How do I teach DD how to spell SAID?

[Hulababy]

5yo DD has 10 spellings to learn this week, mainly simple CVC words using "E2, plus wett (easy enough to sound out too).

The final two are when and said.

Now WHEN we have talked about - a silent H - not sure if she will remember, or remember where the silent H goes.

But what about SAID. The "ai" isn't the normal "ay" sound, but "e". But how to get it to stick for her?

Any tricks of the trade?

This is really hard to explain in writing but I didn't say the 'h' is silent in when. 'w' and 'h' could be separate sounds but you have to say them together really fast and in normal speech it does sound like a the 'h' is silent. So it would be 3 sounds 'w', 'h' and the diagraph 'en'. If your DD said them slowly then at least she would know where to put the 'h'.

Oh dear, I have probably not explained very well even though I am muttering it to myself as I type and it sounds perfectly reasonable.

Thinking back to doing spellings with DS1 last year I think he just had to know 'said'. It is one of those words that you can't explain or break down.

I would like to hear if anybody has a trick in time for DS2 though!

I've just asked my 11 year old how she was taugh to remember it, as I knew there was a way, and she immediately said Sad Animals In Danager! So, maybe you could either use this one or make up another saying!

Thanks.

I did try the w-hen bit, making the h sound out but not sure if I confused her more!

Will try that MaureenMLove and see how she gets on. We only get two nights to do these before spelling test!

I have no idea how those struggling more with reading get on with it at all. At least DD can actually read all the words set, some of them may not be able to.

W-hen - I like it! Why didn't I think of that?! Wait until you have to do 'which', 'what' 'who' and 'why'!

If it is like DS's school spellings only start when the child has reached a certain standard of reading and the spellings match the reading.

Maureen- does your daughter still have to do spelling tests? I was just wondering how long this torture went on for. We have been doing them tonight too and it isn't fun!

Niecie - just asked DD. Everyone in class appear to do the same spelling list!

Wow that's a bit harsh for the less confident readers. I bet there are tears in some homes tonight. My DS would have struggled a lot as he was rubbish at reading at the beginning of Yr 1, it clicked sometime after Christmas but until then he would never have managed.

Sally Anne Is Dancing.

Niecie - we had tears here. DD just can't deal with not knowing the "answer". Hates to get it wrong. have had heart to heart about trying best, it not being important, everyone needs to earn and we learn byu sometimes getting it wrong first couple of times, etc. Argh!

Hulababy - it is a weekly torture. DS is all happy and confident the first go at spelling them and then complete loses the plot if he gets one wrong. Then he starts shouting at me that 'it can't be wrong' and then acceptance that perhaps it can be wrong, followed by 'Oh, I'll never get it' and then lots of rolling around on the floor. Then we have tears as he tries again, more moaning and then, if we are lucky and he has got it right, a sudden switch from wailing to smiling, like a switch is flicked. If it is wrong again - more wailing only louder.

I try to point out all the things you point out, that we all have to had to do it in the past and how he is actually not that bad and gets a good mark most of the time but it is all wasted. How I love Tuesday afternoons!

This is only our second week of spellings! First week was all very easy for her - CVC stuff. Just the two harder ones this week though. She did go up to bed happily tonight though, saying out the letters of said as she went, bless her. She hates getting things wrong, why do they have to learn so early?!

At school we chant
"Sally Ann is Dead - SAID"
Both the mention of the word dead, and the rhyme with said seem to help it to stick :-)

The w-hen approad seems to have worked. DD could remember this morning.

And, we chanted S A I D as we went up stairs to bed last night - and she coulkd remember that one this morning too. Yeah! Will practise again tonight and in morning, before her spelling test tomorrow

Thanks.

Save Animals In Distress

Actually mnemonics don't do it for my dd she would remember it phonetically as Sa-Id. I think different things for different kids.

Well done on DD remembering overnight. It is probably well embedded in her memory now.

You are absolutely right - they are too young at 5 to be doing this. I wouldn't mind but DS is then allowed to write whatever he wants in class and spellings just aren't corrected.

Back to the 'wh' words - when?, which?, why?, what?, where? Question words start with 'wh'

Thanks for that. Will try that one too.

I'm one for chanting too and it seems to work. I also try and bring a bit of fun into it as otherwise, spellings become very tedious.
ds was struggling with spelling the word 'father' as he always spells it as 'farther'. I recently suggetsed that if he remembers that fathers are always 'FAT'(his is!!) he'll get it right. Needless to say, he spelled it perfectly the following day!

After reading this thread I looked and we have said for spellings next week (week 3 year 1).

However I checked and dd can already spell it as it is a tricky word she learnt last year so no tips I'm afraid.

DD didn't do spelling last year. I think, from what teacher told me today, that next weeks words are all "i" words. Not sure what the "not meeting normal rule" trickier word is yet.

DD could remember them all today so was lookign forward to spelling test today!

This is the first year for spellings for dd too.

I have the entire term's list so it is useful to see how they progress through the term. There are only a couple she can't spell so it should be OK. To be honest I'm pretty much ignoring them and just making sure she knows phonetic rules as far as possible and just learning tricky words via her reading.

DD doesn't seem to pick up spellings through reading. She is really good with the phonetic works, including blends. But the ones that don't meet the normal rules had her stuck. Looks like we cracked the first one though

lots and lots of words that you just have to learn but one easy way to remember said is to think of present say past sayd=said

DW pronounces "says" to rhyme with "pays", which drives me up the wall. DD has started to say it too, and I correct her.

Surely it rhymes with fez, lez, Wes and the Happy Mondays' dancer Bez?