Sorry but a spellings query already!

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Dd has just started Yr4 and has had a spelling assessment to help place the children into spelling groups. She has done very well and is in the top group with 2 other children.

I am delighted by this news but am not so thrilled by the fact that the spellings list, (Group 5 week 1), she is supposed to 'learn' is the same as she had last May in Yr3.

Now my issue is that when she had the spellings the first time round last year she didn't actually need to learn how to spell them as she knew them already. I didn't worry at the time as I extended her by asking her to write the words in sentences so that she showed she knew their meanings as well as their spelling.

However, what is the point in her repeating lists of words that she already knows? I have no concerns about the level of the words as 1/ she's quite advanced in spelling for her age so reiterating rules of spelling / grammar is no bad thing, and 2/ she's only just returned to school so has to get back into the swing of things.

Surely, it would be better to use a different set of words with the same spelling patterns rather than repeating a terms work?

What would you do as a parent in this situation? Or what would you do if you were a teacher with pupils in this situation?

Isn't this just lazy teaching?

My DD's teacher told me today that the first two to three weeks of term will basically be revision, in order to build up the children's confidence.

Could it not be that?

Hi mamsnet - thought that myself but still think its daft asking children to repeat exactly the same words.

I find it frustrating as dd never had to make an effort to learn spellings the first time - she hasn't a clue what it is to work hard because she has never had too and then the school complain that she doesn't put any effort into her work

Our school uses the same words every year, twice a year, and monitor how the kids progress through the school. The words start really easy and then get really hard. There is a calculation at the end to work out a spelling age, which is used as a guide.

They are never allowed to learn them beforehand, just tested on the day, because the words follow standard learning patterns and it is to identify if children can recognise patterns

Iamseeingstars - I've just tested dd on the first three weeks spellings of the group 5 level she is going to have to repeat. Out of the 48 words she had she misspelled 3 (Success as sucess, Hearth as half and Sausage as sasage).

Could have given her more but she was beginning to get bored.

I used to find lists off the internet and get my kids to learn them. Over time, realised there were lists with patterns and concentrated on those.

School spelling lists to me are always very random

I would not worry too much about it. I'm sure you Dd will be well stretched and sometimes it's no harm to do a bit of revision especially in September. There are plenty of books out there or you could just add a few new words in as well.
I see my Dd who is Y3 and never seems to actaully learn spellings but seems to know them all had a very baisc list of spellings to study for tomorrow...revision I presume.