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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

Spelling

15 replies

MumNWLondon · 16/04/2010 16:50

DD is 6 in year 1 and has never had any spelling homework or spelling tests. She is doing really well with her reading...

I assumed they'd start learning some spelling in year 2 but just spoke to a mum with a child in the year above and they don't do any spelling in year 2 either.

The school is very laid back but does well in SATS as mainly middle class professional parents etc.

Is this normal? Should I do spelling with her at home, or just trust that she'll work it out.

I can't mention anything at the school as I have already pushed on reading (she is now getting suitable books thank goodness).

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lovecheese · 16/04/2010 17:26

Why not ask? I too have been, how shall I put it, gently co-ercing my own DD's reading progress and have been following the soap opera of your DDs journey through the dreaded ORT over the past few months. If you want to know, ask, I'm sure no-one will bite your head off.

squashpie · 16/04/2010 17:31

Definitely ask. I only found out my son's inclass target was a certain number of tricky spellings when I saw it on a board near his desk, going into the classroom after school to find his trainers! I'd heard nothing about spellings either and he is also in Yr1. I too have pushed on reading - and also - numeracy and was worried about being a pushy mother. But I was getting so cross not knowing and my son's education was more important than their opinion of me. Also, I've realized, the teachers may not like me (I've no idea) but they know I'm observing and they are now keen to tell me of progress/ weak areas etc.

HTH

lovecheese · 16/04/2010 17:34

Squashpie - are you me? you sound spookily similar!

Oblomov · 16/04/2010 18:14

No spelling as yet for us in yr1 either. but i do a bit of spelling from time to time with ds1. only becasue he likes it. verbally can spell sometimes or something, for example. think , but not sure, that it starts in yr2 for us.

thecloudhopper · 16/04/2010 18:27

sorry but I bloody hate spelling tests as they do nothing to help the children in my experence, they learn them th 1 week and have forgotten them by the next.

JennyPen · 16/04/2010 20:09

MY DD is in primary 1 - and they also don't get spelling tests, but i do writing with her and help her spell out words appropriate to her level at home. lovecheese and squash pie - curious to know how you have co-ersed and pushed the teachers with your childrens reading. I also have this issue with dd not challenged at all with regards to reading. We do of course just go to library and buy our own books for her to read as she is miles better i think than the teacher gives her credit for(i know many parents will think that!) I have spoken 2 times with teacher but she says she's too quiet in her group to be given more challenging books. I'd like to approach this again before summer though!

mrz · 16/04/2010 20:19

Just because the school doesn't send home spellings to learn for a test doesn't mean they aren't teaching children how to spell. All it means is they are teaching it effectively in phonics sessions.

squashpie · 16/04/2010 21:05

Lovecheese - I could well be you: I love cheese too!

As for coercing, the first half term, I asked for more of the ORT word lists to go through. Then I asked, if, assuming my DS was word perfect with his set books, I could get them changed twice a week. TBH, I think the teachers do appreciate the parents helping them in their job a little (ie by encouraging reading) and I know that my getting his books changed twice-weekly and my 2 five min chats with the teacher, is a lot less time spent on the subject of my son than the kids in his class who are very disruptive and on whom a lot of time is spent with both him and his parents!

posieparker · 16/04/2010 21:07

I didn't do spellings at that age....did I?

[scratches head, tries to engage memory]

squashpie · 16/04/2010 21:11

Sorry: should've written "them" and "their" because there is more than one disruptive boy and they all have parents!!

RacingSnake · 16/04/2010 21:29

I am a primary teacher and recently went on a training course where we were told that the latest wisdom is that weekly spelling tests make no difference to spelling ability. As stated above, they learn them one week and forget them the next. What is valuable, apparently, is lots of activities with words; teaching phonics, obviously, but also looking at word families, finding 'words inside words', etc. As to whether teachers 'like' parents who 'coerce' them ... I couldn't possibly comment.

lovecheese · 16/04/2010 21:35

Oh go on racingsnake, please comment.......

bruffin · 16/04/2010 21:46

DS 14 used to do okay at spelling tests but his spelling is so bad that even his teenage friends comment on it on facebook

RacingSnake · 16/04/2010 22:21

Oh, I think not.

asdx2 · 18/04/2010 10:06

Dd y2 has weekly spelling tests but not so much a list of words to learn more a test to consolidate the phonics teaching she has had over the week previous.
Dd can spell better than her siblings could at the same age who had lists of spellings to learn weekly and is far more confident at having a go at spelling any word she needs.
She can happily write her own stories without any help from me whereas I spent ages spelling out words to the others when they were writing their own stories.

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