So Angry

[mum22boys]

I am furious and hope you don't mind me venting my anger here

My son had a list of five words to learn the spelling of last week. He doesn't know all the alphabet yet, can scarcely read and they expect him to do spelling tests. He did the test and he came home today with the test and a note saying 'could he learn these spellings again' I have continuously been in to the school because I feel he is behind and i am told every time he is ok. At what point will they listen?

Sorry to go on but I need an escape and the forum was there.

[phasmid]

What were the spellings he was being asked to do? If they were/are simple cvc words (consonant, vowel, consonant) such as cat, dog, leg etc they seem reasonable. Anything more than that might be too much. I don't know any more than you have said so I can only generalise.

[mum22boys]

They were easy words, an, but, the, and ,did. What annoys me is he doesn't know all his letters yet so it is like a losing battle. The word'the' causes problems as he can't say the word so he has trouble sounding it out. Also if he knows he needs to write a 'b' he may not remember how to do it. He seems to have problems with his short term memory.

[lil_me]

My youngest doesn't know his full alphabet but is starting to recognise some words he knows the letters in.

 

Have you tried the Jolly Phonics for learning letters, its a very good system, got my ASD son started with that http://www.jollylearning.co.uk/

Edited October 12, 2005 by lil_me

[mum22boys]

Thank you lil_me. I looked quickly at the website you recommended and it looks good. I will read it fully when I have more time. They are taught jolly phonics at school but because my son has trouble understanding when the teacher talks to everyone I don't think he picked it up fully. When he gets home it is a battle to get his reading book out let alone try to get him to read it!

Thanks though.

[oracle]

It is also a FACT that our children find it hard to rember the spelling of words for which they can not make up a visual picture in their heads.

 

I do not know how many times we were sent home words like an, but, the, and ,did and Matthew would ask 'What does and look like?' No matter how many times I went in they sent these words home.

 

It has taken Matthew years to be able to learn to read, even though he knew every Jolly Phonic by the end of Reception. With some of our kids it takes longer to click. I now have a totally book phobic child because if the sheer persistence of the school he used to attend.

 

Carole

[mum22boys]

Carole, Found that really interesting what you said. When I was testing my son at the weekend on letters he didn't know 't'. He recognised it was in his name (surname) but couldn't recall what it was. He was trying to think visually. I realised then he needed to have a picture of for example a train in his head when he sees 't'. I will be mentioning it to his teacher at parents evening tomorrow. Thanks

[katkin]

It may sound odd but sometimes actually making the letters out of playdough or clay can help. I think the thought is that the brain will remember through its motorskills part rather than visual or hearing part. Think if someone asks you how to spell something we like to write it down, this may be because we know the "feel" of the word when we write it rather than each letter. As for spelling, some words just can't be sounded out - the - in English is a classic example. Writing them VERY LARGE on a piece of paper (this exagerates the motorskill used - think how much your shoulder moves when writing large) Or throwing a ball to and fro to each other while shouting each letter can also help - but no good if poss dyspraxia I know! Above all try to make it fun, as Carole says a book phobe is not what you want! If I don't think the homework is appripriate I just don't do it with my daughter Hope this helps a bit, I'm sorry school are just not hearing you, they should have other strategies they can use. No good piling failure on failure. Love Kat

[lil_me]

The playdough is a good idea we also have an alphabet board when my son was starting spelling rather than saying the letter I got him to point at it.

 

I'm lucky now as my son loves books, but only factual ones, he will sit with his fish books for hours

[phasmid]

That's a very good idea Katkin. It gives them some 'ownership' of the letter. They can touch it and feel it, paint it and play with it.

 

Jolly phonics is excellent, we use this and 'Thrass' to teach spelling. They combine very well and the use of pictures and actions really help some children. It is best to concentrate on two letters a week - recalling the letters from previous weeks as more are introduced. Too many at once and it will have a negative effect. The words selected seem a reasonable choice but perhaps 5 is too many two maybe three might be better if he is really struggling. These should be based around the letters being taught that week.

 

When you actually look at it the whole process of reading and writing is an exercise in code-breaking. When children start off they are de-coding single letters. These combine to make simple words and then sentences. Some take longer than others to hook into this, others manage it very easily.

 

Hope that helps.