Diving Deeper

This spelling book is designed to help your child to revisit words from previous DfE spelling lists and words commonly needed in every day writing.

Each set contains five words selected from an assessment. They are individual sets that your child needs to practise. There may be phonics-based words as well as ones that are classed as tricky (T) because phonics will not help your child to decode the word.

The Two-Week Practice Approach

Each spelling set is designed to be practised over two weeks. This timeframe is crucial for effective learning. When children encounter the same words multiple times across several days, they can develop automatic recognition and spelling ability. If your child is able to recall the words, please remember that the assessment perhaps demonstrated that words can ‘drop off.’ Please keep rehearsing to improve their chances of permanently recalling each spelling. Research shows that spacing out practice over time, rather than trying to learn in one session, is by far the most beneficial. Forgetting a spelling during a check-up or when applying it within writing is a natural part of the learning process.

Daily Practice Tips

Keep practice short and positive: just two to three minutes daily is far more effective than longer, infrequent sessions.

• For phonics words: Help your child to sound out each part of the word.
• For tricky words: Encourage your child to spot the 'tricky part' that doesn't follow the rules and find ways to remember it. These words will have a T next to them.

Supporting Your Child

• Celebrate recognition of mistakes and effort, not just correct spellings
• Encourage your child’s determination and help them to recognise mistakes as an inevitable part of the learning journey. “No problem. Can you see where you went wrong?"
• What spelling choices do you know for that grapheme? ” This will help to build positive resilience.
• Make practice fun and varied to maintain interest. For ideas to motivate and to encourage positive conversations about inaccuracies, please use the QR code to the right.
• Help your child to be patient and learn well at the pace that they need.

Retaining and applying learning

• Remember: consistent practice over the two-week period will give your child the best chance to master these spellings and to build their confidence as a speller.
• Encourage your child to write these words accurately when trying to write a sentence. This is trickier than it sounds and will take practice.
• Try to go back to previous words every now and again. Repeated practice is the key! Your child’s teacher may add words that need a little more practising.
• Thank you for supporting your child and working with school to help your child to flourish.

Spellings from these books have been taken from previous spellings that your child has already learnt. Visit the pages for these books to access spelling-set handwriting, sentences for writing, tips on individual words and for general support. 

• Flying High Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Reception)
• Forest Friends Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Year One)
• Journeying Further Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Year Two)
• Sea Adventures Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Year Two)
• Digging Deeper Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Additional KS1 rehearsal book)
• Science Spellers Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Year Three)
• Out of this World Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Year Three/Four)
• Planet Protectors Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Year Four)
• Skatepark Spellers Book | Berkswich CE Primary School (Additional KS2 rehearsal book)

Phonics Mat - Grow the Code!

Using phonics is the best way to support your child's spelling. They will need to draw on learning from Key Stage One when trying words that can be tackled phonetically. Look along the top row to find out what sound is made in each block and the different ways in which it can be made. View the video on the right on the Little Wandle site to hear the whole chart read out.