Spelling
Spelling at Penketh South
From Year 2 onwards we follow The Spelling Book approach from Jane Considine. It is an effective way to build a spelling curriculum that focuses on the teaching of spelling, ensuring a drive on the ‘Big Mission’ for all pupils. That ‘Big Mission’ is what Jane Considine describes as spelling ’stickability’, automation and application into the pupils’ independent writing. An essential trait of literate people is being able to spell effectively and spelling is valued in society above all other writing conventions (Turnbill, 2000).
It is a fully comprehensive approach that targets reading patterns of spelling, the pressures of spelling and the remembering of spellings. It is a system that is based in strong phonics teaching with a focus on teaching pupils the connections between words, their sound associations, etymology and patterns.
Teachers are guided through the rationale and approaches to ensure that they have a deep understanding of the processes they can follow to become more effective teachers of spelling. Pupils will extend their knowledge of phonics throughout their time in primary school. They will improve their outcomes as they develop a culture of becoming ‘pattern finders’ and ‘spelling detectives’ instead of being demotivated by the repetitive failure of the weekly ’spelling test’ and they will acquire a range of strategies to apply during real-life composition of writing.
It is a way of teaching spelling that relies on teachers to bring the ‘wonder of words’ to life. The Spelling Books provide structure and support to teachers whilst allowing enough room for creativity, ensuring that all National Curriculum fundamentals are covered.
Intent
At Penketh South Primary School we are using the Jane Considine approach to Spelling. Teachers are guided through the rationale and approaches to ensure that they have a deep understanding of the processes they can follow to become more effective teachers of spelling. Pupils will extend their knowledge of phonics throughout their time in primary school. They will improve their outcomes as they develop a culture of becoming ‘pattern finders’ and ‘spelling detectives’ instead of being demotivated by the repetitive failure of the weekly ’spelling test’ and they will acquire a range of strategies to apply during real-life composition of writing. The Jane Considine Spelling Book is not a scheme, it’s a way of teaching spelling that allows teachers to bring the ‘wonder of words’ to life. It provides a clear structure and support to teachers whilst also allowing room for creativity,
Implementation
To support the planning and delivery of spelling in school, we use the Jane Considine Spelling Book approach. This is a clear and systematic approach which will provide our pupils with life-long strategies. Spelling is taught logically so that pupils understand how ‘probability matching’ (Diane McGuiness) of sounds heard to grapheme representation will strengthen their spelling. It has been developed to ensure breadth and coverage of all the National Curriculum spelling requirements for each year group.
‘The Spelling Book’ provides a coherent system for teaching spelling consistently and supports pupils to define what it means to be an effective speller. The underlying structure of the approach is based on three zones of spelling. The patterns of spelling are taught through the GROUPINGs, the pressure of spelling is eased through the IMPROVINGs and the remembering and recall of spelling through the AQUIRINGs. ‘The Spelling Book’ focuses on the importance of learning patterns and of the investigation of words rather than on testing. Letter-join handwriting scheme is used to support spelling activities through the school.
Spelling in EYFS and Year 1
In EYFS and Year 1, spelling is fundamentally taught through phonics. Please see the phonics section.
Spelling in Years 2 to 6
Each class will learn spelling rules, strategies and word lists specific to their year group ensuring that all National Curriculum fundamentals are covered in detail.
It is a fully comprehensive approach that targets reading patterns of spelling, the pressures of spelling and the remembering of spellings. It is a system that is based in strong phonics teaching with a focus on teaching pupils the connections between words, their sound associations, etymology and patterns.
It is a way of teaching spelling that relies on teachers to bring the ‘wonder of words’ to life. The Spelling Books provide structure and support to teachers whilst allowing enough room for creativity, ensuring that all National Curriculum fundamentals are covered.
In Years 2 to 6, daily discrete spelling sessions are taught, using ‘The Spelling Book’ approach. Spelling will be taught over a continuous two-week cycle. During week one of the cycle, children will take part in two sessions = an ‘investigation’ session where they explore a hypothesis and a ‘Go Grapheme Grafters’ session where they explore patterns within words. This builds on, and continues to embed, phonic strategies taught in KS1.
During week two of the cycle, children will take part in five 10–15-minute sessions – Daily Fast Tasks. These sessions are to improve pace and take a much quicker look at spellings. They involve analysing common errors, exploring why these errors occur and what to do to ensure that the correct spellings are embedded into our long-term memory.
Pupils will also work on their own, individualised spelling plan. These are called ‘My Focus Five’. With support of the class teacher, children will identify five words that they are finding tricky to spell. These will be recorded in their spelling journals on their ‘Focus Five’ grid. They will identify the tricky part and think of ways to remember how to spell those words correctly. Once these words have been used correctly in their writing three times, new words will be identified to focus on.
Impact
Spelling is assessed formally at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 when the children complete their end of Key Stage SATs. In other year groups, spelling is assessed twice per year through our optional testing programme. There is also a baseline spelling progress check, within ‘The Spelling Book’ approach, which will be carried out twice per year – during the first two weeks of term and again at the end of the year.