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Sept v Jan intake ................. catch up?

6 replies

2pumpkin2pumpkin1 · 02/10/2006 16:45

DTDs (yr1) have been put into a 'high' set for reading. But they are the only Jan intake students with 4 Sept intake children.

They have implied (5yr old style) that the teacher is making assumptions about the jolly phonics 'diagraphs' (i.e. sh, ch, th, ee etc...) which I know the Sept lot were taught last year while Jan lot were still doing stuff DTDs did at nursery.

Does anyone know how they even out the divide between Sept & Jan intake pupils?

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2pumpkin2pumpkin1 · 02/10/2006 22:24

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singersgirl · 03/10/2006 09:46

Not quite sure I understand your question. Do you mean that your daughters haven't learned those digraphs because they were January intake, whereas the September intake children have?

If they are in the high reading set, the teacher must feel that they can read as well as the other children. And if they're in the high reading set in Y1, I'd assume they must know the sounds those letter combinations make even if they weren't explicitly taught them - the top reading group in DS2's Y1 class are reading fluently at a high Y2 level or beyond in some cases.

Is that what you meant? They only have one intake at the DSs' school so it hasn't been an issue.

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2pumpkin2pumpkin1 · 03/10/2006 13:21

Yes basically.

Sept lot have been taught diagraphs but Jan lot have not.
They are fluent readers of purely phonic words like c-a-n, d-o-g etc. but they struggle with non-phonic ones like that, make, cook etc, which I think the Sept lot can do (at leasr the better readers). Those they can do are ones that they have committed to memory, but I feel they need to learn the 'principals' to help them progress. I think the teacher has assumed they know the principals from elsewhere (i.e. home taught).

I guess it made me realise that there are differences in the material they covered in R, depending when they started. I wondered how they help normalise them. Both for literacy, numeracy & other areas.

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singersgirl · 03/10/2006 13:27

Firstly, have a chat to the teacher and explain your concerns - I'm sure she'll notice anyway if your girls are having trouble with unfamiliar words. She might reassure you about how she's teaching digraphs etc this term/year.

You could also get hold of the Jolly Phonics handbook which I think is brilliant for teaching all the digraphs, or Jolly Grammar 1, which is aimed more specifically at Year 1 and covers common spelling patterns.

Hope this helps. Ours all started school together, but they are going over basic letter sounds this term, even though half the class are reading at at a Y2 level or above, so I guess they will cover some digraphs as well.

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Gobbledispook · 03/10/2006 13:32

Ds1 is in yr 1 and for some reason they are 'revising' a diagraph each week and the spellings reflect them. So far they've done 'ch' and 'sh' and a couple of others again.

They're not an issue for ds1 at all, but OTOH I go in and read and there are some that can still not tell me that 'c' and 'h' is 'ch'. The teachers obviously know what they are doing!

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2pumpkin2pumpkin1 · 03/10/2006 13:38

I just worry that they will miss out on or skim the 'revising' that the lower groups are doing because their group can 'already' do it.

They are being introduced thru spellings & they are picking it up well but they have spent 4 weeks doing sh & ch & that doesn't help them read make, look, or feet IYSWIM.

Part of me feels I should get the Jolly phonics stuff, part of me thinks it is not my job.

I will talk to teacher at parents evening in a couple of weeks. I just wondered if anyone had experience of how they 'catch up'.