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Primary education

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

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Original poster

I'm so pleased - it's goodbye to the dreaded sight words till Year 3!!!

41 replies

dinny · 29/02/2008 17:48

Huzzah! DD has just learnt all her sight words for Years 1 & 2 and we won't be plagued by the weekly testing for two years! Sooooo pleased and relieved (for me AND her!) Thought I would share a good news story re school!

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Original poster

dinny · 01/03/2008 11:54

would you? I'm happy with dd's school, thanks. so was their Ofsted a month ago.

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mrz · 01/03/2008 12:11

It depends how up to date the team of OFSTED inspectors are as I know a number of schools who have been criticised for just that.

Original poster

dinny · 01/03/2008 12:14

hmmm, they got excellent report and I'd imagine the team are up to date, we're not exactly in the sticks. I don't know.

anyway, my point was that it has given my dd a huge, much needed confidence boost.

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Niecie · 01/03/2008 12:18

Well done for getting through them! They are a pain aren't they. DS1 learnt them over about 6 months of hell although his school kindly added to the list so there are 400 of the blessed things.

A relief to get them done though!

He is in Yr 3 now and they don't bother with key/high frequency words any more so maybe you will strike lucky dinny and you won't have to do them either.

mrz · 01/03/2008 15:56

I'm pleased your daughter has "worked" her way through them and agree they are a nightmare. What I was trying to say was that the government have now introduced a new framework for literacy (well nearly two years ago) and the advice is that schools should not be teaching these words as "sight words" and the lists of HFWs have changed. I do teach in the sticks and have been using the new framework for 18 months.

LIZS · 01/03/2008 15:59

They have the fair haired tallish one who doesn't get in !

Original poster

dinny · 01/03/2008 16:04

Mrz, think we are singing from the same hymn sheet as I have moaned many times in the past that it is NOT a good way of fostering a love of reading, to have to learn great big lists of words in such a dry, boring manner...

LIZS, yes, she wears cut off shorts?

are you there on Mondays? up in the viewing bit?

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LIZS · 01/03/2008 16:11

cut off shorts hmm, maybe, usually cropped sporty bottoms I think... No we're there on Fridays atm otherwise would have to wait until after 6 for both to finish.

RosaIsRed · 01/03/2008 16:29

PMSL at this thread, it is like trying to listen to two conversations simultaneously on the bus.

Reallytired · 01/03/2008 21:25

I think its disgusting teaching 400 words. The majority of those words are completely phonetic. If child is taught phonics properly and can blend they do not need to slog through 400 words.

The Rose report is against teaching sight words except tricky words.

Niecie · 02/03/2008 12:07

Reallytired, yes it was hard work doing 400 keywords and DS and I hated every step of the way BUT the improvement he made in his reading at the same time was just phenomenal and even his teacher at the time didn't believe it considering he hadn't even got 20 words at the start of YR1 (I didn't realise the importance of them in conjuntion with the reading the scheme books). We learnt the lot in 6 months, with bribes prizes every 100 words learnt.

I now have a boy who loves reading because he knows he is good at it. I have to say he isn't the best at sounding out words but he is still capable at the age of 7, of reading the first 4 Harry Potter books and similar, so something must be working for him.

mrz · 02/03/2008 12:52

Reallytired that is the message with the new HFW they DON'T need to be taught in isolation as by the end of year 2 they should all be decodable.

Original poster

dinny · 02/03/2008 14:54

Nicie, wow he is doing well.

hmmm, maybe will quiz dd's teacher at parents' evening about the new HFW....

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Niecie · 02/03/2008 18:46

Dinny thanks - I am sure that you will notice the difference in your DD now she has the HFW sussed. My DS isn't the only one who made such an improvement once they were done (although he probably started from the lowest level in YR1).

Maybe they don't need to be taught but I think that knowing them is one big hurdle overcome and tbh I don't think my DS was doing very well just picking them up himself and for us it worked to 'teach' them.

I don't think you have wasted your time.

Original poster

dinny · 02/03/2008 19:17

thanks, Niecie

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fedupwasherwoman · 03/03/2008 13:39

Hurrah here too except.... ... ds1 apparently knows all bar a dozen or so of the words from lists up to and including the year 5 level.

I'm figuring that once he's out of reception I'll only have his little brother to worry about and it seems from this thread that its all change in the word lists anyway so I can forget about pointing out the "list words" in the stories that we read for quite sometime as he won't start school for 3 years.

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