Spelling
Curriculum Intent: Skills
To ensure all children are provided with the skills they need to become competent spellers, whose knowledge builds year on year. Being a competent speller means being alert to spelling and drawing on phonics skills as well as exploring spelling patterns and word meanings to spell successfully. At Ann Cam we understand that for many children, spelling needs to be ‘taught not caught’. Children should be able to apply these skills in their independent writing, for this is their ultimate purpose.
Curriculum Implementation
Reception and Key Stage 1
- In Reception and KS1, children develop their spelling skills through our systematic, synthetic phonics scheme, Little Wandle. Children practise during their daily phonics lesson, although this is enriched through free play activities, through sharing rich an engaging texts and interacting with adults. Parents and carers are supported to help their children through Reading workshops at the beginning of the year.
- As part of the Little Wandle Scheme, children in Year 1 and 2 practise specific spellings each week, which are shared with families. After children complete our synthetic phonics programme, they will work towards mastery of the year group objectives for spelling.
Key Stage 2
- In Key Stage 2, we use the resource Spelling Shed which maps out the spellings taught in each year group and offers a common approach for each unit and across year groups. It includes the high frequency words and the statutory words for Y3-6.
- Through this scheme, in spelling lessons, students continue to build on the firm foundations built whilst studying phonics in Reception. They will continue to break spellings down into the smallest units of sound and cluster them into syllables in order to read and write words efficiently (orthography). Children will also study words; word parts; their meanings and how this affects spelling (morphology). Their knowledge of common morphemes such as root formations, prefixes and suffixes is consolidated across the programme.
- Due to mixed year classes, spellings will be on a two year rolling programme.
Lesson Format
- Most lessons include an etymology element, allowing children to learn about the origin of words.
- Children will have three lessons a week on their weekly spellings. and they will be tested on a Friday.
- Spelling lists and activities will be sent out every Friday
https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb/ - Visit the EdShed website if you would like to find out more about this approach to teaching spelling, or to access your child's account.
