DD just cannot pass her spelling test

[Pantone363]

She's had the same 6 spellings for 4 weeks. She came out of school yedterday so disheartened that again she hadn't passed and has to do them again for another week.

We've tried everything, flash cards, her repeatedly writing them out, chalking them on the board, cutting out the letters and getting her to put the words together. Personally I am sick of reading the same bloody words over and over

Any hints or tips?! I'm tempted to just tell her it doesn't bloody matter or sharpie the words on her hand!

[caravanista13]

I think you need to talk to her teacher and explain how she's feeling
(though surely they should know!). It must surely be possible to try some new words and come back to these another time.

[TheseSoles]

Poor DD!

It sounds like she's tried really hard, I would definitely discuss this with the teacher.

[Pantone363]

She's tried SO hard. Ironically she can get 4/5 of them at home consistently but she only got ONE right at school

[sashh]

I'm dyslexic so sympathise, no amount of cutting out / writing would work.

I had at one stage a very old fashioned English teacher, she was strict, called us 'gels' and took no nonsense.

She was also a believer in dyslexia (only one in the school in the 1970s).

She had us learn certain spellings by rote - I don't mean writing them down but she would say, "address" and you were expected to say, "A double D R E double S", a bit like a spelling bee.

Strangely enough these spellings have stuck - I might still write letters in the wrong order but I can recite them, and once written down I can cover the paper and go through revealing one letter at a time.

How old is dd?

Would the teacher allow her to do the test orally?

I'm also a bit of a hippy and a teacher, I tell some of my students that when they are revising they should stimulate as many senses as possible, so eat mints, spray perfume / burn oils etc, then when they are doing the test try to have the same smells / taste / etc.

I'm assuming she is primary so not that easy but maybe a special small teddy (if teacher will agree) that she can recite spellings to at home and have on her desk doing the test at school - you could sneak a bit of perfume on it for her to sniff.

[longdiling]

I'd go in and explain to the teacher that your DD CAN spell those words at home and that the problem is the test itself. It's clearly not serving it's purpose and must be so upsetting for her. Can't the teacher tell from any writing they do at school whether she knows how to spell the words?

I thought spelling tests were seen as outdated and ineffective these days. Mine have only ever once had to do a spelling test - and that was when my eldest had the crappest teacher in the school teaching them for a few weeks.

[SunnyBaudelaire]

I honestly do not think it matters that much in the greater scheme of her education, it is only a spelling test, and as longdiling said, are they not discredited as being ineffective these days anyway~?

I say, stop torturing your poor daughter and do something more educational with your spare time.

[SunnyBaudelaire]

yes use a sharpie and she can do the test like Dusty Springfield

[StaircaseAtTheUniversity]

I was always the kid in primary school who looked like a twat at spelling test time. I'm now an English teacher with a masters in English literature.... Thus proving it is all a load of bollocks.

Talk to the teacher as your DD must be feeling pretty disheartened, but this too shall pass.

[SkodaLabia]

Is she musical at all, OP? I'd definitely second the idea of rhythmically reciting the spelling so it get into her head. It's the only way I can spell 'accommodation' even now:
a double c
o double m
o d
a t
I O N!

[SunnyBaudelaire]

my mum had clever ways of helping us remember tricky spellings, with mnemonics.
So the BEAU at the beginning of beautiful was 'Elephants Are Ugly' - I still find myself muttering it when I write!
Or she would remind us that any kind of 'there' 'their' 'they're' all begin with THE.
Dear old mum.

[favouritewasteoftime]

What are the words? Have you tried mnemonics? E.g 'because' = Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants.

[favouritewasteoftime]

Cross post!

[TeenAndTween]

Why is she being given the same spellings week after week?
That seems to me to be soul destroying.

How old is she anyway?

[SheHasAWildHeart]

DD has trouble with spellings. We downloaded some apps that have really helped. There's one where she or you can record your voice saying a word, then play it back and write the word. That was useful.

DD is a visual learner so we bought a massive roll of paper from ikea. On the weekend we take her spellings and just decorate the paper with those words in bright colours and decorate with all sorts of arty stuff, pages cut out of magazines etc. we then stick it up on her bedroom wall and as she sees it every day it kinda sticks in her mind better.

I have also found the Schofield & Sims books recommended on MN to be really, really useful. My sister used them for her dyslexic son and they really helped him too.

[SheHasAWildHeart]

I would say as an ex-teacher that being given the same spellings each week is not a good idea. I know that when DD finds certain words or sounds difficult we try for a few days then move onto something else. Sometimes the new words 'click' better which then gives her motivation to return to the first set of words.

[Pantone363]

She's FIVE! In reception.

Spellings are : Called, Looked, Asked, What, When, Our

She never gets 'our' but is pretty ok on the others although 'called' is pretty shakey! I spoke to teacher at pick up, she has new reading words instead

[favouritewasteoftime]

What about our = 'o (oh) u (you) r (are) so good at spellings'. That would only work if she knows the letter names, of course.

[CaptainSubtext]

5?! Crikey that's very young for spelling tests :(

[Thenapoleonofcrime]

What type of school is she in?! I would just go in and tell the teacher that your dd is getting upset about the spelling test and can't do them, and that after four weeks, you expect them to be encouraging her not causing distress and demotivation. I stopped doing spellings with my dd2 in Year 1 of primary as she always did very badly (1/2 out of 8) and it was upsetting her, all week would be spent doing the impossible so I just told the teacher we would no longer be doing the spelling homework and that I was happy to chat to the head teacher about why.

My dd2 is still a poor speller, but much improved.

I don't think many children could spell those words, my dd2 might get one or two wrong and she's 9!

Just call a halt to this, and go higher if you have to, a month of torture is enough!

[SchoolTripNot]

My dd would not be able to read, let alone spell those words!

[VirginiaTonic]

The teacher is an idiot!

[Pantone363]

its a normal state school!

OK I feel much better now, DD was getting so bored with the words and so was I!

Teacher has said to just learn some new reading words instead. First two on the list? Looked and Called

[SkodaLabia]

Gosh, that's dismal. DD is just five and doesn't do spelling tests at all. How dispiriting for you both.

[proudmama2772]

thenapoleanofcrime - agree with that post.

I have a dd who is dyslexic and an older dd who was never diagnosed but I think had a small degree of dyslexia. My hubby was diagnosed at Uni. Don't worry too much if 5 year old struggles to memorize spellings. Can she read them? Can she read and recognize phonics patterns? If not, monitor her and get her tested if the problem persists.

She is still so young.

[LooksLikeImStuckHere]

That's quite a demanding list for Reception, let alone the fact they are even doing spelling tests in Reception

If she isn't able to retain all of them then stop trying. Take three of them and ignore the others. In terms of the most important for later writing I would focus on what, when and our.

Sometimes it can help to look for hidden words. I always teach children that there's a hat in what and a hen in when. Sometimes it helps to write them out with the hidden words in different colours.

As for our, the mnemonic way suggested by a previous poster was a good idea.

If you wanted to focus on the other three, teach her call look and ask first. The ending is all the same so is easy to shove on after.

I suggest these ideas with a heavy heart, knowing that she really should not be having spelling tests in Reception. What a way to start your school life