Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

Y1 spelling test - days of the week?!

50 replies

BigGlassOfWine · 20/04/2015 14:22

My DS is in year 1, and until now his spelling tests have followed a pattern of two "tricky words" (i.e. things like "you" or "little" and then the other words following a pattern, mean/bean/lean/clean, etc), and even then he won't get them all right (I think that's fine, though, it is Y1 after all, and it's more the practice of it, as long as he is getting more than 50% right, I am OK, although I would love him to get 100% one week, just to see his proud face! He was gutted just before Easter as he would have had his first 10/10 except that he swopped a "b" for a "d"...)
But anyway, I was flabbergasted when this week's test was going to be on the days of the week Shock. We have practised, but Tuesday and Wednesday are pretty much definite no-hopers, and frankly if he comes home and only got Monday and Sunday right, but has made an attempt at the others, I will be happy.
Can anyone out there tell me if it is normal to expect them to spell the days of the week in Y1, even if it is the summer term?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
TwiceAsNiceAsIceAndaSlice · 20/04/2015 14:30

Yes we've had these in yr1. I don't think they are too hard really. I tend to say them as they are spelt when we do them at home.

Plus there are only 7 whereas normally we get 10!

Monday and Tuesday should be ok I think - he would know the "ue" sound.

Wed-nes-day easy when broken down.

Thursday and Friday not too taxing - they know the ur sound but might put a "y" instead of an "i" in Friday initially.

Sat-ur-day - not a problem?

Sunday - piece of cake.

TwiceAsNiceAsIceAndaSlice · 20/04/2015 14:31

I meant that in a "don't worry" way by the way, hope it came across that way Grin

Leeds2 · 20/04/2015 14:36

They should have some familiarity with Monday - Friday, because they probably write them several times each week. Hope he does OK.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 20/04/2015 14:38

My DD is top spelling group in Y2 and had Wednesday quite recently so I do think it is tricky for Y1.

CunfuddledAlways · 20/04/2015 14:39

Days of the week are relatively easy my 4 year old can do Sunday Monday Friday and my almost six year old learnt then in reception, one of her recent spellings was turquoise!! It's just practice.

PercyGherkin · 20/04/2015 14:40

DS2 is in Yr 1 and over Easter we had spellings homework of the days of the week - they said it was a change to the new curriculum (certainly DS1 who is in Yr 2 did not have that homework last year).

TwiceAsNiceAsIceAndaSlice · 20/04/2015 14:41

Turquoise Shock

CreamSubstitute · 20/04/2015 14:43

I think this is the new Y1 curriculum. My DC's class has had days of the week earlier this year and will be doing numbers 1-10 and 11-20 this week and the next.

Thankfully she doesn't appear to have inherited my terrible spelling gene.

TwiceAsNiceAsIceAndaSlice · 20/04/2015 14:43

Yes I have a yr3 and a yr1 dc and have noticed a few things that were yr2 are now covered in yr1. But we were told to expect that.

Mashabell · 20/04/2015 15:21

The days of the week are beastly for all with a weak visual memory.

Only Sunday and Friday have completely regular spellings, in the sense of using the main spelling patterns.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday
would be
Munday, Tuseday, Wensday, Satterday
if they were spelt with the main patterns or rules.

Thursday
could just as easily be Thirsday or Thersday (cf. third, thermal)
or even Thorsday (as in attorney) as it's related to the Norse god Thor.
The /er/ir/ur/ sound has no main spelling pattern, so all spellings for it have to be learned word by word in at least 205 common words (her, bird, turn, learn, word).

Donna1605 · 20/04/2015 17:35

I've taught year 1 for 10 years and mine have always had days of the week, months of the year, number up to 20, 2D and 3d shapes as well High frequency words :) xx

Wideeyedcarrrot · 20/04/2015 17:58

Ds (5 and a young year 1) has had:

All days of the week
All months of the year
All 2d and 3d shapes (enjoyed cylinder and pyramid Hmm)
Random spellings such as:

Mechanical
Gymnasium
Frustration
Reduction

I know not why since he can't he even spell some of the hfw. Can't see the point if they can't spell because, these, always etc.

Galena · 20/04/2015 18:06

For tricky words we use mnemonics.

So, for Wednesday, you have WE Do Not Eat Sweets DAY

Tuesday could be Two Unicorns Eat Sandwiches DAY

Come up with a silly sentence together and it will be more memorable.

TheTroubleWithAngels · 20/04/2015 18:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LL0015 · 20/04/2015 20:49

DD has had days of the week in Yr 1, Yr2 and surprise surprise, never in Y3. In Yr3 she gets bat rat sat and all the phonic sounds ir, er, ur. She doesn't even look at her spelling book and gets them all right each week.

Apparently she doesn't spell correctly in writing tasks.
Erm, she can spell them all straight off but she doesn't ever actually write anything because she is scared of writing tasks.

Shit management and communication in school year to year.

She learnt them all in Yr1. Actually, she learnt some of them in YrR.

Original poster
BigGlassOfWine · 20/04/2015 23:16

Thanks for all your responses, seems like there's a real mix. I was mostly surprised at the sudden jump from sets of patterns, where he was basically having to remember one 4-letter word and then change one or two letters for all other words, to basically 5-7 "tricky" words. Of course he should read the days of the week, but Tuesday and Wednesday are just complete curveballs! It was hard getting him to learn "use", but then to add a "t" to the same sound and not write "Tuse".... ;-) The normal "ue" sound is different...
Anyway, thanks!!

OP posts:
maizieD · 21/04/2015 23:35

The days of the week are beastly for all with a weak visual memory

Don't be daft, marsha. The days of the week are perfectly straightforward providing the children have been taught the relevant correspondences. The only dodgy one is Wednesday and people have very sensibly suggested saying it 'as it looks' as a way of remembering how to spell it.

If only you could understand that visual memory plays only a tiny part in spelling and then only at the checking stage [eye roll]

Yokohamajojo · 22/04/2015 11:39

Our ones follow the topic their doing at the moment. Now they are doing animals so one of the words were habitats, which I had to explain what it meant first....thought they could at least use the words that they have actually covered in class!

MerryMarigold · 22/04/2015 11:44

My dc are Y1 and can do days of the week (state school). I think they write them fairly frequently in school books and they are all over the walls so they see it a lot.

Mashabell · 22/04/2015 15:11

Seeing and writing the days of the week a lot is the only way to learn the 5 with irregular spellings:
much, munch, mum... - Monday
use, fuse, amuse ... - Tuesday
went, when, wet ... - Wednesday
third - Thursday - /er/ear/ir/ur/ sound has no main spelling
matter, scatter, splatter - Saturday

As i said before, phonics is quite reliable for teaching the spellings of consonants. They have relatively few exceptions. The vowels all have at least one (oil - oyster).

mrz · 22/04/2015 18:12

Wouldn't Monday be better with son, won, ton?

mrz · 22/04/2015 18:15

Or monk, monkey, month?

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/04/2015 18:55

Money?

I think I'd avoid associating matter, scatter, splatter with Saturday unless you want the common pitfall of Saterday, or even Satterday.

'In this word we spell the /er/ sound as 'ur' seems a much simpler way to tackle it.

nannyj · 22/04/2015 18:59

My dd doesn't even get spellings.

mrz · 22/04/2015 19:01

I don't send home spellings with my Y1 class