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St Mary’s Primary School, Larkhall

Spelling Policy

Parents Booklet

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A New Spelling Policy At St Mary’s Primary School we aim to deliver a robust spelling programme throughout our school to

ensure our pupils become confident and successful spellers.

Our new spelling policy contains eight key aspects of spelling which we believe need to be focussed on

and taught in a structured way to enable our children to become skilled spellers.

Throughout P1-P7 our children will be explicitly taught….

Phonics

1. Spelling patterns and rules

2. Common &Y tricky words

3. Syllabification

4. A variety of spelling strategies to best

equip them to learn to spell

5. To foster and develop a love of words

6. To understand how they learn to spell test

7. To transfer skills of taught spelling patterns into everyday writing

A new attitude of mind!

“There is no such thing as a good or bad speller but rather only skilled and unskilled ones”

At St Mary’s Primary school we want all our children to develop a ‘Can do’ attitude to life and their

learning!

Thinking of ourselves as a good or bad speller only reinforces the attitude that the ability to spell is

somehow fixed and will always be like that.

We want our pupils to learn that spelling is a skill. It is something we can grow, develop and get better at!

It is something which we can become more skilled at.

Putting it simply...Good spellers are simply skilled spellers!

Good spellers are skilled at knowing how they learn best—They know themselves!

Good spellers are skilled at knowing how to use strategies to help them spell.

It is these skills we wish to develop in all children in St Mary’s Primary School.

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Spelling and Curriculum for Excellence Our spelling programme together with the eight key aspects of our spelling policy ensures that at St Mary’s Primary we are providing our children with high quality learning experiences, which fulfil the outcomes and experiences described in Curriculum for Excellence. Curriculum for Excellence outcomes and experiences relating to spelling

Tools for writing -using knowledge of technical aspects to help my writing communicate effectively within and beyond my place of learning

EARLY I explore sounds, letters and words, discovering how they work together, and I can use what I learn to help me as I read or write.

FIRST I can spell the most com-monly-used words, using my knowledge of letter patterns and spelling rules and use resources to help me spell tricky or unfamiliar words.

SECOND I can spell most of the words I need to communicate, using spelling rules, specialist vocabu-lary, self correction techniques and a range of resources.

As I play and learn, I enjoy exploring interesting materi-als for writing and different ways of recording my experi-ences and feelings, ideas and information.

I can write independently, use appropriate punctuation and order and link sentences in a way that makes sense.

In both short and extended texts, I can use appropriate punctua-tion, vary my sentence struc-tures and divide my work into paragraphs in a way that makes sense to my reader.

Throughout the writing proc-ess, I can check that my writing makes sense.

Throughout the writing process, I can check that my writing makes sense and meets it’s purpose.

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Key Aspect 2—Spelling Patterns and rules Spelling patterns and rules will be taught through a robust and structured spelling programme from P1-P7

Spelling will be taught daily for short periods of times. It will be taught in short burst activities that last

approx. 15-20minutes.

There will be direct teaching on the phonetic sound, spelling pattern or rule at the beginning of the week.

The sound, pattern or rule will be explicitly taught by the teacher and reinforced throughout the week.

Children will be aware of the spelling pattern they are learning. This patterns will also be visually

displayed to remind them and listed on homework as the focus for the week. Children should be

able to make the sound and explain the spelling pattern or rule to their parents.

Once the sound or spelling pattern has been taught children should be given the opportunity to

generate their own word list using that sound/pattern.

Key Aspect 3—Common Words & Tricky Words

Common words will be taught from P1-P7. Each stage will have a common words list to learn.

At the start of each year there will be a common word assessment. Any words that are not known will be

targeted at the beginning of the term.

Common words will be added to weekly spelling words.

The teacher will decide how many are appropriate on a weekly basis for age and stage.

Common words will be given to children in a different colour so they can distinguish that these words

cannot be sounded out.

Common words will be available for children during writing lessons to use.

Teachers encourage children to study the common words and learn them through discussing…

How many letters does the word have?

Are there letters that are the same?

Does it have tall/small letters?

What is the shape of the word?

What are the tricky bits of the word?

Which bits do you already know?

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Key Aspect 8—Transference of skills into everyday writing Through robustly teaching the key aspects of our spelling policy, our children should be continuously developing in their spelling skills. We will therefore notice a greater increase in the transference of spelling skills into our children’s everyday writing pieces. Teachers also target with the children the most common spelling mistakes that occur in their everyday writing too. Assessment Classroom Assessment Written formal spelling tests take place to assess how well children have learned certain spelling patterns. They happen every couple of weeks or once a month. They happen when more than one spelling pattern has been taught. This stops the memorising of words and lack of transfers of skills. A spelling jotter or spelling assessment sheet is used to record this. These are kept for assessment purposes. During the spelling test, children are tested on unseen words with the same spelling patterns, as well as core spelling words which they have had for homework. This will help us to identify how well they have actually learned the pattern and if they are able to apply it to new words also. Whole School Assessment Every year all children in Primary 3 to Primary 7 participate in a summative spelling assessment called a ‘SWST’ test—(Single Word spelling Test) These scores are then recorded electronically enabling us to see progression in each child as they move through the school and allowing us to evaluate our teaching of spelling.

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Early Level

First Level

Second Level

Stretch the word

Flour/sand/lentil/glitter trays

Magnetic Letters

Word Wheels

Fishing

Treasure Spelling

Rainbow writing

Air writing

Tracing

Keyboards

Clapping syllables

Painting/finger painting

Chalk writing

Alphabet boards

Firework writing/air writing

Plasticine/play dough letters

Pipe cleaner spelling

Pyramid writing

Find a word within a word

Look for the hard bit

Circle the best one

Speed writing

Spaghetti writing

Syllabification

Silly sentences

Giant and baby writing

Bubble writing

Friends and enemies

Mnemonics

Human writing

Back writing

Blue vowels

Word search

Backward writing

Spelling dice

Wordle

Spot the mistake

Loop cards

Step ladders

Hangman

Calligrams

Headlines

Dictionary/thesaurus

Ambidextrous spelling

All Levels

Syllabification Interactive whiteboard LSCWC Sentences Rainbow Writing Friends and enemies Whiteboards Speed writing Look for a word within a

word

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Key Aspect 6—Fostering a love of Words and their meaning

Fostering a love of words and their meanings

Children in St Mary’s Primary School are encouraged to develop a love of words and their meanings. Within the classroom teachers seek to foster this each week through focussed fun activity. This may include…..

VCOP up levelling activity

Daily challenge—How many words instead of ‘said’ can you think of?

How many adverbs to describe walking can you think of?

Word of the week-points if children can spell it, find it’s definition and use it in a sentence in the class

Game of dingbats—word have to guess definition

Special poetry time

Tongue twister to learns

Special word facts—longest word, shortest word

Teach the teacher—children find an interesting word

Find the most interesting words in a newspaper and magazine and bring it in Fostering a love of words and their meanings encourages children to want to spell exposes them to an even wider vocabulary.

Key Aspects 7—To understand how they learn best Good spellers know how they learn best Good spellers are skilled at knowing how they learn best. Some people learn best by seeing the word—Visual learners Some people learn best by hearing the words—Auditory learners Some people learn best by making the words—Kinaesthetic learners At the beginning of the term teachers explain to their children about the different learning styles and complete a learning style preference with their children www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3 aspects/pages/VAK quest.htm The results of this are then displayed in class so it is easy to see at a glance how many children are in each learning style. The spelling strategies are displayed in the classrooms Children are allowed opportunity during the week to have personalisation and choice and be able to choose their favourite strategy from their preferred learning style As teachers teach and model each strategy they highlight which learning style it is most suited too also.

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Visual Learners

Auditory Learners

Kinaesthetic Learners

Tracing

Chalk writing

Alphabet board

Pyramid writing

Find a word within a word

Look for the hard bit

Air writing/Firework writing

Circle the best one

Speed writing

Blue vowels

Hangman

Rainbow writing

Friends & enemies

Whiteboards

Mnemonics

Magnetic letters

Word search

Fishing

Word wheels

D.S/spelling city/glow

Interactive whiteboard

Look for a pattern

Sentences

LSCWC

Spot the mistake

Word quilts

Giant/baby writing

Treasure spelling

Missing letter spelling

Shape spelling/Block letters

Stretch the word

Syllabification

Friends and enemies

Whiteboards

Mnemonics

Dictaphone

Silly sentences

Word wheels

Clapping syllables

D.S/spelling city/glow

LSCWC

Loop cards

Interactive whiteboard

Finger paint spelling

Tracing

Chalk writing

Alphabet board

Glitter/sand/flour trays

Plasticine/play dough spelling

Pyramid writing

Air writing/firework writing

Speed writing

Friends and enemies

Whiteboards

Mnemonics

Magnetic letters

Word search

Clapping syllables

Play dough

D.S/spelling city/glow

Interactive whiteboard

Spelling dice

Human writing

Sentences

LSCWC

Rainbow writing

Giant/baby writing

Treasure spelling

Pipe cleaners

Keyboard spelling

Ambidextrous spelling

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Key Aspect 4—Syllabification Research has shown that skilled spellers are particularly skilled at breaking words into smaller parts. This is called syllabification. As this skill plays such a big role in becoming a successful speller, our children are given plenty of opportunities to practise doing this in class. There are a variety of ways to do this including……………….

Highlight Syllables Cutting words up Turn ed and putting back together

Clapping syllables

Key Aspect 5—Learning a variety of strategies to best equip them to learn spelling words In order to learn how to spell and tackle spelling unfamiliar words our children are taught a wide variety of spelling strategies appropriate to age and stage. In the past children simply memorised the spelling of words. This would have been the main strategy taught and would have been fine for all those with good memories!! We want to teach children many different strategies so that they have many different tools to draw from to help them learn to spell rather than relying solely on one.

Children are taught how to discover which strategies help them best to learn. Thee is direct teaching and modelling of how to use the strategies and how to get the best from using them. A copy of the strategies used in St Mary’s are on the next page.

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ICT and Spelling

Whenever possible in St Mary’s we try to use ICT to enhance and

support the teaching of spelling.

Below are a few sites you may wish to try with your child to help with

their spelling.

www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/lookcover/lookcover.html

www.topmarks.co.uk

www.ictgames.com/literacy.html

www.spellingcity.com

www.roythezebra.com/reading-games/double-consonants-ck.html

You can also type your child’s spelling pattern into Google and then type interactive games.

Eg Sh interactive games

How to help at home

Ask your child what their spelling pattern or rule is for the week. Get them to explain it to

you.

Test them on their words.

Choose one of the strategies to do at home.

Challenge them to see how many words with that pattern they can find or write.

Talk about spelling—how you learn best, words you find tricky etc.

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Key Aspect 1—Phonics A robust and explicit phonic programme is taught throughout Primary 1 and 2. Our children begin in Primary 1 by learning their 42 initial sounds And through a structured programme learn the main phonetic sounds Of the English language. As the children learn these sounds, they learn to spell them also. At St Mary’s a variety of resources are used to help teach phonics including the ‘Jolly Phonics’ programme.

(Example of some P1 sounds which are taught) A Multisensory Approach to Spelling and Phonics At St Mary’s Primary School a multisensory approach is used in the teaching of spelling and phonics. During the spelling teaching and learning activities, children will be involved in seeing, hearing, speaking and touching their spelling pattern of sound. This multisensory approach to spelling ensures that all learning styles and preferences are taken into consideration and that the spelling pattern/sound is reinforced in a variety of different ways. Teachers ensure that throughout the week children have had ample opportunities and experiences to see/hear/speak/touch their spelling pattern or sound.

th pl tr sp gr

sk shr scr wh sl

sn fr str sh st

fl cl ch sm