year 1 spelling

[alphabetti]

My daughter is 6 and in year 1. Her report was sent out on Friday with her current national curriculum levels on. She is 2a for English, reading and writing and 2b for everything else. I am obviously very pleased as I know that she is doing very well for her age.

But there was a comment saying that she needs to work on her spellings as that is stopping her from getting a higher mark. Should I be getting her to practise spellings? I am very reluctant to get her to as she is obviously ahead of where she should be at the moment and also she doen't get spellings sent from school to learn.

She is a happy little girl who I encourage but do not do lots of educational extra stuff with at home as I also have another child and I work a lot. Also she goes to dancing and gymnastics classes after school 2 days a week and my mum collects her the rest of the weekdays so there is not really much spare time.

Like I have said I do not want to put her off by forcing spellings upon her but not sure whether I should as I don't want to prevent her from achieving what she is capable of

Any advice welcomed!

Wow! 2b & 2a at the end of year 1. Your daughter is doing really well, you must be really proud of her. When I asked what I could do to help spellings the teacher talked to me about the letters and sounds level he was on and the sounds he was learning to use, rather than lists of spellings to memorise. I was given a list of websites with games and I'll see if I can find the piece of paper and post later.

Sorry, can't find it where it should be (stuck to school info pinboard!). Will check with family tomorrow. My system let's me down again and I'm trying so hard not to loose school paperwork.

www.friarsprimary.co.uk/Learning-Links/Your-Childs-Progress

^^ That is the link that was posted the other day.

DO they do spellings at school? I think it is something that comes with time and use. My DS learns spellings and gets 10/10 regularly, but it doesn't mean that when he is writing stories etc that he uses the right spelling, even though it had been on that weeks test!

I really wouldn't worry. I think spelling comes through exposure to reading and general use and practise. Sounds like your DD is doing really well and you should be proud. :)

FFS! Stupid box ticking...

www.friarsprimary.co.uk/Learning-Links/Your-Childs-Progress

Hi - ex TA (male) here:

Maybe teacher felt she ought to 'flag up' something that could be improved upon, rather than just say everything was perfect.

Is DD aware herself of any areas of spelling she is weak on / confused by, or have you noticed in her writing any letter combinations that catch her out. If so, you could help her concentrate on areas of weakness or clarify any confusions.

If she REALLY enjoys words and language you could 'look up' the origins of English words that come from other languages or cultures: some are quite surprising!

I used to find that boys enjoyed hearing about 'Americanisms', particularly relating to parts of a car (auto mobile):

bonnet / hood bumper / fender boot / trunk windscreen / wind shield petrol / gas

Language is a living, evolving thing: just think how words like: gay, cool, have changed in meaning. And I still don't know what 'random' is supposed to mean, that teenagers and now younger kids are using these days! None of this may make her more brilliant than she already is, but I always liked to 'stretch' kids if they had the capacity to assimilate additional information.

I am not sure how your DD could be at that level in Y1,

I thought that they left y1 as a level 1A and only a fingertip into 2C.

Are you in UK?

Collision - why? DS is on copper books, which is level 3 on the NC. His writing is up there as well. Definitely a 2a/b. It is totally possible that the OP's DD is there.

The 1A/2C you mention are the averages. Obviously for it to be an average, there is outliers both downward and upward of that level...

I thought they could only fingertip into a level 3C in Y2.

that is what was said at our school...................

Collision, if you are using teacher assessment or APP or something along those lines, there are no limits. The fingertip into 3c really only relates to the SATS tests.

It's perfectly possible, collision

Thankyou for the replies.

Yes, I do agree that the comment was there as something to work towards rather than a problem. As I said yesterday I am not a pushy mum and want to keep things how they are as she is obviously doing well and is happy at school. She is no problem whatsoever for her teachers but at home she can sometimes be quite stubborn so I think I will be sticking to the soft approach so as not to rock the boat, and put her off.

She loves animals and drawing so I think I might see if she wants to draw a few pics and write a little about each bit and perhaps try to get her to practice a few words. We have parents night next week so I will obviously ask teacher also.

Absolutely possible Collision there are 5 children in Y1 that are working between level 2c & 3c (that was assessed in February - DS was 3c for reading).

On DS1s report even though his writing was assessed at a high level they were extremely critical of him not being varied enough and not pushing himslef to write more than the minimum that he needed to achieve for a particular level (at 5 FFS). I was livid at first but then I realised that I know full well they should say how well they are doing then explain what the next steps are.

I completely understand it but part of me thinks poor kids, are they constantly at 5 years old being told its not quite good enough!

I would imagine alphabetti that they are saying the same to you - she is doing really well and to get to the next level she needs to improve her spelling so there is no issue as such!

I am a bit confused re the SAT tests, DSs teacher said he would be achieving high level 3's maybe a 4 in reading? So is that not possible then?

I think the highest they can sit is a level 3? Probably wrong though. Would be interested to hear if you can sit the higher papers.

I see, I would imagine they were meaning he could achieve those levels in his work not necessairly in SATs. Its kind of irrelevant as I have heard that there are some discrepancies between the level 3s given at infant school compared to at junior school anyway so a secure 2A would be great IMO.

He is not extraordinarily bright anyway, just good at reading so he would not be able to sit level 4 paper anyway.

The SATs tests don't play a significant part in assigning levels in KS1 accountantsrule what matters is the level they work at day in and day out in normal work. If your child is working at a level 4 then there is no reason they can't be awarded that.

Thanks Mrz, its so useful having a primary school teacher on here to explain things as often at parents evening etc you don't always think to ask all the questions you want etc and I feel a bit silly asking trivial questions at drop off/pick up.