to become better at writing you need to write, not play games about plurals etc.

[wocka]

Thanks for the links Mrz. I have seen several worksheets on the primary resources site that I will use.

[wocka]

I have given DD a special notebook and different coloured pens.

She was very excited and wrote 17 lines. However there are a lot of spelling mistakes.

How much should I correct her work as I want to encourage her to write every day and don't want to put her off.

[mrz]

I would only correct words that aren't a plausible attempt at spelling "unknown" words and words she should know.

[mrz]

She got a 1a for writing the 2b is her reading level

[wannabefree]

I can't believe aries12 thinks 2b for reading at year 2 is 'a bit low.' Some super-pushy parents on this board...thought I was bad!

[mrz]

sorry

[mrz]

I wouldn't be concerned about a 2b for reading in Y2 and I would not suggest Kip McGrath or similar programmes for the OPs daughter.

[wocka]

She has been very keen to write today and wants me to read it, but she loses interest when I try to correct anything.

I think I will step back and just encourage her to write every day for the next few days, read what she has written and comment positively on the content.

She is talking about using wow words, connectives etc. I think I need to get her confident and interested in writing things down before suggesting ways to improve it.

I think if I continue this over the summer holidays there should be some improvement by the start of year 3.

I am not worried about her reading as she enjoys it. We will do the reading challenge during the holidays.

Changing the subject slightly - should the school be offering additional help to get her up to the expected standard?

[Whogivesa]

Don't do too much though and turn her off writing! She needs time to just be a kid. Reading what Aries suggests makes me feel exhausted!

My child's school uses actions for punctuation...so a forward punch is a full stop so you say a sentence then punch and say full stop if that makes sense without seeing it. They do lots if other actions too for ? And ! Etc!!

Try not to worry if you can though, she is still young and her reading is going great, sure the rest will follow.

[mrz]

www.andrelleducation.co.uk/what-we-do/big-writing-wiki/

check big writing as it seems she uses VCOP at school

[singinggirl]

What you are doing now with the note book and gel pens sounds great. Speaking as a teacher, the most important thing you can get is their enthusiasm. If she goes back to school in September with an attitude that she can write, that will take her a long way. The fine motor skills needed for writing are also hard for many children (your DD is young in the year, so this is particularly relevant). The practice will help these, and when children are finding the physical aspect of writing easier they have more menntal energy to give to spelling, punctuation etc.

I would also concentrate on her reading - not because it is poor, but because this is an area she can feel confident in, which will build her confidence with other aspects of work. She will see the spellings written, and the punctuation used, which will in turn impact on her writing. Finally, remember that nearly all children at Primary level have a writing level below their reading one - that is normal. It isn't the government target, but it is what happens in reality!