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Original poster

Year 1 spelling tests

33 replies

ObsidianGrape · 12/12/2023 20:01

My daughter is year 1 and has been getting weekly spelling tests. I feel like the words are too difficult for a 5 year old and wanted to get an idea of other school year 1 parents experiences for spelling.

Last week in my daughter's test was words like rectangle, cylinder, pyramid, triangle.... No suprise but she is crying about having to go to school tomorrow and have to sit another spelling test!

Are these words usual for year 1?

aibu for thinking they are too hard!

OP posts:
Original poster
ObsidianGrape · 12/12/2023 20:16

She doesn't go to a private school. State school that's actually recently got requires improvement! Don't know if they are trying to push the kids more to improve for Ofsted, or the reason they got requires improvement!

I was trying to think back to when my son was year 1 and I don't remember him having spelling tests. Just reading. But he went to a different school year r to 2.

OP posts:
Original poster
ObsidianGrape · 12/12/2023 20:14

I think the spellings were linked to what they were learning. But definitely given as a spelling test. Most of the words were shapes.

OP posts:
InTheRainOnATrain · 12/12/2023 20:08

They would be Y1 spelling at my DD’s school (private pre prep) but they would do ‘look, cover, write’ so it’s not that hard. DD generally does well in the tests but really isn’t very good at spelling when it comes to actual writing so not sure what they achieve beyond good homework habits and getting into the routine of regular testing.

toomuchicecream · 12/12/2023 20:06

The problem with those words is that they contain phonemes she's unlikely to have covered in phonics by this stage of year 1. Silent e at the end of rectangle? C making a s sound at the start of cylinder? Y in the place of i in both cylinder and pyramid?

Different schools will have different policies on giving year 1 spellings to learn (there's not a huge amount of evidence that it's an effective use of time), but if the words mirror what the children are learning in phonics, it will reinforce their learning in school.

PTSDBarbiegirl · 12/12/2023 20:05

These words are not the common words. Unless the homework was a 3D Shape matching task that year group wouldn't be learning those words, even then they wouldn't be spelling the words. Is it a supply teacher? Spelling is differentiated so some might work on satpin, some CVC, some from the first 100 common words.

PaperDoIIs · 12/12/2023 20:05

ObsidianGrape · 12/12/2023 20:01

My daughter is year 1 and has been getting weekly spelling tests. I feel like the words are too difficult for a 5 year old and wanted to get an idea of other school year 1 parents experiences for spelling.

Last week in my daughter's test was words like rectangle, cylinder, pyramid, triangle.... No suprise but she is crying about having to go to school tomorrow and have to sit another spelling test!

Are these words usual for year 1?

aibu for thinking they are too hard!

What phonics scheme does her school use ? Her spellings should be linked to that (the sounds/rule she's learning that week in class) and so should her reading books.

Those look more like topic(in this case maths) vocabulary and don't follow a certain rule or pattern. While children should be exposed to them and the correct spellings, it's not best practice to make them part of her spelling test.

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 12/12/2023 20:05

No spelling tests in Y1 or Y2 so far. Those words are ridiculous and not many Y2 kids could do them (I can't compare to my child as she is awaiting testing for dyslexia), but I know other kids couldn't do them.

Edited to add they do have to learn spellings in homework but they are the common exception words and not like what your child has been given.

IsThePopeCatholic · 12/12/2023 20:03

My y1 dc never has spelling tests. Those words are ridiculous for a Y1.

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