-> I agree with you that Both writing in context and word lists are
-> important.  I just wouldn't do the weekly test thing.  IMO it is a
-> waste of time...
My children's teachers (grades 3 and 5...but also over the last two
years as well, so really grades 1, 2, 3 for a second child, and 4 as
well) have given spelling lists. These lists did not come from a
spelling book. It has been mentioned here that in the state of
California, the government won't pay for spelling books, and so that is
a possible explanation. I haven't looked into it. But it doesn't mean
that the teachers haven't had spelling lists and given weekly tests.
One year the teacher seemed to come up with her lists from the
literature the class was studying at the time or words that students
were misspelling in their writing assignments. This year, my daughter's
3rd grade teacher has some list of "most frequently used words" which
she pre-tests the kids on on Monday. Students who pass this test (my
daughter has done so several times this year) are given a new list,
which I believe they get to help compose. I know that two weeks ago my
daughter had the word "familiar" on her list. She got it wrong on her
test. It was on her list again this past week.
My son's fifth grade teacher gives the class five words each week, and
each student adds to that five his or her own personal five words, which
most likely come from their own interests (you should see the words my
son is picking like "entomology" or "volcanology"...get the impression
he's interested in science???) or else they are words that the student
has misspelled in his writing over the last week or so.
I am GLAD the teachers are doing this. My kids bring their lists home
and we practice and study the words. I drill them on the lists orally,
give them a practice quiz, and the words they get wrong they have to
write out several times each for me. How can you say this is a waste of
time? It is time spent studying and memorizing a fact: the correct
spelling of particular words that the child is encountering in their
daily life. To say that it is a waste of time to practice such, makes me
wonder what you think in general of memorizing facts and studying.
Surely you don't think such stuff is a waste of time.
I think that my children are learning spelling both through the methods
that you advocate, plus additional emphasis on it through the spelling
lists and tests (and time spent studying for them). It certainly sends
them the message that spelling is important, and this is the message I
hope they take with them from the whole process.
Sheila
--- PCBoard (R) v15.22/M 10
---------------