Stottesdon CofE Primary School

Spelling Bee

The new curriculum has a much higher expectation for all pupils with regard to their spelling. 

Under the new assessment framework children in each year group will be assessed as to whether they are working:  

• Below / towards expectations for their age
• at expectations for their age
• at greater depth for their age

Children have to meet all criteria in order to be at age related expectations.  So, for example, if a child meets all the criteria except the spelling they will be judged as working below expectations for their age.

As a school we will aim to meet this higher expectation and have decided on a new range of initiatives (see below) that promote children to value accurate spelling in their work:

• Increased input/guided/taught sessions. Teachers will aim for a daily 10 minute provision e g 8.50-9.00am or 1.05-1.15pm
• To make sure accurate spelling is in success criteria of lessons
• In marking, staff will now highlight spelling errors in yellow (around 3 per piece of  work-  appropriate to age and ability).  Children will correct the spelling themselves – writing 10 x
• If children have no errors (appropriate to age/ability) they will get a spelling bee sticker.  If children get 10 spelling bee stickers they will be awarded a spelling bee badge in achievers

And finally we are sending the word lists home (Years 1 to 6) in the hope that you will help your child in improving this area of their work.

In your child’s reading record is a record of words that they are spelling correctly/incorrectly.  As the year moves on we will update as appropriate.

Please help your child with these spellings which are individual to them:

• Practise them on car journeys
• Write them in the adverts – have a note book to hand!
• Make up silly ways of remembering them eg how you pronounce the word, rhymes, mnemonics
• Bribery……….. rewards!

Children in reception will not be having spellings as above because we would like them to be practising their letter formation. Each week we will ask parents to practise a group of letters as often as possible. 

Practise in as many ways as you can:

• Paint, felt tips, chalk, water with a paint brush
• In the air with a magic finger
• With playdough or in sand

Remember those flicks and using one movement.  All these letters have the same pattern:

• Flick / back round the apple / down the leaf
• Flick / curl around the caterpillar
• Flick / back round the dinosaur’s bottom / up to his head and down to his tail