Year 1 no play or creative activities, spelling tests is this normal

[starpatch]

DS s year one class seems really pressured. From what I can tell (I help with reading so I am in first thing when I they goes through timetable). I it is basically rote learning all day no a creative stuff not even exploration in science. I is this normal ? DS likes to be outside he got depressed towards end of last week (to a point he couldn't play properly) and has started grinding his teeth at night. I wouldn't say this was the ethos I of the school he has nqt teacher and she is doing everything by the book.

I'm a year 2 teacher, however I've seen 2 types of year one classes, continuous provision or formal lessons. It's up to the teacher to decide which is more suitable for their class. There are a lot of pressures for teachers. I teach the year 1 phonics group and have been told a % of children that HAVE to pass the phonics screener. Instead of criticising why not chat with the teach openly about your worries and not jump to conclusions. There is clear guidance as to what a year 1 needs to achieve by the end of the year and it sounds like by sending home spellings she is just asking for help and support in reinforcing one of their end of year expectations.

stargirl - what type of spellings do you send Homs for y2?

‘Home’ even!

Bdayblues – interestingly DD (Y2) also had gnat and gnaw this week! If you jump down to page 7 of this link, it appears that DD’s school is just working through these in order.

Ds's school use Gin's list for spelling in all years.
I don't think it's pointless. Learning spelling systematically is better imo.

My DD learnt "breakthrough" spellings in YR and when complete she went on to longer less common words. A while ago now but it does help with reading in my view. Not play based in Y1 but enjoyable nonetheless. She adored school so was very willing to learn.

Year 1 DS1 started getting spellings, and they were a bit more formal, but still of play involved (afternoons at least). By year 2 it's leaning towards majority of time at a desk doing proper lessons, so year 1 has to make the transition from the very casual Reception, to the formal year 2, and perhaps your school is doing it a bit quickly - can you chat with you child and see what you can do to cheer him up about it? Maybe the teachers too to see if they could give him a bit of a break?

DS1 found it a bit of an adjustment, but now he's fine, he gets about 5 mins (2 a4 worksheets of some sort) of homework a night in year 2 (plus reading) and he just sits down and churns it out with no problem or protest.

Yes ginmumnmy that is what they are using. Would you mind telling me what other words they were given? We get 7 words with the spelling rule and then 3 common exception words. So, she learns 7 words that she’ll probably never write again 😖

These are the Y2 words from the link I provided above:

badge, edge, bridge, dodge, fudge
age, huge, change, charge, bulge, village
gem, giant, magic, giraffe, energy
jacket, jar, jog, join, adjust
race, ice, cell, city, fancy
knock, know, knee, gnat, gnaw
write, written, wrote, wrong, wrap
table, apple, bottle, little, middle
camel, tunnel, squirrel, travel, towel, tinsel
metal, pedal, capital, hospital, animal
pencil, fossil, nostril
cry, fly, dry, try, reply, July
flies, tries, replies, copies, babies, carries
copied, copier, happier, happiest, cried, replied
copying, crying, replying
hiking, hiked, hiker, nicer, nicest, shiny
patting, patted, humming, hummed, dropping, dropped, sadder, saddest, fatter, fattest, runner, runny
all, ball, call, walk, talk, always
key, donkey, monkey, chimney, valley
want, watch, wander, quantity, squash
word, work, worm, world, worth
war, warm, towards
television, treasure, usual
enjoyment, sadness, careful, playful, hopeless, plainness (plain + ness), badly
merriment, happiness, plentiful, penniless, happily
can’t, didn’t, hasn’t, couldn’t, it’s, I’ll
Megan’s, Ravi’s, the girl’s, the child’s, the man’s
station, fiction, motion, national, section
there/their/they’re, here/hear, quite/quiet, see/sea, bare/bear, one/won, sun/son, to/too/two, be/bee, blue/blew, night/knight

Here are the 'exception' words from the same list:

door, floor, poor, because, find, kind, mind, behind, child, children, wild, climb, most, only, both, old, cold, gold, hold, told
every, everybody, even, great, break, steak, pretty, beautiful, after, fast, last, past, father, class, grass, pass, plant, path, bath
hour, move, prove, improve, sure, sugar, eye, could, should, would, who, whole
any, many, clothes, busy, people, water, again, half, money, Mr, Mrs, parents, Christmas

No toys in y1 in my DC's school. DS2's still making models in y2 though, they're making houses for a recreation of the Great Fire of London this week. I'm assuming that they're not actually setting them alight! Also, every summer holiday project involves making something, DD's in y5 and made a WWII propaganda poster, a girl in y6 made a poster about Mayans.

Thanks Gin. Did you just get ‘gnat & gnaw’? We got extras that included ‘sign & gnarled’ and three common exception words from the list.

We got lines 5 and 6 from the above list:

race, ice, cell, city, fancy
knock, know, knee, gnat, gnaw

So far, there has been no deviation from the above list at all. I am led to believe that the class is split into three groups for spellings, and this is the hardest. I may be wrong.

Our school focus on one spelling rule and then put 7 words that fit the rule each week. The top group have ones like ‘gnarled, gnawed, gnat, gnashed’, other groups have shorter words like ‘gnat, gnaw’ from what I gather. I think we are going to switch groups to make life easier.

Evil doctor

What better way to teach how fire spreads by setting them alight?? Although my head won't let me when we make ours!

Ginbaby
I send home 8/10 spellings on whatever sound we are working on that week in phonics. So this week is oy/oi, last week was s sound and there's 7 diff ways to spell that so I think I sent 10 home. I'm totally driven on what I need to achieve by the end of the year and phonics screener results. Year plan of what sounds to cover done at the beginning of term of which sounds are covered in screener.

😂

Sorry I meant that for bdayblues.
Excuse any mistakes, it's Friday night and I'm pooped!

Evil doctor.
I mean it though! Combined with a lesson on fire safety and I've hopefully got fire service coming in too so we can have a look at the fire engine I really believe it will be a few lessons that they will remember.

DS2 says they're not setting light to theirs either. 😢

DS2 thinks that would be cool Stargirl! 😂

Yes, I think they did set fire at our school.

We get 4-5 books to read per week.
One spelling test so I just practise a few so she doesn't feel bad.
We do sums every morning - but only if she asks, and she does most mornings.
Everything else is play or sport.
It is fine and quite aspirational but I don't expect them to do so much.

Ktown mainly sports and play doesn't feel as aspirational/pressures as most are becoming round here! I'd love more play and sport rather than the academic focus ours has. At 5 :(

Advice, cycle, successful, icicles, magician! My Y1 DS’s spellings today sent home!

DS in Y1 and reading red book band (although was yellow since June and seemingly school have their own daft system)

I am utterly confused and I am a Y1 teacher!!

The seem to be racing our year 1s through the bookbands. More so than when my eldest was at school. There's a whole table on 6/7!!!