At Wallacewell Primary our Spelling and Phonics programme takes a holistic, synthetic and integrated approach to phonics learning and spelling and promotes daily Listening and Talking, Reading and Writing across the Curriculum.
In Primary 1-3 spelling and phonics is taught separately.
Phonics is taught with one main focused lesson in the week, followed by short daily activities to reinforce the learning. Initially two sounds are taught per week (Stage 1/Term 1). This is followed by one taught phoneme sound per week. The Teacher introduces each sound in a context i.e. a story/song and then demonstrates the letter formation and word building through the use of a magnetic board and letters. The children are provided with a magnetic board to allow them to mirror the taught lesson and work independently/with a partner throughout the week.
Spelling is taught with one main focused lesson in the week, followed by short daily activities to reinforce the learning. The words from the taught lesson are known as common words. These are the words which the children are most likely to come across when reading simple texts. They will also use these words in writing.
Children have opportunities throughout the week to work with a partner. This is called reciprocal teaching. They take turns to dictate words and sentences. The activity alternates between partners and they then check their partner’s work for correct formation and accurate spelling.
Children are taught Strategy Spelling. Strategy Spelling teaches children to problem solve and enables them to spell tricky words. Tricky words are words which don’t always follow patterns or rules. For more information click on the Parent Info leaflet link below.
Click on the link below to view our Stage 1-3 Guide for Families.
In Stage 4 and 5, Spelling and Phonics are taught together and children continue to develop their phonemic awareness and understanding of Spelling Rules and Strategies. This programme runs as a four-week programme:
Week 1 & 2: Phoneme families
Week 3: Common Words
Week 4: Spelling Rules
Once children have covered all of the phoneme families in Stage 4 and 5 and are secure in them, they then move onto the word lists in Stage 6 and 7. Their homework then changes to working on a two-week rotation. This consists of: –
Week 1 = Strategy Spelling
Week 2 = Word Building
Click on the link below to view our Stage 4-7 Guide for Families.
