Please talk to me about spellings in Year 1

[rainbowinthesky]

DD is doing well in Yr 1 - stage 10 ort. She has just been given her first spellings sheet for Y1 but she was able to spell them all in reception. I have written a note saying this for the teacher and asking if we could have the next ones up. I am a little why we got them in the first place.
I have tried to find Y2 spelling list on the net but can't. Anyone help with a link?

Why not wait for the teacher to get back to you.?

I would like to see the list for Y2 so I can judge if it is appropriate for dd.

What was on the list? We have a variety of long and short words on ours. This week we have days of the week plus some other shorter words.

In ds's class the teacher reads out the spellings and the children have to write them down. Depending on ability the children have from four to ten words to learn. There is one list. I would be surprised if your dd's class has different spelling lists for different children.

Does it matter if she can already spell the words? It means she will get 10 out of 10 and can spend her homework time doing something else.

There are about 100 words and the idea is we choose the words each week for our dc to learn. Words include things like "where" "would" "people" "little" "his" "not" etc.

There is no point her going through the motions. I want her to progress with spellings she is unfamiliar with or at least means she is learnign something.

Given that your dc doesn't have to learn her weekly spellings why don't you do a search for KS1 Keywords and learn to spell all those words in place of the spellings school gives - they are the words your dc will need to know how to spell - does it matter whether the school gives them to you?

I thought it was spellings for a test. If she knows them all already then I wouldn't bother. You could either do what pedal suggests or just pick words out of her reading books for her to spell. Ds has a weekly list. About three words are like the ones you've listed and the others are longer - 'yesterday' was one of last week's.

Okay, I think I know why I can't find what I am looking for. I believe the words she has been given are the words for KS1 rather than Y1 hence no Y2 words.

Her school should be giving her differentiated spellings in order to move her forward from where she is at not from where the average in the class is at.

They are spellings for a weekly test. We choose the words from the list and the school test her.

My ds has no bother with the spelling test either - but I don't see that it matters much - he has clearly picked up correct spelling from elsewhere, maybe all the reading he has been doing.
There are more interesting ways to challenge a child than to try to get them to memorize the spelling of long words. Book reviews, creative stories, poems, plays etc.

She's never had a spelling test. This will be her first. I see no value in her doing spellings she isnt learning as she knows them. It's a farce.

So don't do them at home, do something else! At school it must take no more than 5-10 minutes to rattle through the test every week - it's hardly a significant proportion of school time.

How on earth does the teacher administer the spelling test if you can choose which words each child gets. 30 pupils, 30 different tests. Madness. At ds's school the entire year get the same list of up to ten per week. I don't think learning spellings actually means anything tbh. Ds is excellent at the tests despite refusing even to look at them until the evening before. Some of the words are long and difficult yet he can spell them correctly with next to no practice. His reading is truly rubbish so being able to spell seems to mean very little afaic.

I see your point but I believe she should be given words to match where she is at. That's the job of a teacher. The work should be differentiated!

Rainbowinthesky, I also have a Y1 child and he is doing well too, although admittedly not as well as yours. He wouldn't be able to spell all the words your DD can and given he is one of the cleverer ones in his class,it is probably likely that there are some children in your DD's class who will have some difficulties with some of the words.

If they are the KS1 words you have been given, she is being given words that Y2 children would be expected to learn how to spell. Her teacher may want to check her level. If she can spell all these words and has no problems with it, I am sure her teacher will find more challenging words for her.

Why don't you find some words from her reading book that are longer and more difficult for her to learn how to spell? I really wouldn't panic too much.

RITS, how many children are there in your DD's class?

God knows how they'll do it...

There are 30 kids.

Yes, she is bright and her teacher knows this already and has since she started Y1. I expect her to have differentiated work to match her ability. I don't expect or want this all the time but considering she has been able to spell these words since reception I would like to think she'd be given a more appropriate list.

r u actually serious ?
spelling is just spelling- in itself it is of no relevance, other than when talking in the context of reading and writing. if u r so v concerned that ur daughter is not being challenged enough- then these r the areas that should be worked on. (ps it is the first 100 common word list that ur child has been given- these r the words the teacher has to ensure ur child can spell, and use properly by the end of the year)
seriously though id just give my dd a break and perhaps even let her 'play' instead of thinking up more homework for her to do.

Did she get them on Friday? Has the teacher been able to respond to your request yet? She may have a differentiated list for your DD very soon.

2andcounting - I'm not sure I get your post.
The teacher knows dd can spell these and most of them for about a year hence my . I then explained I couldnt find a y2 list so that I could see if these would be more suitable. DD rarely has homework and has only this last couple of weeks even brought home ort books.
This is her first lot of spellings she's ever had to learn for a test.

Why on earth would you think dd doesnt play??

Yes, she might. I won't be hammering the door down. I simply wrote in her book to remind her that dd knows these words and does she want us to go through the process or have others.
I am not cross that she hasnt been given a suitable list just mildly annoyed as the teacher should be setting work to help the children progress.

eh? I've met her twice at parents evenings. THat's all. WHy on earth would her heart sink at a simple question about her spellings? I was told by the reception teacher and this teacher she knew the words months ago.

Shiny - can you please justify your get a grip comment.