Feel sorry for 5yo not getting reward for spelling test

[peanutmandmss]

My DC is in year 1 and they do a spelling test every week. Apparently children who do well get a prize.
He is trying very hard practising at home but it's just not something that's clicking in to place just yet so he is still getting a lower score.
I feel so sad about this reward side of things, as it is not reflective of any child who is really putting in the effort.

To be honest I think it is a great lesson for a child to learn that you do not get a price just for trying and competing

Will serve well in later life as that is the real world

I would explain to your dc that the teacher only sees what happens on test day, but that you see all the effort your child puts in and how proud you are of him trying so hard. And reward him for that yourself.

Also if the way you and he are trying at the moment isn't clicking, have a look around online for some spelling and word games to change it up a bit, and see if that helps? Five minute mum has loads of word games aimed at year 1 kids, that help them practice spelling and reading, while playing games so it doesn't feel too onerous.

I would agree with you that it seems a bit mean to give rewards to those who did well. Surely getting good marks should be reward in itself? But I agree with the poster above about praising him for the amount of effort the puts in etc

Is there a class award? DC has one that is just for anything so it's often "well done for Jimmy for his effort in spelling this week!" And they get a certificate in the assembly.

On the flip side my DD is annoyed because she never ever gets it as it's always people who need the motivation.

Rewards like this are shit. The class will have children who are dyslexic and despite effort will never be able to get full marks. Reward systems like this are old fashioned and don't serve to foster an intrinsic love of learning.

That's really hard for your child. Im finding yr1 is a year where things like this are really important to them. I think academic achievement is something that is quite a normal thing to be rewarded for in school, but do they also do any kind of rewards for working hard? Ours seems to do both, so most children do get something each term.

Having said that, our school gave out awards for attendance at the end of last term.
Any child lucky enough not to have been unwell at all got a good certificate and a prize like a pencil/ruler/rubber etc.

'We'll done for not getting unwell' 🤔

Yes, totally shit. All the SEND children are discriminated against and end up feeling like crap and disengaging. By the time they get to high school they often lost causes and have totally checked out of academic life. Completely outdated teaching; spelling tests in themselves have been shown to be useless. The whole education system needs an overhaul and things like spelling tests and rewards should be a thing of the past. The world has moved on. It used to be important to know how to spell perfectly but technology has changed all that; the system is stuck in Victorian times.

It is a shame for children who have genuine difficulties with literacy.

I have a DC with SEN, and he has always had great difficulty with spellings.
They don’t stick properly in his head at all - his spelling ability is several years below normal, despite practicing - and it’d be a good spelling test week for him if he even got one or two spellings correct.

Do the school give prizes for other things, or award effort in other ways?

Ah just reward him yourself OP. It is a shame when they get overlooked. My DD has some SEN and works really hard. We really worked on maths with her and over a few weeks her score went from 11/20 to 18/20 in the weekly tests. She got no acknowledgement at all. Meanwhile the kids who find it easy getting 20/20 each week are on twitter and coming out with prizes. I just got her a prize myself and made a big fuss with family about how amazing she was doing.

Rubbish, lazy teaching.

I’d have a chat with the teacher. Not about the award, but to let her know he is trying really hard but it isn’t clicking and is there another method you could try to help him.

That way you are flagging the effort is there (it’s not that he isn’t trying) but he needs more input.

Spelling tests are not a great way to teach literacy. My child consistently gets full marks on spelling tests but when they write a story or diary piece a lot of the spelling is wrong and written phonetically, even words previously learned through a spelling test.

Your kid will no doubt be good at something the others are not so good at and will be rewarded when they are not (perhaps in a sport, a swimming race, an art competition etc).
You can't give prizes to everyone to spare feelings all the time. It is a hard lesson to learn, but a vital one.

Rewards are for doing well tho, not for “trying” but not doing well?

It doesn't seem unreasonable for a school to reward academic achievement. That is the whole purpose of being there.

I do understand that it's hard to see your child upset. My daughter is always last in running races. But I never tell her it's unfair to lose when you have tried your best, I just sympathise with it being an unpleasant feeling.

Yeah I'm giving lots of encouragement at home and letting him know how proud I am of him for his good effort.
It's not so much that he isn't getting the reward I just can see him getting disheartened!
I might have a chat with the teacher for some tips to help him more at home.

This. Great lesson that life is unfair 🤷🏼‍♀️

It just a spelling test, he doesn’t need ‘tips’ and home tuition. I get the feeling you’re the one who wants him to win it!

@Cuppasoupmonster nope just not nice seeing your 5 year old going in to the school playground anxious repeating letters of a word over and over.

Until the school start helping him with different spelling techniques, reinforce at home that mistakes are great - everything good that has happened in the world has happened after lots and lots of mistakes and we need to make mistakes to learn. Show him you making mistakes and being totally cool with it.

He's 5...he doesn't need spelling tests!!

Your first paragraph is spot on!

Just tell him to forget about it and that spelling isn’t the end of the world, he’ll get there eventually.

That's an awful way to approach the spelling tests. The results should not be broadcast in any way. If a child is having difficulties the. The teacher should be offering g extra support, not rubbing it in that he is not making the grade. You don't need to learn the hard lessons of life two or three years into your school career.

I would have got the prize every week because I never once got a spelling wrong all through my school career, despite never once studying my spellings. I won spelling bees. And geography bees... I don't know how I did it, but spellings stayed in my head, and also geography facts. I was an early reader. I liked maps and globes. Maybe that made a difference. Would I have deserved a prize for that? Absolutely not.

It doesn't seem unreasonable for a school to reward academic achievement. That is the whole purpose of being there

School's are for learning. Learning will not always result in academic achievement. Some children will achieve academic success with no effort at all - why should that be rewarded? Others will work extremely hard, learn lots but not achieve academic success in the form of high marks - why shouldnt they be celebrated. It really isn't as simple as you make out.