7 weeks I have been teaching again

My head is spinning

But I feel like I am finally starting to get back up to speed

So much has changed for me

And in education

Since I last had a class of my own 6 years ago

The curriculum has changed dramatically

And in particular for Year 1 and Year 2

The emphasis now placed on spelling and grammar

Is considerable

I have been on a spelling training course this term

And have some grammar training coming up in the next

I thought I would share here

Some of the things I have learned

The course started by making us aware that the KS1 SATs have changed

There are sample papers now available to download

We were urged to beware of following any specific scheme of work

And instead encouraged to follow carefully the National Curriculum Programmes of Study

There is a lot to cover in KS1

And the technical terminology now required for SATs success

May catch some children out

Especially if schools have not fitted their teaching to meet the requirements of the new NC

I know in my own classroom

There are things I need to be doing differently

Starting next term

The expectation for children in Year 1

Is that they become secure with their phonics to the end of Phase 5

The focus should on oral blending and segmenting

Securing reading skills through the use of puzzles, games and practical activities

The focus needs to be different for Year 2

Even if children in the two year groups are working at the same phase

The approach should be different

Year 1 is focused on reading

Year 2 on spelling and writing

In both year groups phonics and spelling sessions need to be fun and age appropriate

There should be lots of word building

Lots of practical activities

We talked about the pros and cons of streaming for phonics

It was felt by many that class teaching improves results more than setting

It ensures the teacher has ownership of the class and knows exactly where all the children are with their learning

It leads to improved subject knowledge for teachers

It was also thought that through whole class teaching

Lower ability children are brought up by the highers as they are exposed to new sounds

And the highers are consolidating their learning

I know in my own class children who have completed a phase in phonics

Often have gaps particularly with spelling

That might be filled through consolidation time with class teaching

I plan to build short burst of quality phobics teaching into my daily timetable next term

To see if it makes a difference

I am also going to be doing lots of work on sight words

High Frequency Words

Tricky Words

Do you know that 50% of what we read and write is made up of the first 100 words we ask children to learn?

Common Exception Words

We need to make time in our schedule for the teaching and learning of these

Dictation

The new National Curriculum requires children to

‘write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include words and punctuation taught so far.’

It is important that Key Stage One children practise this skill regularly in their learning

Gaps

This year children will have some gaps in their learning

It is advised that Year 2 teachers spend until Christmas

Covering Year 1 objectives with their class

To ensure the children secure this knowledge before beginning the Year 2 programme of study

Year 3 this year will not have covered the Year 2 work last year

It is important for teachers to carry out gap analysis

And gap fill with their children

Especially with regard to grammar and punctuation

With this in mind

Year 2 children should be having daily phonics teaching and regular spelling lessons too

With the change in curriculum

Leaving gaps in children’s learning

Parents may wish to employ a tutor for their children

Perhaps from Fleet Tutors

To work with them on spelling, grammar and punctuation

Following the new curriculum’s programme of study

I know that I will be doing some extra work with my own children at home

The work I do with my children in school and at home

Will be creative

Will be physical and visual

It will not involve lots of worksheets

Or pages of writing in books

We rush too quickly to writing

Children need to have oral and practical strategies secure in their head

Before we ask them to start writing

This security is what will lead to confidence in and enjoyment of writing

And accuracy in spelling

Alphabetical Order

Throughout Key Stage One it is important to teach, learn, consolidate and revise alphabetical order

A key skill that a surprising number of children do not have

Find alphabet songs and rhymes that you like

Use them daily

And point to the letters as they are said or sung

My Teaching

Next term I am determined to build into my teaching

As I feel they will hugely benefit my Y1/2 class

Daily alphabet songs, rhymes or activities

Extra class based practical phonics sessions

Spellings / Words of the Week linked to handwriting

Dictations

Punctuation and Grammar sessions

Common Exception Words

Spellings

We talked a lot on the course about the fact that spelling lists to learn do not help children

Spellings that go home are for parents not for children

We discussed the fact that setting children a 100 word challenge

To learn those Common Exception Words

Is far more important and beneficial than weekly spellings

In my class we have a Words of the Week system that works really well

I introduce new words on a Monday

The children practise during registration every morning

Then on Friday they test each other in pairs

Paired spelling

It works really well and ensures a calm and purposeful start to our days

Phase 5 Phonics and Spelling

In our school we do set for phonics

And next term I will be teaching Phase 5

My plan is to try and differentiate the way I teach the sounds

Depending on the age of the children

My Year 1s will focus on phonics and reading

My Year 2s and those beyond will be thinking more about spelling choices

Children can be good at reading but not at spelling

Secure spelling involves recall memory

Children can find it hard to transfer sounds in their head to letters on a page

I believe this may be the case for many of the children in my class

And I am certain more and more phonics is not the answer

It is time to try something new

Starting Sounds

I plan to start each of my Phase 5 and whole class phonics sessions

With a complex or simple sound chart

We will go through all the sounds at the start of each lesson

Then say, ‘Today we are going to focus on …’

Phonics is all about sounds

It is about the children becoming proficient in segmenting and blending sounds

Saying words

Saying sounds

Using fingers to count sounds

Using phoneme frames

Building words with magnetic letters

The focus should be building rather than writing

Writing adds another layer of complication

In daily phonics and spelling sessions children should be up and moving

They should be actively finding, sorting and mapping

Reading, recognising, highlighting

Phase 5 phonics should be fun and text based

I cannot wait to get planning and make a start

Phase 5 is where the transition from phonics to spelling begins

Children should be looking at patterns and making their own rules

Activities should be practical, fun and sensory

They should require children to make a choice

w_____gh
w______
m_____il

Children would choose which phoneme is missing

Using their phonics knowledge to make spelling choices

Common Exception Words

Children need to use their visual memory when learning these words

We need to teach children these tricky words

We need to provide resources and strategies to help the children who do not find this easy

We need to build children’s visual memory

Using flashcards

Computer games

Sky writing

Sensory writing

Repetition and recall ,

It is a good idea to focus on five words a week

Ask the children, ‘Why are these words tricky?’

Use phonics to identify the tricky bit

Link this to the complex sounds chart I mentioned before

Talk to the children about why these common words are exceptions

Talk about the exceptional ways of writing a sound

The unusual, irregular pattern that makes the word a tricky one

Encourage children to find exceptional words in their reading

Display a complex sounds chart so that children can add the words they find to the correct sound

Top Tips

Stop telling children that spelling is difficult

That our language is complicated

Instead make it interesting and fun

Let’s make our children excited about language

It is an amazing, awe inspiring thing

If you teach Year 2 check your children’s knowledge using the spelling appendix

Plug any gaps before or alongside tackling the Y2 requirements

Teach skills discretely and then use in a creative context

Raise your expectations of your children’s spelling

Raise their expectations of themselves

Agree with them that if you have words on display somewhere in the classroom

On walls or on tables

The children must spell them correctly in their work

If you introduce words or spelling rules

Expect children to spell them correctly

Accept no excuse for misuse and spellings will steadily start to improve

A good phonics and spelling lesson needs

Good teacher knowledge

Dedicated time on the timetable

Consistency in approach,

A framework to follow

Repetition

Multi sensory elements

To be engaging and fun

To be ability matched with clear learning outcomes

Spelling lessons need to be part of a school wide spelling ethos

A wider spelling curriculum

With a firm set of non negotiables for our children

We do need to get spellings correct in our writing

And as teachers we need to give our children the ownership, independence, confidence, resources and ability to do so

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