6 Steps to Teaching a List of Spellings

There's been a lot of kerfuffle about spelling since the new curriculum came in. This often follows change and we have certainly seen that in abundance when it comes to spelling. We now have, in addition to the spelling patterns and rules, a Statutory Words List to contend with.  Since this came in, I have heard numerous reports of insane amounts of stress for children and their families. Liz Dashwood explains this perfectly here. I would hate to think that I had a hand in inflicting this kind of negativity. Ultimately, that will never help children to learn - how can we hope to foster a love of English if they are filled with dread weekly? So, here's how I have been working with the children since the new list came in. I have been developing these methods for the past two years and am thrilled with the results. I begin the year by teaching the statutory word list, as this gives you a good basis from which to draw (e.g. "If you know how to spell ......., then how might you spell............?")

1. I don't test them

Testing has its place. This isn't it. Testing is just that. Testing. Not learning. I begin by chatting to the children about the word list and explaining that these are words that a lot of adults get wrong and it makes them feel less confident. I explain that we are trying to avoid that and to give children this confidence in their writing. Each child is given a copy of the list to stick into their books. They then need to figure out which to learn. To do this, they pair up and test each other until they find just five that they need to learn. Their partner highlights those they get right and leaves the others.
There are a couple of things to note here:

• I am not testing them. There is no score. All children have five spellings to work on. This is a small, achievable amount of learning. 
• I encourage the children to consider the purpose of the test and the learning - it is to make them feel confident. Therefore, if they have had a 'lucky guess' and wish to include a spelling in their 5 to learn, they tell their partner this and it isn't highlighted. 
• The 'test' is not recorded. The children work one word at a time on a whiteboard. This encourages them to look carefully at their partner's spelling and subsequently learn by studying the word themselves. I can still see how they're doing by looking at which are highlighted. 

2. Children learn them in school​

We don't expect parents to teach children how to identify a modal verb, find prime factors or explain the phrases of the moon, so why would we ask parents to teach them to spell? Extra practice at home - great! We all know that not all children have this luxury for a myriad of possible reasons. It is a vital part of English education, so should be taught in school. So, we have daily practice of spellings. I have several 10-15 minute slots on my timetable, but if you don't, you could start or end each day with it or take the first ten minutes of the English lesson. Trust me, it's worth it. The children then practise their spellings in various ways. I don't follow a completely strict timetable of practice, but I generally have Wednesday as a test day. I like the mid-week placement. On the other 4 days, they usually have practice of just their five spellings. Here are some of my faves:

I've also made a couple of games to print. One is Scrabble Spelling, where children work out the scrabble value of their words. The other is my version of Roll-a-Word​. 

Download these here:

roll-a-word.pdf
File Size:	318 kb
File Type:	pdf

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scrabble_spelling.pdf
File Size:	48 kb
File Type:	pdf

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3. Revision

As part of our English lessons, I include regular practice of words the children should know, common error words and words I am particularly keen for them to know. I use a lot of Kagan collaborative learning structures for this, most often:

• Quiz, Quiz, Trade: each child gets a spelling card. All are standing, they raise their arm to find a partner, then read their word for their partner to spell, 'tip not tell' if they're wrong (show if they are still wrong), then swap roles and finally trade cards and raise their hand to find a new partner. I have also used this for homophones, e.g. "spell 'wear' in this sentence: I am going to wear my new shoes today. 
• Numbered Heads Together: sitting in teams of 4, the children have a whiteboard and pen each. I say a word and they try to spell it on their whiteboard independently. They stand when finished. When all in the team are standing, they share their ideas and come up with an agreed spelling. They all have to agree and remember the spelling. They sit when finished, with all whiteboards wiped. I then use a random number selector to select a student from each team to stand and write the agreed upon spelling. This means the team have responsibility, not the individual.

Check out my Freebies page for cards to use for these. 

Other faves include:

• Relay Write: put a piece of paper on the wall for each team (not near their desk). Give a word to spell. Children in the team take turns to run up and write the next letter of it - one letter at a time. If they get there and see an error, their correction counts as their turn. This one is also fun to do outside. 
• YMCA: children use their bodies to spell out the word. Fun and gets them up and moving! 
  

4. Give them the tools to learn at home if they can / wish

I've sent home a list of all of these methods. The children know them and use them in school, but it's a little reminder and a help to parents. If they wish to / can spend time on them at home, this makes that time effective and purposeful. 

5. NO EXCUSES!

Accept NO excuses for mistakes with words they are copying, know the rule for or have learnt. We say this at least three times every day. Usually, I just say "It's copied, so..." and they finish "NO EXCUSES"! Tell them to check that their partner has copied carefully, tell them to show someone else how carefully they've copied, ask them to wave if they've copied carefully. Drum it in. It's vital.

6. Give them chance to try

Don't keep giving them spellings. I rarely give a spelling to a child, unless it's a really challenging word that I'm pleased they're trying to use. Tell them to use their phonics, have a good go, think about words that sound similar that they can compare it to. I also hardly ever write the date and WALT / Learning Objective on the board unless there is a particular spelling I'd like them to see. Usually, I dictate it to them. It also means they all have to keep up, so you aren't left waiting for that one who's sharpening their pencil down to a nub before starting! 

The Statutory Word Lists don't have to ruin your week, or that of the children and their families. My class love practising their spellings and it's very easy to teach with little resourcing or preparation needed. Of course, you need to make sure the children begin with a spelling list that is at the right level for them and you need to keep an eye on their progress. I do sometimes spot-quiz them on words they say they know, but have not yet found them cheating as there is no reason for them to do this. As with all learning, keep it fun, keep it purposeful and put the learning in their hands.