Spellings Homework

[Stephanie]

My son has HFA and is in Year 1 at mainstream primary school, he was 6 in Feb.

 

He has been able to read and spell very well from an early age. He is currently doing Year 4 spellings and finding them very easy.

 

I am coming up against problems because he is at a Primary School to age 7 and they do not have the curriculum spellings for older children. The spellings he is coming home with are way to easy for him and he doesn't have to learn them as he knows them, words like ... glittering, november, unusual, sparkling and excited.

 

They have concerns that if they give him more difficult words, he won't understand the meaning (which is fair comment - but I could explain them to him - or try). Also, they want to concentrate on the areas which he is having problems in rather than the ones he isn't (mainly social) which I agree with but I am worried that his thirst for learning isn't being accommodated and he is going to get bored and problematic.

 

Has anyone got any advice on whether it is a good idea to advance him onto more complicated words or is it just better to hold him back and let the other kids catch up with him. Anyone with older kids come up with any problems with this. Are the school right or are they just being obstinate?

 

The school are now just giving him spellings and encouraging him to write them into sentences rather than write lists of spellings like the other kids do. Good for handwriting practice but he hates it.

[Mumble]

I would suggest that you don't go for more complicated words for three reasons:

1. He probably has (at least in part) a photographic memory, so actually he is not learning by having harder/longer words
2. Meaning is the important aspect - encourage long words but only if used correctly rather than repeated/spelt by rote/memory - any 'long' words he needs can be explained as and when needed
3. This would push him much further ahead of his peers within a very specific area making his profile more spikey and highlighting his differences

Instead, if he has a thirst for knowledge/words/learning this needs to be used positively and productively with him in (apparent) control. He could have the same (or different, depending on the words) as others, but instead of learning spellings/handwriting practice he needs to:

1. find synonyms (different words that mean the same - he's given dark, he finds shadowy, gloomy etc)
2. find antonyms (opposites - he's given dark, he finds clear, bright etc)
3. compile an ongoing list of homonyms (words with the same spelling/pronunciation but different meaning - hare/hair, weight/wait)

With these, he is in control as he decides how many he wants to find. To make it easier for the teacher, if there's a whole class test, he just writes his found synonym or antonym as the teacher reads out the list and other pupils write the actual words.

[KarenT]

J's Y3 class get a list of twelve words to learn to spell. They cover/copy/spell on a sheet then have to choose five of them to write in context into sentences, which becomes a combined spelling/ literacy exercise. You could try something like that.

 

Karen

x

[krystaltps]

As a teacher, and mother to two gifted children (my boys), I would say never hold them back - they become bored and disillusioned (and bad behaviour results). However there are obvious dangers in letting them progress too quickly (lack of in-depth understanding being the main one).

I would suggest, at home, taking him "side-ways" - provide the stimulation he needs in other ways, use his advanced language skills to really get into some reading - all kinds of educational/information books, then expand that learning through some experiential play, e.g. nature and wildlife books, then go on a nature hunt. There's all sorts of ways to help him continue to progress without him steam-rolling blindly ahead.

Hope this helps... I can give you some more info if you are interested (ways you can expand on the school work - like Karen suggested).

Edited May 23, 2007 by krystaltps

[Karen A]

Hi We are in a similar position in some ways.Ben is in year 4.He has spellings that I would not know.He nearly always gets them right without any effort to learn them at all. I don't worry about it.We have so much work to do in other areas and I enjoy having one thing that does not require effort from Ben and increased stress for us.

Ben does use his thirst for knowledge in research into various topics including world war 2 and geography.I feel he gains most from keeping the enthusiasm for learning.Karen.

[oxgirl]

I agree with krystaltps, maybe he could be stretched and kept interested by using his fascination with words in different ways. I'd suggest get the homework out of the way and then settle down to a good game of Scrabble or the like, which is likely to be much more fun and interesting for him.

 

~ Mel ~

[BusyLizzie100]

I have to agree with all the excellent advice already given. I just wanted to add that my DS2 (aged 7, in year 2) apparently has a spelling age of 11 and it's absolutely useless to him. He doesn't know what any of the words mean and never uses them either through speaking or in his written work.

 

Extending him 'sideways' sounds like a great idea.

Lizzie x

[Kathryn]

My son, (9) who is also very good at spelling, was doing his spelling homework tonight - the task was to think of 20 words with the prefix un - and their opposites. I thought it was a bit more interesting than being sent home with lists of words.

 

There are lots of things the teachers could do - words are fascinating! Looking at the roots and origins of words would help him to develop an awareness of how words are built, and give him the tools to fathom meanings for himself. For example, learning that "uni" means one and using that to work out the meaning of "unicycle", "unicorn" etc.

 

K x