Spelling
The boys and girls have been taught all these sounds in their time so far in P2-
sh, ch, th, ng, wh, ph, ee , oo, ck, ai, oy, oa, qu, ay, ea (leaf)
ow (snow), ue, aw, oi, au, ew, ow (owl), ou, igh, y (fly),
i with magic e (fine), o with magic e (home)
With any of these sounds, please encourage your child to write words which include them, say them, cover them up, write them again then check the spelling.
One key aspect of learning which we always focus on in class is using words which include these phonemes, in sentences.
Every P2 pupil has been taught how to use direct speech, question marks and exclamation marks.
One quick spelling task/ lesson could run like this-
- five minutes of saying ‘ay’ words clearly. (say, pay, way, lay, May)
- ten minutes of writing five sentences with ‘ay’ words, and a joining word. (and, but, so, because, next, then) EG – In May my mummy will have done spelling challenges with me once a day because I am not at school.
- Five minutes to check whether or not your child has spelt words correctly, whether or not they have used a joining word and whether or not your child has remembered a capital letter at the start of the sentence and a full stop at the end.
As well as writing sentences with your spelling words, children could do some of the following tasks-
- Practise writing phoneme words in dotty letters, coloured letters or CAPITAL letters.
- Practise making the phoneme sound out of play-dough, scrap paper or 3D materials.
- Draw a picture of something which corresponds to the spelling word. EG hay – your child could draw some hay then label it.
- Hunt for items around your house that include the taught phonemes. EG – o with magic e, find a phone – cone – bone etc (may be hard to find a bone though!)
Hopefully this provides some good info about spelling.
If any of this doesn’t make sense, please email my school email address which is –
stuartcolquhoun@ladywell.n-lanark.sch.uk
I will try my best to answer your queries quickly and provide guidance and/ or clarity on any spelling issues your child may have.
Reading
For reading tasks, please allow your child to read anything: magazines, newspapers, books, comics, short stories, poems. (All age appropriate) A strong P2 reader should be able to read the type of vocabulary seen in the reading books they have brought home in previous months.
All Julia Donaldson books should be fine for all P2 pupils, some very good readers may have the vocabulary to read Roald Dahl. If you ask your child which reading group they are in, it will either be the Red group, or the Gold group. Gold readers should manage skinny novels like Horrid Henry.
Red readers should be able to read books by Julia Donaldson, Jill Murphy or Ian Beck. (Big book type layout)
(All of which can be accessed via audio files on youtube if you don’t own any stories by these authors)
Once you have read a passage, a chapter or a book together, think about these key points-
- Can your child tell you who is in the story?
- Can your child tell you what the story is about?
- Can your child answer questions, in full sentences, to show they understand the book?
For example, if they have just read the Gruffalo, they should be able to tell you the order in which the mouse meets the animals.
A key point which is worthy of note, is how North Lanarkshire Council determine reading levels. The thinking follows an Australian Model which is this-
If your child can read 90 out of every 100 words, their vocabulary is good enough for them to cope with that reading book. However, they should also be able to show that they understand the story by summarising it, and answering questions about it.
Again, if I can help answer reading queries, please email-
stuartcolquhoun@ladywell.n-lanark.sch.uk
Talking and listening
In school we try our best to make time for news, show and tell and ‘carpet gathering time’ to discuss issues which have arisen that day.
The best advice I can give before your children leave my class is to talk to them, reassure them that I will miss them and talk about any subject you feel is relevant.
One tip I always ask the children to follow is to speak using our lips, teeth and tips of our tongues.
