Guess which year these spellings are for

[Todaynotalways]

... English primary school... Which school year/age do you think these spellings are suitable for...?

What on Earth is the point in that for 5/6 year olds? Just making them miserable so their parents feel like they’re getting value for money?! I asked my year 1 DD and she could read them all, but I doubt she’d be able to spell them all. My DS started school in a country with no formal education until age 6 and no homework at all in primary. Doesn’t seem to have put him at any disadvantage in the English system at all.

Year 5 or 6

Year 2 or 3

I can’t imagine my kids (state school) would ever get personalised spellings. My DS is dyslexic and he didn’t even get personalised spellings when he used to get interventions. My youngest (y4) is a good speller but I still despair at the spellings he gets because they are so pointless, bicentennial was one of them the other day. What kid is going to be writing that?

My children learnt those in pre-school!

Not really ! Those are for children age 7 or 8.

A child who can read those words should be able to learn to spell them with a week to do it - they don’t get much other homework? If they can’t even read the words, then no. Depends on the ability group

Year 3

Whaaaat!!!

Year 1 or 2 based on my daughters current year 1 progress. Very few of her year are behind to be honest. 90pupils.

Year 2

Oh come off it!

This is one of the reasons I decided to home educate my youngest after my two elder kids spent years struggling to learn spellings that were beyond their capabilities at the time. The school said it was what they had to learn in whichever year group they were in, therefore they had to learn them. It was so bad for their self confidence. Similarly they were put on reading books that were far too difficult for them, so that they were stumbling over every other word. What a way to kill a love of reading!

You chose a private school …. I’m afraid you need to get used to hot housing . High pressure for high stakes and high fees ! It is the system you have chosen.

Year 4. My son is year 4 and gets similar ones.

Some of these seem a bit silly to me (I'm a teacher but not that age group): it's all very well learning spellings each week, but they won't get embedded into long-term memory unless they're used. So until the children regularly read books with those words in, and ideally use them themselves in writing, they're going to forget them within a few weeks. The school would be much better off sticking to high-frequency words, of varying difficulty. Glistens and thistles would be a long way down my list; in fact, I don't think I'd ever overtly teach them, I'd expect children to pick them up naturally from HFW like listen. Plenty of Year 1s won't even know what a thistle is, let alone how to spell it. Words divorced from context are literally meaningless.

Year 3?

I'd say year 2 as my daughter is year 2 and I think she's had some of these recently. I'll also say that I am always a bit shocked by the spellings she gets and that she rarely gets them all right.

I’m a teacher (though now in special Ed) and I couldn’t agree more. You’re absolutely right. I abhor spelling lists like this for my own kids.

😂😂😂

Y3 or Y4

Is it a school that had an entrance “selection process” at age 4 before offering places?

If so… I have to say you shouldn’t be surprised. Those schools are chosen by the tiger parents who want their children to be pushed as much as possible. They’re also the ones whose kids are doing multiple extra curriculars and are Grade 5/squad level in all of them. Don’t compare your child to them and if possible don’t let her compare herself, that way misery lies.

I seem to remember my son having those last year in year 3. He still can’t spell science!

My children learnt stuff like that in Y3. Thankfully they are too old for spellings now!

Year 2 or 3?

Bloody hell, year 1?! I’d say they’d be appropriate for a high ability year 2 or as I said above, year 3.

Agree with finding some fun ways to embed them but your poor daughter! Mine dreads Fridays for spelling test reasons.