Spellings In Reception

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

Do you do them? We've always done them from Spring term onwards, using the Reception HFW's, differentiated accordingly of course. But now I'm not so sure with the change towards more practical based stuff. I'd also like to know what everyone is doing about number formation this year!

Thanks,

Jess

[Susan]

HI Jessica, short answer here NO!

 

for my children it would certainly not be appropriate. Many of them have little understanding of a "word" and are struggling to gain any sort of visual memory.

I do encourage the children to write the sounds of the keywords when we are writing together and to use word banks so that they can read and copy the word they need but we do not send them home for learning as spelling and although we give our parents a copy of the keywords I do stress they are words for reading!

 

As for number formation not stressing that too much either, it is 3rd term NNS\and tend to keep it as such as we do very little recorded maths work and by summer term fine manipulative skills are so much better.

 

Susan

[Guest]

Thanks for your reply, Susan. I have a very big mix this year, ranging from an SEN child who has a cognitive level of 18 months to a child who has a reading level of about 10yrs.

 

I do have a number of children who I feel are ready to start learning the correct way of spelling words rather than continue to mis-spell through emergent writing. I use word banks like you do but like to involve parents as much as possible.

 

As for numbers, I'm quite happy to stick to the NNS and not introduce number formation until the summer term with the majority of children. But again, there are a number of children who have been doing it for some time because they were rady for it.

 

We have our parents evening tomorrow and I can see that I'll be spending much of it trying to explain why there is very little maths work for them to see this year!

 

Best wishes,

Jess

[Guest]

Hi Jessica

 

Was reading your posts and they could so easily be my class!!

Also have a child with SEN who is worlking at the level of a 2 1/2 yr old and others who know all the YR HF words. in our school we test the children on BAsic Skills throughout YR to Y6 in Jan and again in June. By this time the ch. are expected to be able to spell 20 of the HF words, read all 45 and spell their first and second name.

Again it is our parents evening tomorrow and supposed to be sharing the children's individual targets - identified from the Basic Skills testing - and give ideas of things to be done at home.

 

Some of the children are already picking up spellings, I use word banks and do encourage them to have a go, but feel that i need to push spelligns more as they are expected to do so by the end of the year!

 

in terms of practical ideas - i use went sand, plastic/magnetic/wooden letters and lots of drywipe activites for them to practice with, and for my HA i have started using the Look, Say, write, cover, check method of writing words - the children do love this and think that they are doing 'work' and not just playing - which for some bizarre reason they really enjoy?!?!?!?!?

 

Sarah