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Primary education

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Original poster

spelling in year 1 - is this normal?

34 replies

SarfEasticated · 17/09/2013 19:23

DD5 has had two lots of spelling to do, a column with words in which she has to cover, write and check and then repeat 3 times in total.
1st lot contains words like 'ladybird' and 'wheelchair' 2nd lot has 'television' and 'decision' in it - does that seem normal to you?

OP posts:
Periwinkle007 · 17/09/2013 19:56

well in Yr1 so far we have had 10 words each week, first lot had a few simple common words (he, she) and then some ch words. this week is a few common words and then sh words. All children in the year have the same 10 words at the moment, not sure if that will change as the year goes on and it becomes apparent who finds them easy and who struggles or if they just get the same all year.

I would assume from those words that that would be the very top children in the year. I can't imagine that would be across the board for Yr1.

lljkk · 17/09/2013 19:58

I don't think OP meant to stealth-boast.

pozzled · 17/09/2013 20:03

No, not normal. Too many spellings for Y1, look/say/cover is very outdated and I believe research shows that learning lists of spellings like that is ineffective. And yes, the words are quite high level for Y1. Can your DD already spell most regular one syllable words, including patterns like 'ee' and 'oo' etc?

Iamnotminterested · 17/09/2013 20:09

lljkk - I do.

Original poster
SarfEasticated · 17/09/2013 20:24

No not stealth boasting at all, because she couldn't do any of them! It's worried me a bit because she is a good natural reader but doesn't seem so good at spelling and writing (is left-handed). I also don't think they did spelling in reception - we had word strings, but can't remember anything in her work books looked like spelling tests.
We only get two opportunities to go into the class per term one open morning - no date yet, and the parent's evening, so I don't have a clue what the rest of her class are doing.
I'm a bit concerned that they might expect too much of her and that she ends up feeling like a failure.

OP posts:
Original poster
SarfEasticated · 17/09/2013 20:37

pozzled I'm not sure really what she can spell, I only know what she can read. I wonder if they have given us the wrong lists? I don't want DD to think she's rubbish at spelling! When you say Look/say/cover is dated and ineffective, what is considered the best way?

OP posts:
Periwinkle007 · 17/09/2013 20:48

ours are look say cover write check or whatever it is but as I say they seem very logical.

I would put a note in saying that they were too hard for her and see what happens.

my daughter is a very good reader and she loves writing but at this age it is still very much a case of writing phonetically other than some common words. I would have been amazed if she had come home with words like that and really quite concerned because yes perhaps she could learn them but they aren't hugely useful words to be able to spell and I would rather if she was going to practice words then they were ones that actually followed a pattern of what they were doing at school or which were useful.

Original poster
SarfEasticated · 17/09/2013 20:56

Exactly periwinkle I think they are a bit OTT too. I can see why she may need to be able to read them, but not why she needs to be able to write them iyswim. Obviously I'm not a Y1 teacher though!

OP posts:
simpson · 17/09/2013 20:59

My DC school use look, say, cover and write too.

That said DD (yr1) has not had any homework yet apart from reading books.

She did have some tough words in reception though (petrified, terrified, lightning, frightened etc but they were fine as they followed a pattern).

DS had the word "television" in his yr3 spellings last year (now yr4).

Original poster
SarfEasticated · 17/09/2013 21:04

crikey simpson they seem a bit OTT too! Hopefully a nice teacher will come by and explain how it all works. Year 1 is so different to reception I feel all at sea.

OP posts:
PrincessScrumpy · 17/09/2013 21:05

Maybe linked to a book they are currently reading? They do tend to throw in tricky ones so that all levels are catered for so it's extension work.

Original poster
SarfEasticated · 17/09/2013 21:09

That's a good point Princess, I will have to try to talk to the teacher and find out what's going on.
I wondered whether this was all part of the improvement in spelling that the conservatives were pushing.

OP posts:
shelley72 · 18/09/2013 06:54

Sorry to hijack but can someone explain the look/say/cover/write method to me? There is a list of spellings and a box for each in his spelling book. We've just been given (much easier) spellings to learn but I'm not sure exactly what this method involves. How can I best help him?

Pachacuti · 18/09/2013 08:01

DD1 is in Y1 and her spellings this week (differentiated by phonics group) are lick, stuck, back and snack; she also has said which is the Y1 "word of the week".

shelley -- they look at the word, say it out loud, then cover it up and attempt to write it from memory. Then they uncover and check whether they got it right.

CecilyP · 18/09/2013 10:23

Not a fan of the look/say/cover/write method as it implies that spelling is far more random than it actually is and that all words have to be learned individually which they do not. But that aside, the lists that you have been given sound very advanced for Y1, especially as it is only the first few weeks.

The first list sounds like they are compound words - so could your dd already spell the individual words - wheel, chair, lady, bird? The second list sounds like they are concentrating on the suffix 'sion', but I believe this is a target for a much higher age group. If she couldn't get any of them, it sounds like she hasn't yet mastered the phonics that underpins the more basic words. That being the case, I wouldn't waste time and effort on attempting to learn these more difficult words because they are likely to be forgotten by the time the next list comes along.

At this age, I think it is important that they learn to spell the high frequency words and words that they are likely to use a lot in their own writing, so while 'television' might be a sensible choice, 'decision' probably isn't. I would definitely approach the teacher to find out what is going on - don't wait until open morning or parents evening.

beanandspud · 18/09/2013 12:12

Not sure if this helps but DS (Y1) has 10 spellings to learn each week that look as if they are phonics groups - so this week they are "er" and "ng" words.

In addition he has a sheet of look, cover, write, check words to do over the course of a week which, judging by the words, are ones that he's tried to use in his writing - bike, cinema, because, people, friend.

blueberryupsidedown · 18/09/2013 13:29

They should be learning high frequency words in year 1, unless the teacher spoke to you about your DD being advanced.

At our school they are given only five words a week, they have to learn to spell them and then write them in a sentence.

mrz · 18/09/2013 18:32

Not normal for this point in Y1
First set obviously compound words second set seem to be the sound /zh/

HorryIsUpduffed · 18/09/2013 18:51

DS1 (Y1) has two sheets of high frequency words (first 100, then 101-200) which are blu-tacked to the wall in the playroom. The teacher has said it's worth being familiar with these by the end of the year.

DS1 has not had formal spellings yet. They are focusing on phonic work - so the teacher would far rather he wrote "I lighk futball" by applying phonics rules plausibly but incorrectly, than that he copied "I like football" from a book and didn't know why.

Some of his spelling is completely hilarious. Yesterday he wrote something for DH that we completely couldn't work out, but had the stem faec- in it. Faeces is definitely not a KS1 word.

Original poster
SarfEasticated · 19/09/2013 09:04

I have had a note back saying that dd is in phase 5 phonics - whatever that is - which is a year 1 programme. Makes me wonder what they'll be learning in year 2! Her writing is so big and messy that her attempts at the words don't fit in the boxes provided. I do appreciate that they need to stretch them, but DD is finding it all a bit of a struggle. :( I will try to speak to the teacher for further info but which one? They were assessed by Miss A but are taught by Miss B, class teacher is Miss C. I really wish they had had us all in for an hour at the beginning of term and explained the system to us, at least then I'd be able to back it up at home.

OP posts:
Pachacuti · 19/09/2013 11:46

Talk to Miss C; she can liaise with Misses A and B if necessary.

BumbleChum · 19/09/2013 11:58

that seems very hard. We have just had our first list which contained words like 'pick', 'lick', 'stick'. DS1 has, with remarkable intelligence, detected the pattern.

I don't know what 'stage' phonics he's in though. He's quite bright.

HorryIsUpduffed · 19/09/2013 12:07

Phase 5 phonics is when they are first introduced to the idea that you can represent the same sound with different letters. IIRC phase one is the very simple SATPIN etc where each letter only makes one sound, phase 3/4 are the first digraphs (and trigraphs), etc.

Elibean · 19/09/2013 13:43

We start spellings in Y2 (though they are taught simple spellings in Y1, just not to take home and learn).

And I think, OP, that is a daft load of spellings at that age tbh. Plus I agree with research showing spelling tests don't work - dd1 has always aced her tests, then promptly forgotten the lot!

mrz · 19/09/2013 20:01

Yes some of the words are phase 5 of Letters & Sounds but not words from week 3 of Y1 others are phase 6 (Y2)