1. Long Marton Primary School Spelling Workshop Tuesday 17th October 2017

2. Lower Key Stage 2 Years 3 & 4 Why teach spellings?
Under the current National Curriculum, spellings are a statutory requirement. Within Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum for English both word lists and spelling patterns are listed for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
These lists contain both a list of frequently used words by pupils AND those children frequently misspell.
Even by the Government’s own admission, “some of the listed words may be thought of as quite challenging “.

3. How spellings are taught?
Common spelling patterns are taught within both weekly handwriting/guided reading lessons as well as in literacy lessons that have a SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar) related focus.
Within years 3 and 4, a variety of spelling patterns, suffixes and prefixes are covered including:-
Prefixes – un, dis, mis, in, il, im, re, sub, inter, super, anti, auto
Suffixes – ation, ly, ous,
Spelling patterns – sure, ture, sion, our, ous, tion, eigh,
Homophones – break/brake, here/hear, mail/male, meat/meet
A FULL LIST OF ALL THE ABOVE ARE LISTED WITHIN APPENDIX 1.

4. How spellings are marked?
More recently the school has agreed upon a revised policy to mark your child’s spelling in all written work across the curriculum. This comprises of:
An incorrect spelling, which is age appropriate and within your child’s capabilities, will be marked with a circled ‘SP’ by the incorrect spelling.
(More complex spellings written on the SmartBoard and copied are expected to be spelt correctly).
2) The correct spelling is given and written by the ‘SP’.
3) Your child is to then copy out the correct spelling 3 times beneath their work.
Please note: - If your child struggles with spelling then a sensible number of ‘SP’s are highlighted to focus on the higher frequency / more common words. It is NOT designed to lower confidence levels for weaker spellers.
Within Class 3, high frequency / top 100 common words spellings mats are included within ‘literacy resource packs’ on every table in the classroom. Children’s dictionaries are also available and kept in class.

5. What can you do to help your child?
Take an active role in helping your child practise their weekly spellings. Your child should follow procedure of ‘look/cover/write/check.’
Question your child to ensure they understand the meaning of the given word – if they don’t they will never use it in their writing!
Encourage/sit with your child and listen to them read at least 3 times a week.
Be aware of how to access Appendix 1 – if your child excels at spellings then push them onto Year 5/6 spellings.
Consider buying a children’s dictionary (with some pictures so not so overwhelming!)
Access fun spelling games/activities/word searches/crosswords

6. Year 3 & 4 Appendix 1 Word List Examples
accident(ally) early purpose
actual(ly) earth quarter
address eight question
answer enough recent
appear experience regular
arrive experiment reign
believe extreme remember
bicycle famous sentence
breath favourite separate
breathe forwards special
build fruit straight
busy grammar strange

7. Try something different?
Weaker spellers and writers can often find pencil / paper overwhelming let alone focusing on spelling.
If you have the time/resource, please consider the following as multi-sensory learning can make a significant positive impact:-
Using sand instead of paper.
Using paint and brush
Even condensation on the window!

8. Upper Key Stage 2 Years 5 & 6:
Under the current National Curriculum, spellings are a statutory requirement. Within Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum for English both word lists and spelling patterns are listed for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. These lists contain both a list of frequently used words by pupils AND those children frequently misspell.
The expectation was upped with the new National Curriculum, particularly with reference to the spellings children are expected to get correct in their independent writing in order to be assessed as ‘At Expected’ standard.
If children - without a specific reason - cannot spell most of these words correctly, they will be assessed as ‘Working Towards’.

9. Year 5 & 6 Appendix 1 Word List Examples
temperature thorough twelfth variety vegetable vehicle yacht conscience conscious controversy convenience correspond
criticise curiosity definite desperate determined exaggerate excellent existence explanation familiar foreign forty
frequently government guarantee harass
hindrance identity physical prejudice
privilege profession programme pronunciation queue recognise recommend relevant
restaurant rhyme rhythm mischievous

10. Weekly Spellings:
In Class 4, weekly spellings (taken from Appendix 1) are given out on a Monday (10 each week). These will either follow a pattern we have looked at, be from the word list or (occasionally) be Topic-related.
Your child is required to accurately record these in their Home/School diary and take the spellings sheet home to practise using LOOK – COVER – WRITE – CHECK.
Your child is expected to practise these throughout the week a minimum of 4 times before their weekly spelling test on a Friday morning, plus use the word in context in a sentence on the sheet given. Complex sentences gain ‘Green Faces’!
Weekly scores are recorded on a spreadsheet to track progress throughout the term(s). If children are struggling, support will be given. Spellings are differentiated to ensure children have the correct level of challenge.
A 100% score or beating their previous best score will gain a Gold Star and ‘Green Face’ on TrackIt.

11. How spellings are taught:
Common spelling patterns are taught within literacy lessons that have a SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar) related focus as well as in handwriting lessons.
Within Years 5 and 6, a more complex variety of spelling patterns, suffixes and prefixes are covered including:-
Endings which sound like / əs/ ʃ spelt –cious or –tious; Words with ‘silent’ letters (i.e. letters whose presence cannot be predicted from the pronunciation of the word); Homophones.
“Conscience and conscious are related to science: conscience is simply science with the prefix con- added. These words come from the Latin word ‘scio’ meaning ‘I know’. The word desperate, meaning ‘without hope’, is often pronounced in English as desp’rate, but the –sper- part comes from the Latin ‘spero’, meaning ‘I hope’, in which the e was clearly sounded. Familiar is related to family, so the /ə/ sound in the first syllable of familiar is spelt as a. “

12. How spellings are marked:
More recently, the school has agreed upon a revised policy to mark your child’s spelling in all written work across the curriculum. In Class 4, this means:
An incorrect spelling, which is age-appropriate and within your child’s capabilities, will be marked with an ‘SP’ by the incorrect spelling;
Children are expected to spell words from the L.O. or support materials correctly;
Children will be given time to locate these words during school time while reflecting on their learning;
Your child is to then to find the correct spelling using a dictionary or spell-checker and correct it in a purple pen – the aim is to promote spelling a word correctly initially.
Please note: - If your child struggles with spelling then a sensible number of ‘SP’s are highlighted to focus on the higher frequency / more common words. It is NOT designed to lower confidence levels for weaker spellers.
Within Class 4, key spellings for a piece of work are available on display and the Word Lists for Years 3-6 are given to each child for them to refer to. Children’s dictionaries are also available and kept in class - children are encouraged to access an electronic spell-checker during each piece of written work.

13. What can you do to help your child?
Take an active role in helping your child practise their weekly spellings – check their result when they test themselves each day.
Question your child to ensure they understand the meaning of the given word – if they don’t they will never use it in their writing!
Discuss the sentences they are composing for their homework. Encourage neat hand-writing – there is a link between flowing writing and remembering spelling patterns.
Encourage/sit with your child and listen to them read at least 3 times a week – good readers make good spellers.
The top search result for “ks2 english spelling appendix” gives access to all we have discussed.
Consider buying a children’s dictionary or spell-checker.
Access fun spelling games/activities/word searches/crosswords