spelling tests

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Home : 2001 : August : 26

spelling tests
By Cathy-Dee

I think a lot depends on your students. My school has a higher average of "low" students. These are students who enter school with little or no book knowledge, etc., I have had many even after a year of kindergarten who
still cannot tell me the letters that spell their name. So there is no way I can start spelling until after Christmas without frustrating myself and all of them.
I developed my own spelling system after trying out a few different things. I make the spelling words homework (one of the few things I expect to be done at home). I send the words home on Mondays and we do the test usually

on the Thursday or Friday. I do not work with the words in class as we have so many other things we are doing.

The words I do are phonetic 3-4 letter words. Since I have starting doing these words I have found that my students really get the short vowel sounds by the end of Easter and a lot of the blends and digraphs.

I start with b words, then c words, etc., When all the consonants are done, I add blends and 4 letter words. I also do 2 sentences.

So my test for b words would be something like this.

bat bin box bun bus bet
ban bog bad bud bed bug

The big bug is bad.
The bat is on the bus.

At the beginning of the tests I give 1/2 marks for each word if the first and last letters are correct. Later I expect the word to be correct. The sentences allow me to introduce basic spelling words that they use more often in their own writing.

Often I have 2 spelling groups at the same time. The main group - and an excelled group.