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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

Yr3 spellings: accountable, impressionable, timeless

12 replies

Lycraphobe · 02/02/2010 18:39

has anyone else got a child in Y3 who has recently been given spelling words like these? I think they are too sophisticated for a seven year old but DS1 was asked to make up sentences using these words in the last week.

Is this normal or is the teacher actually testing me now? (Because I am having to talk him through it each step of the way - he likes to read but not words like this!).

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Coca · 02/02/2010 18:43

They sound like dd1's spellings. She's in yr 3 too, worrying that she can now spell better than me! I was hoping for a few more years before I had to look up things before helping with homework!

hana · 02/02/2010 18:43

i don't think too sophisticated!

they sound linked, or themed in some way

maresedotes · 02/02/2010 18:47

My DD1 is in year 3 and gets long words like these.

If he's being given these words then the teacher probably thinks he can cope with them. Not all the children in my dd's class get the same spellings, it depends on their ability. Hope this helps.

Smithagain · 02/02/2010 18:49

They are more complicated than the words DD1 is getting for Y3 spelling tests. This week, she has: enjoying, deciding, planning, jumping, liking, other, through, right, these and began.

On the other hand, they are the sorts of words they might have used in a creative writing exercise. They are into "powerful" words at the moment. So she might get something like this to use in sentences, but not in a straightforward "spell these ten words" type of test.

singersgirl · 02/02/2010 19:07

We get these sorts of daft words all the time. Actually none of them are particularly difficult to spell, but most 7 year olds won't know what they mean, and even if they find out what they mean, they're unlikely to remember. DS2 is in Y4 now, and DS1 in Y7, and I remain to be convinced that he's ever added a word to his active vocabulary as a result of a spelling test.

wordsonascreen · 02/02/2010 19:13

My yr 3 has to look up his spelling words are write the meanings out as well as learn the spellings.

[bloody nightmare]

wordsonascreen · 02/02/2010 19:14

We had enjoying/liking etc last week

This week its all wobble giggle and sizzle (sounds like a fat fighters convention)

[group 2 emoticon]

swill72 · 02/02/2010 19:53

For higher ability y3s I would think these are appropriate spellings. Looks to me like they might have been working on suffixes? I would expect this list to be related to work going on in the classroom, and presumably your child is a 'top group' speller. The teacher obviously has high expectations, and quite rightly. After all, if they're exposed to sophisticated vocabulary early on, they will become much better speakers, readers and writers as a result.

swill72 · 02/02/2010 19:55

Meant to add ... if it's a list of words like that just for a spelling test, unrelated to anything else they've been doing, then no, not appropriate at all and as someone else said, fairly pointless!

Original poster

Lycraphobe · 02/02/2010 20:10

swill72... they were working on suffixes, this week it was able words and last week it was less words. DS1 has no trouble with the spellings - he can memorise the whole lot in a couple of minutes just by reading through. So he usually gets 100% on the spelling tests (and we will be tested on these next week).

Its understanding what the words mean and putting them into sentences that he is coming unstuck. Tonight I was trying to explain the concept of accountability to him. Its not easy.. he is only 7! Then once he sort of understands it, he has to think of a sentence which uses it. Isn't this something a lot of adults would struggle with?

OP posts:

swill72 · 03/02/2010 21:10

I see. Yep, I think they probably would find it tricky!
I would let him put the ones he can do into sentences, and put a note at the end of the homework to say he's done everything he can, but can't manage to put the other words into meaningful sentences. I'd be happy with that, as long as there's a note from the parent explaining why the homework's not finished.

castlesintheair · 03/02/2010 21:42

Lycraphobe, we have the same sort of words and they always follow a theme too, this week was compound words for example, the week before was root changes when adding a suffix. My DS also finds the spelling bit really easy and struggles with the sentence writing but from talking to other parents most other children do too. Sometimes they just seem impossible, although I also find it a good opportunity to discuss the meaning of words (however rarely they will be used by a 7 year old!) particularly as my DS's weakness is receptive language. Recently the teacher has added a note saying 'if you can't write a sentence about the word, look it up in the dictionary and write the definition' (probably as a result of parental feedback). Perhaps you should suggest this at your school?

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