NC spelling list for year groups

[user789653241]

Ds has been having same homework for weeks, to learn/revise NC spelling list for YR3/4 to be tested next week. We get the sheet every week to test and check.

Tbh, these lists are too basic for children who are good at spelling.

I was just wondering, what are these lists are for. They've been learning these words from start of yr3, every week, and now they are recapping this for all this half term.

I've just tested my ds on all the words, since this is a homework, and if he didn't, he will lose his break and need to do it at school. Ds is fed up, I am fed up.

What is the point of these "need to be learned by the end of year" words for? Sorry for the rant, bit fed up doing this for last couple of weeks on the same( and a lot of) words, on Sunday evening.

[mrz]

There are 6 pages for spelling in Y3/4 in the English programme of study.

[user789653241]

I don't know if it's 6 pages, since it's printed on one A4 paper starting from "accident" and end with "women".
It says, YR3/4 statutory spelling. Each column has about 16 words and has 7 rows, so, about 112 words? (maybe less because last row has fewer words. )
Do you mean they have 6 pages of this? about 100 x 6 = 600 words, mrz?

[user789653241]

Might have mixed up column and rows. Don't know which is which!

[mrz]

That's just a general list there are five other pages covering suffixes, prefixes, homophones, near homophones, lots of phonics, etymology etc etc

[user789653241]

Oh, I get what you mean.
If it's just a general list , why the school make children memorise it?
( I know your(mrz) school doesn't)

Some children may not need to put a lot of effort in, but for some, it must be a torture to be tested 100+ words in one go. And some will totally forget it over the summer. It's just pointless.

[mrz]

http://www.bhjs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Year-3-4-Spelling-List.pdf

Spelling needs to be actively taught not left to chance with lists to learn and forget

[GraceGrape]

There are several spelling rules divided up across Y3/4 and Year 5/6 curriculum. There is also a fairly arbitrary list of "statutory" spellings that each of these age ranges is supposed to be able to spell. Some of them fit in with the spelling rules to be taught, others don't. I don't know who at the Dfe decided these particular words were more important than others.

It's not clear exactly how these words are to be assessed. I presume some of them are sprinkled into the SATS at the end of KS2. SLT at my school insists that children have to be able to spell most of these words to be assessed at age related. We teach the other spelling patterns from the curriculum in the "active" ways mrz suggests above, but there isn't time in the curriculum to spend on the rules of each of the statutory spellings as they haven't been selected by pattern and are often random. We end up just practising them in class and sending lists home. In my view, it is another pointless box-ticking exercise. As you said, your DC finds them easy to memorise whereas there will be others in his class who will really struggle.

[user789653241]

Thank you for the link, mrz. Looks like his homework spelling lists were all those words from your link throughout the year. I remember words like illegal, illegible immature, immortal,impossible, impatient,imperfect etc., was the list once.

Thank you Grace. Ds has near photographic memory, so no big deal, just pointless being made to practise the words he can already spell week after week. But for those who struggles, it's another pointless work that they need to put so much effort in(right before summer holiday). Learning to spell words in isolation(and so many of them) seems so so much a waste of time. Home work throughout the year was ok, they needed to use the words in sentence, so not totally pointless like just memorise the words to be tested.

[GraceGrape]

Agreed, pointless to just memorise.

The im/il/it prefixes are one of the spelling rules we teach in KS2, during teaching time rather than sending lists home.

[GraceGrape]

Sorry, im/il/ir prefixes

[flumpybear]

My year 3 child has spellings which are groupings of words with similar soundings or spelling rulings - her words are more challenging than that though

[Ginmummy1]

If all Y3/Y4 children are tested on this set of words (and there is no opportunity for the really good spellers to be assessed beyond this) I'd have thought they only require minimal effort (rather than parent testing the child repeatedly for several weeks). Irvineoneohone, can't you do something else with that time? (ideally provided by the teacher, but if not, suggested from home)

Looking at the list on Mrz's link, DD (Y1) has been sent that exact list home a few months ago. A few other children in the class are on that list too. No instructions with it - just a general assumption that we'd do a bit with our children at home, I guess. I'm now wondering whether I'll be feeling like you do in a couple of years, Irvineoneohone, if it will take that long to 'pass a test' on those words!

DD has also been sent home with little stapled lists of words containing the same prefix or suffix which, I also see from the link, covers some of the Y3-4 teaching. However, she's not had any explanation from school about how to apply any rules relating to prefixes/suffixes (obviously we can talk about it a bit at home).

I've realized that I have no idea how spellings are taught, and how the more advanced spellers are supposed to be stretched?

[user789653241]

Gin, yes, I would like to do something else, but no, they get the sheet to complete, and if not done, they need to do it at school.
And I don't think this year's teacher would budge, since he kept bringing home times table worksheet for homework even he mastered it long ago, and teacher suggested to do the time challenge to the extreme.
He actually did words list for KS2 in KS1, but doing it all over again. I don't mind him doing the "writing sentence" one, since he is a reluctant writer. But this is beyond pointless.

[Ginmummy1]

I feel for you - that just seems ridiculous!