New spelling program launched

Pretty Beach Public School will launch a new program to monitor student progress and develop spelling skills in Year 3 to Year 6 students.

While the school has generally scored well above average in the basic skills tests each year, principal Ms Jill Godwin said that spelling had on occasions been highlighted as a weakness.

"The aim of this program is not to push children through the program quickly but to consolidate learning to mastery level before moving on to the next."

At the beginning of the year, students were given multiple assessments of their spelling skills that included sight words, editing skills and using spelling in their own writing.

"Based on this, students have been placed into the group that best meets their needs," she said.

The students will progress through the various groups as their needs change.

The activities will teach students about how words sound and letter patterns relating to the sound, the way words look and common letter patterns, how words and parts of words change and the origin of words and how they are put together.

For students to progress through spelling groups, they will have to get all of their spelling words correct for five consecutive weeks.

Students will be given a spelling sheet each Monday with their words written on it.

They will be required to add three words of their own which will be selected from old test errors, their own writing or the class theme words.

Students will be required to memorise the words using a "look, cover and write and check system" both in class time and for homework.

They will also be required to complete a range of spelling activities throughout the week.

On Fridays, students will have their class activities graded and the teacher will also test them on their list words

Students will also partner-test each other on their list of personal spelling words.

The results of the Friday test will be put onto a graph kept in each student portfolio.

The newsletter says that the spelling scheme will continue throughout each student's time in primary school.

School newsletter, March 18