Planet Protectors: About this Spelling Book

Your child has finished learning the Year One and Two DfE words. This spelling book introduces the Year Three government words and adds further frequently used words to your child’s bank of known spellings.

Each set contains five words. Many are phonics-based and can be decoded. We continue to use the phonics that have been learnt when spelling, as this is the main way that children are able to spell words. There are some spellings that draw on spelling rules. These rules will be reinforced over the year in class and will be seen in homework each month too. 

The Two-Week Practice Approach

Each spelling set is designed to be practised over two weeks. This timeframe is vital for effectively retaining spellings for use in class. When children encounter the same words repeatedly across several days, they can develop automatic recognition and spelling ability. Please keep rehearsing to improve your child’s chances of permanently recalling each set. Research shows that spacing out practice over time, rather than trying to learn in one session, is by far the most beneficial method. 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. Do return to previous spellings to ensure that these have been retained. Test out of order to prevent your child learning strategies that relate to the order of the list (such as, “The second one has two of the letter 't'.”).

Supporting Your Child

! Praise your child for being willing to spot and discuss their errors. This celebrates your child’s strategies - a strategy for long-term success!

! Encourage your child to recognise errors as an inevitable part of the learning journey. “What caught you out?” “That’s the correct grapheme, but we need to look for a different spelling choice.” This will help to build spelling persistence.

! Make practice fun and varied to maintain interest. For ideas to motivate and to encourage positive conversations about inaccuracies, please click below.

! These words are only useful if they are applied in writing. Remind your child to write them in sentences regularly; this is often trickier.

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.

! It is great to build up strategies for trickier words, but remember that building words using phonics is often the most reliable approach.

!Use the button below to allow you to view the phonics chart that is so helpful in school as it shows  spelling choices.

! The buttons below also link to handwriting practice sheets for each set and sentences to try out that include every word.

Thank you for supporting your child to flourish.