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Bloody spellings.....

17 replies

bitzy12 · 20/02/2018 19:42

Looking for tips on how to help my 6 year old with her spellings.

We've had all half term to learn them which we have practised every day. Spelling test tomorrow and she still doesn't know them.

Granted they are hard but I'm at my wits end to be honest, she just thinks I can tell her so she writes them down but when it comes to my saying 'you write what you think' she hasn't got a clue.

We've practiced them over and over but I'm clearly going wrong somewhere as it's just not going in x

OP posts:
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Arkadia · 20/02/2018 19:49

What is she supposed to practice?

NoSquirrels · 20/02/2018 19:52

I hate spellings. So I don’t do them. KS2 we worry about spellings in this house. KS1 we’re working on the love of reading and phonetics. Teachers can feel free to disagree with me if they like, but life is too short to worry about spelling at 6 years old.

redcollargirl · 20/02/2018 19:53

“Look Say Cover Write Check” is one way of learning spellings. You can also make your own spelling lists on apps like SqueeblesSP.

SlumdogMummy · 20/02/2018 20:03

I use keystagefun.co.uk/ with a Y3 and Y2 child. You have to pay for it but they both practise their spellings on it, regularly.

There is some sort of reward which links to a game they can play when they've done the spellings.

It's great as you can input their spellings; I find that a bit of a chore but worth it in the long run!

Ohyesiam · 20/02/2018 20:09

It will come. My ds to literally 6 months to learn the 2x times table. We did it visually, with smarties, by collecting grass stems as we walked, everything I could think of. Then suddenly, not at all gradually, he knew it all.
He still struggles with maths, but nothing has been like that first times table.

bitzy12 · 20/02/2018 20:18

It's the days of the week. She's got Monday and Friday sorted but the rest she hasn't a clue. Not even close. I try all sorts but she just thinks it's a game and goes into silly/quiet mode.

It's like this with the easier spellings too though. I know she isn't top of the class with reading and that really doesn't bother me as she will get there in her own time and putting pressure on never works.

But I just need tips on how to help her remember them. I'm starting to find myself getting annoyed which I know doesn't help anything - slap on the wrist for mummy

OP posts:
MedusaBadHairDay · 20/02/2018 20:27

The way I’ve always done it -though it’s not foolproof - is to write the words out myself every day and then they copy it twice next to it, saying the word as they write it. Two days before the test I write the words with letters missing and they fill them in, then the day before the test I ask them to try and write out the words as they would in the test. If they get it wrong I help them spell it correctly.
It doesn’t always work, but they know the process and don’t complain. Takes a maximum of 5 mins a day and there is no pressure.

Naty1 · 20/02/2018 21:11

Thursday is phonetic i think.
Th-ur-s-d-ay
S-a-t-ur-d-ay
S-u-n-d-ay
Maybe saying wednesday as it's spelt
T-ue-s-d-ay

sirfredfredgeorge · 20/02/2018 21:45

putting pressure on never works

So why do it with "spellings" ?

Over 10 days of practice and she's not getting it, I can't see the benefit at all in trying to push it- she might get a very short term self esteem boost in doing well in the test. But the teacher won't know that it took huge effort, so won't even think to look at underlying reasons why it's so hard for her.

What could you have been doing with all that time spent on spellings? Isn't that likely have been more successful?

I've asked before about evidence for learning to spell by learning "spellings" and never found anything conclusive, phonetic based ones appeared to go better though.

Love51 · 20/02/2018 21:52

I feel your pain.
I get them to read them out loud, then say the spelling while looking at the word. Later I pick a few words they are struggling with and drop them into conversation in the car or over dinner and get them to spell them.i can't remember 10-12 words for each kid, so I target a few each.
I hate spellings. I wanted to delegate to DH but he only makes them write them once, which isn't enough to make it go in.

user789653241 · 20/02/2018 22:08

Breaking down words into syllables and saying it while writing down works for my ds.
And for Wednesday, do as Naty suggested, say as "wed" 'nes" "day" while writing down.

carinwashingmachine · 20/02/2018 22:10

I get DD to write them once every day, and then do two pretend tests over the weekend. If there are mistakes we talk about those. In addition, I write the words out myself when we get them and stick them around the house with blue tack so DD can hunt for them / sees them regularly during the week.

But I think that's really the maximum effort I'm prepared to put into this - I agree with pp's suggestion that reading is much more important as the exposure to more and more words will help them spell eventually.

user789653241 · 20/02/2018 22:13

sir, the way op's dd was trying to learn may not have been efficient way for her.
It's kind of trial and error, isn't it?
I think it's better to workout most efficient way for individual child to learn the spelling at early age, before words get harder in later years.

Gez8 · 20/02/2018 22:22

Have you tried the app - squeebles? Once set up, the child can practice on their own. It includes a voice recorder for recording the spellings. It does make it a bit more fun!

brilliotic · 21/02/2018 00:32

Is she trying to remember 'strings of letters'? Rather than 'which letters represent the sounds I hear in this word'? Remembering strings of letters is very hard.

I would suggest looking at each word/weekday and determine which parts are 'easy' i.e. have a straightforward PGC (a straightforward way in which the letters in the word and the sounds you say when you speak the word correspond). Then look at the 'tricky' parts where there are several ways to write that sound, and/or an unusual way to write that sound. That is then the only bit she needs to remember, and perhaps some mnemonics could help?

E.g. Monday
m, n, d ->straightforward.
ay -> she has probably learned that the /ai/ sound at the end of a word is usually/often spelled ay. In any case, all seven weekdays end on 'day' so that should not be too hard (and seeing as she can do two of the weekdays, she should be able to do that part in the other days too)
That leaves o for the /u/ sound which is a bit tricky. It is a fairly unusual spelling for this sound and most likely not been taught yet. So she has to remember that in Monday, the /u/ sound is spelled with an o and the rest is straightforward.
Mnemonics for this, depends what other words she knows how to spell. E.g. if she knows 'mother' (where the /u/ sound has the same spelling o) you could say something like 'on Monday, other mothers eat onions' (just made this up) giving her at the same time a way to remember a few words where the /u/ sound is spelled with an o.

However you say she has Monday down, but no clue for Sunday. Sunday ought to be easier, as each sound in the word is spelled with the letters she should have learned for those sounds. This really implies, to me, that she is not using letters to 'encode' the sounds in the words, but is merely trying to remember 'strings of letters'. Also you say she struggles to spell other 'easy' words.

This kind of raises the question:

  • Has no-one shown her that she can use her phonics knowledge to 'encode' (spell) rather than just to 'decode' (read)? Can she not properly hear the sounds in the words/process those sounds into the phonics she has learned? Or does she just not understand that this is what she should be doing?
-> in which case the way to help her would be to move away from the 'strings of letters' and really focus on the sounds in the words and the letters that represent them. And if you find she struggles to 'hear' the sounds or the process them, then raise this with the teacher.
  • Or is her phonics knowledge poor? If you ask her 'what letter makes the sound /u/ - could she reliably answer that? Does she know that /ai/ can be spelled ai, ay, a-e (and other ways)?
-> if her basic phonics knowledge is the problem, I would forget about learning spellings for now and really, really focus on patching up her phonics. Once she's got that, learning spellings will be so much easier.
Norestformrz · 21/02/2018 06:47

I'd start focusing one word at a time rather than all at once.
Focus on day write it saying the sounds as she writes them /d/ /ay/ then read the word
Once she's mastered day it's easy to add Sun for Sunday again say each sound as she writes them /s/ /u/ /n/ sun /d/ /ay/ day then read the whole Sunday

Monday the tricky part to remember is that the /u/ is spelt o but if she can relate it to a word she knows so Mon and won
Thursday and Saturday she needs to remember that the /er/ is spelt ur in both words again it helps to relate it to a known word and always say the sounds as they are written not individual letters so /th/ /ur/ /s/ /d/ /ay/ not t h u r s

Wednesday it certainly helps to say it as it's written do Wed nes day

Arkadia · 21/02/2018 08:03

@bitzy, take heed of what @brill and @norest are saying. It took me about 3 years to understand what they are saying, but I got there in the end. Grin

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