Advice PLEASE !!!

Discussion of all things non-11 Plus related

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now
panicmum
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:17 pm

Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by panicmum »

Hi all , just had Parents evening for my Y4 DD. ( in the past struggled with literacy ) Now teacher has said she is doing fantastic :D. But her spelling is weak and this is effecting her written work... in addition the words she spells incorrect, will be spelt in 3-4 different way's. (all incorrect)
I voiced my concerns to be told not to worry, she will not be at a disadvantage.
Would you be worried?
How can I help with spelling?

Any advice is very much appreciated.
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by scarlett »

It's good news that her literacy has improved :D is it just spellings ? What is the punctuation, story sequencing and content like ? If they are all fine then I shouldn't worry. My DS2 was awful at spelling and only really picked up in year 4 ( he was level 1 for writing in year 2 :shock: ) .I bought some spelling books from Waterstones ...they are fore different age groups and a bit like the spellings they do at school with the Look Say Cover ...or something. There are quite a lot of work books out there...I'm sure it will improve .Reading lots will help too.How is she with this ?
panicmum
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:17 pm

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by panicmum »

Hi scarlett, punctuation so so, as a tendency to forget , story sequencing again so so. At home will not read ,I do try and encourage her..At school for the first time Her reading age is above her chronicle age. (Teacher did say she was a brilliant reader) Thanks so much.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by Manana »

Sorry if this seems a bit harsh, but I would first make sure your own spelling/punctuation is tip-top as you will then be well-placed to help her (effecting/way's/doing fantastic etc).

Get the First Aid in English book to make sure you are secure with different spelling and punctuation rules. Then, I would probably start giving her a sentence each morning with simple errors in and ask her to correct them with a red pen. You can then discuss difficulties as they arise.

HTH
panicmum
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:17 pm

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by panicmum »

Hi teachermum76, thanks for your advice were a little hash :lol: nevertheless 100% correct.
That’s why they go to school so they don’t end up has bad as me. :lol: :lol:
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by scarlett »

You're not that bad ! I'm terrible at maths and so my DC like to see if they can work out an answer before I do on my trusty calculator ! They are still learning correctly, so get some workbooks and your DD will be fine. :D
andyb
Posts: 645
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:27 am
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by andyb »

panicmum wrote:... in addition the words she spells incorrect, will be spelt in 3-4 different way's. (all incorrect)
This sounds like DS1. He can spell the same simple word several incorrect ways in one page of writing. He has always been a poor speller but it hasn't held him back - he is now in Y9 at GS. His Chemistry teacher commented on it and makes him write out words correctly 3 times - a bit old-fashioned but he is of the opinion that it is laziness/carelessness (I'm not saying this applies to your DD) rather than a literacy problem. Learning spellings is rather tedious so maybe ask to read her stories and go over any spelling mistakes with her.
drummer
Posts: 529
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:47 pm
Location: South Bucks

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by drummer »

Could I recommend the Violet Brand structured phonic spelling programme. There isn't much point in tackling spelling one word at a time (writing it out 3 times etc). A child who is struggling needs to be provided with a system and a structure.

Once you have a structure in place it is then easier to correct work in a meaningful way. For example, if they wrote "bote" for a craft that floats you could point out that the /oa/ sound in boat is spelt the same way as in coat, goat and float.

You should also ensure that spelling is the flip of reading as decoding ie that spelling is encoding ie representing the sounds in a word (in order). Often a child will have a vague idea of the letters in a word (from years of spelling tests etc) and if they they make a sensible effort to represent the sounds in a word (one by one) they they are more likely to get everything in the correct order.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by mystery »

Violet Brand sounds good. Also you could try somehow to ensure that your daughter does lots of reading - in general people who read a lot have better spelling and writing. It does not always follow of course.

I would suggest that the feedback you received at parents' evening was not entirely useful. It doesn't really tell you anything. What does "fantastic" mean? And how are you supposed to help with her spelling? If I were you, I'd ask the teachers what you would like to know. Then, if their answers are still unenlightening I'd do what the others suggest and buy some appealing looking books from WH Smiths and work through them.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Advice PLEASE !!!

Post by Amber »

Ok, typical Amber reply coming up. :P
Don't worry. Some people spell naturally (one of mine has a photographic memory and doesn't need to think about it) and others don't. If your child is producing phonetically plausible spellings of words, as the teacher seems to imply, but writing fluently and creatively, then that is worth more than scoring full marks in spelling tests (which test only how well children do in spelling tests, nothing else). It is a very well known fact that children will not always/often use correct spellings in written work even if they got the same words right when they were tested. Try not to worry about it - she is still very young. Personally I would not go down the route of any specific interventions- these things usually sort themselves out and you don't want to discourage her from writing for fear of getting it wrong. 2 of my own children learned to write using 'emergent writing' techniques because they learned from a Scandinavian teacher. They had no spelling tests at all until they were about 10 and have always been very creative. The spelling kind of sorted itself out as they got older. And now we get a great mix of creativity and spot on spelling.

I would echo the teacher's view (ok, I would, wouldn't I?) that this will not disadvantage your daughter, and indeed would try not to do anything specific abut it as you may kill her urge to write, which would disadvantage her, possibly forever.
Post Reply
11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now