Science Spellers: About this Spelling Book

This spelling book is designed to help your child develop confident spelling skills through regular, manageable practice.

Each set contains five carefully selected words taken from the government words for Year Three and Year Four and from words that are often used or misspelt.

The Two-Week Practice Approach

Each spelling set is designed to be practised over two weeks. This might seem like a long time for just one set of words, but there's a good reason for it. When your child sees and practises the same words multiple times over several days, something important happens in their brain. The words start to become automatic – they'll recognise and spell them without having to think too hard about it.

Even if your child can already remember the words after a few days, keep going with the practice. This repetition helps to move the words into their long-term memory, so they won't forget them later. You can explain it to your child like learning to ride a bike: you don't just try once and expect to remember forever. Spacing out practice over time is what really makes learning stick.

Daily Practice Tips

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

µ For phonics words: Help your child to sound out each part of the word and identify the pattern they have already learnt.

µ For tricky words: Encourage your child to spot the 'tricky part' that does not follow the rules or has challenging aspects to it. There are many ideas for tackling these words.

Supporting Your Child

µ Celebrate effort and improvement, not just correct spellings. Your child's hard work matters more than instant perfection!

µ Treat errors as part of learning. “How will you remember that you need two ‘p’s? Let’s find a way that sticks in your mind.” This helps your child see mistakes as a normal part of improving, not as indicators of failure.

µ Keep practice fun and interesting. Mix things up to keep your child engaged. Try writing the shortest story that is possible using as many words as you can. For more creative ideas and tips on having positive conversations, click here.

µ Be patient. Every child learns at their own pace, and that is perfectly normal.

Retaining and applying learning

Remember: consistent practice over the two-week period will give your child the best chance to master these spellings and build their confidence as a speller.

Can your child spot their words in their reading books or anywhere else? Encourage your child to write these words accurately when trying to write a sentence. This is trickier than it sounds and will take practice to do so at a good writing pace. Click on the link below to find handwriting and sentences for each set. Try to go back to previous words every now and again, especially those that required more practising the first time around.

Thank you so much for supporting your child and helping them to flourish!