Learning Spellings at Home
At Birdwell, we believe that learning to spell is important and in the new National Curriculum, which we are following, correct spelling is stated as a key objective in all subjects.
As an inclusive school, we are committed to dyslexia-friendly approaches to spelling and advocate multi-sensory learning strategies. Every child is different and will learn in his/her own unique way. It is important that every individual learns to use a range of strategies and identify those that work for them, personally.
In Key Stage 1, the emphasis is on learning to read and spell sounds, then putting these together to make words. This is known as ‘blending’. Children are encouraged to have a go, sounding out words as they write and at other times making use of their sight words.
In Key Stage 2, we continue to encourage children to have a go and use their phonic strategies to spell as well as learning a bank of more irregular words individually. In addition, we teach spelling rules and patterns. Pupils are encouraged to use a wider range of strategies to spell words including:
We take a very active approach to the learning of spellings at Birdwell and encourage pupils to improve through a variety of games and activities which may be kinaesthetic and ‘get up and go’, or through the identification of rules and patterns that can be applied. The emphasis is always on ‘having a go’ and celebrating what is, rather than what is not, correct in the word. We believe that making the meanings of words integral to their acquisition alongside the practice of spelling words in context is fundamental to success.
Many parents have asked how they can support their children with spelling at home. These ideas have been designed to help!
With spelling flashcards:
With pen, pencil, marker and paper:
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With a computer or tablet:
Some children, and particularly those with dyslexia, benefit from cream paper and different-coloured ink. Try using different backgrounds when word-processing and encourage your child to consider which colours, backgrounds and fonts are best for them. We have used Sassoon Primary Infant as our chosen font for this document.
Remember, just sitting learning meaningless words by rote is not fun and encourages neither a love of writing or an interest in the rich vocabulary of our language. Acquiring more words must be fun and motivating. One of the very best ways is just to encourage your child to read, read and read some more so that they absorb language and spelling in context. Don’t forget that ‘reading’ also can include listening to audio books, hearing stories read aloud by family members, encouraging children to read to their younger siblings and even their pets!
Every week your child will be bringing home a list of spellings which are the class focus for that week. Please help support spelling at school by taking some time to try a few of the above activities at home with your child. Little and often is far better than all at once; concentrating on a few words each day is best and will really go a long way in helping your child to meet national standards.
If you come up with any other enjoyable, successful and motivating ideas to get those spellings learnt, please let us know and we can add them to the list.
Happy spelling!