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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

Yr 1 spellings - are these even APPROPRIATE?

73 replies

SmugColditz · 02/10/2008 16:23

All in joined up writing

sandpit
helper
sandwich
what
handstand
giftbox
thundering
frowning
lunchbox

Ds 1 is not bad at reading - but he can't read half of these. He doesn't even know what the letters are because they are joined up and he can't read them.

I had a word with the teacher, who said I would be surprised.

damn right i would be surprised

i would be surprised to see him pulll a year's worth of writing ability out of his arse that he wasn't taught in reception last year.

he barely did any writing in reception, certainly not joined up 9he's not been taught this afaik0 it was all sandpits and trainsets, and now they want him to sit and spell words he can't even read.

what should I do? He can't reliably get his letters the right way round, he's only bloody 5. Apparently it's a new system, but I can't help thinking they have decided his entire writing and spelling ability on his ability to read the printed word.

OP posts:

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Merlin · 02/10/2008 16:25

My DS1 who has just started Yr 3 would probably struggle a bit with those TBH!!!

They seem a bit difficult to say the least.

coalbucket · 02/10/2008 16:26

Blimey, we are on:

it
in
the
and
big

have all the class got these?
is your DS gifted very bright?

wannaBe · 02/10/2008 16:26

joined up writing?

I would say for year1 that is expecting far too much. Half the kids in my ds' year1 class are still struggling to form the letters properly - let alone be able to do joined up writing.

Sidge · 02/10/2008 16:27

Looks bonkers to me. If I remember DD1 in Yr 1 was doing spellings of words like here, think, good and similar.

Thundering? That's a word that's used so much when you're 5... not.

NoblesseOblige · 02/10/2008 16:29

dd1 is in y2. her spellings are bed, red, sit and set.

and she can't do them

i owuld be totally if she came home with those and tbh would assume she had been given the wrong ones. they are more like what ds in y5 is doing!

Original poster

SmugColditz · 02/10/2008 16:30

it seems groSSLy unfair.

He feels stupid because he can't do it, I've had tears over these.

I feel absolutely betrayed, to be honest. The class he is in is a year1/2 class - and because his reading is good (although not hugely about average IMHO) they seem to be trying to fast track him through everything so they can lump him in with the year 2s.

Parental support at this school is low and a lot of children don't get read with at home etc, I feel ds1 is being punished for being taught to read by me - had I left it in the hands of last year's reception, he would be at the same reading stage as them and would be getting the same spellings as them (tree, bee, potty)

OP posts:

NoblesseOblige · 02/10/2008 16:30

speak to other parents, see what they say, sounds like farking madness to me and i would kick off if it happened here. am also at teahcers reaction.

Mercy · 02/10/2008 16:30

Dd didn't have to attempt joined up writing until Yr2.

I would also expect those spellings to be Yr2 level - actually I'll look in her old book now.

JacobsPrincess · 02/10/2008 16:31

Coalbuckets words seem more appropriate to me (yr 2 & yr 3 teacher).
Maybe they've been learning about compound words (sandpit, hatstand, lunchbox) in Literacy?

BTW Does anyone even have hatstands anymore?

wheresthehamster · 02/10/2008 16:32

The words themselves are all words that can be decoded. By now most yr1s will be learning or have learnt 'er' and 'ow' sounds. 'What' is an early 'tricky' word.

Our school hasn't introduced joined up writing yet. Sounds a disaster, I'm dreading it.

Original poster

SmugColditz · 02/10/2008 16:32

Oh, and they've said "He's reluctant to get his work on paper"

I'm not fucking surprised now I've seen what they want him to do

OP posts:

Hulababy · 02/10/2008 16:35

DD's school doesn't start joined up writing until Y2, once they have mastered proper letter formation and are writing more confidently and independently.

DD is in Y2. Her spelling list is not as hard as those in the OP. This week's were mainly oo words (cool, fool school, etc) with one trickier one of who. Fpr some of the pupils these were still a challenge in Y2, some would never have managed those in the OP a good year on from Y1.

Mercy · 02/10/2008 16:41

Can't find her book but they still mostly seem like Yr2 spellings to me.

Fwiw lots of children in dd's class made rapid progress in Yr after a shaky start, it was quite amazing to see.

BUT no child should be reduced to tears because they can't do the homework

MaloryDontDiveItsShallow · 02/10/2008 16:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Szyslak · 02/10/2008 16:48

I'd just leave them. let him fail the test big time so she gets the message.

you don't want him to scrape the test so you have to go through this every week.

Sounds like teacher has got it very wrongon this ocasion.

Belgianchocolates · 02/10/2008 16:55

Well, my ds is in y2 and he's not had spellings that hard yet. (although I have a vague memory of him getting similar sounding words with different spellings, which were really tricky last year)

Blackduck · 02/10/2008 17:15

this week we have strong length and glad (amongst others) Next week - can't wait - its squid, queen, quick ..... Squid, I ask you......

surreylady · 02/10/2008 18:13

yr 2 - this week spellings include - Philippa, microphone, telephone, hospital and half a dozen others in a similar vein - joined up (as this has been the case since day one) and spellings are done as a dictated paragraph with the words in - can't imagine what the paragraph reads when I see some of them.

ninah · 02/10/2008 18:18

we have as, dog, big ...

LadyMuck · 02/10/2008 18:20

They are either too hard or too many.

If your teacher isn't listening yet, then I would suggest that you just work on say 5 words with him this week. You can then see how he does in the test.

DANCESwithLordPottingtonSmythe · 02/10/2008 18:26

I teach year one. I think those spellings are utterly ridiculous. I would go in again, stress how disheartening it is for you ds and say you do NOT want him put off school.

Themasterandmargaritas · 02/10/2008 18:39

Dd in year 2 and is good at spelling, but she would find those tough. They have not started with cursive writing yet...

singersgirl · 02/10/2008 19:01

Oh, those are really hard for the beginning of Y1; I don't think many Y1's could manage them. Anyway, some of them are such silly words - 'hatstand' and 'giftbox', FFS. Far more useful to give him the simple words 'hat', 'stand', 'gift' and 'box', all of which he would find easy and be much more likely to use in his own writing. The joined up writing is just insult on top of injury.

DS2 in Y3 has got 'reassess' and 'retract' this week. When is he likely to use 'reassess' in his writing? He was only 7 a month ago.

Elk · 02/10/2008 19:14

dd1 in year 1 has:

saw
away
play
day
are

to learn this week.
She will also be tested on others that they aren't told about but should be able to work out eg pen, hen, men.

They are not doing joined up writing and a good attempt gets them a house point ( and a picture of a smily face in their spelling book).

Troutpout · 02/10/2008 19:16

blardy hell!
Way to hard

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