START TRACKS

 

DIY READING

 

READ WORDS

 

WRITE WORDS

 

CHUNKS/RULES

 

HIGHER LEVEL SPELLING




















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       Write Words





The Write Words Track is one of 3 spelling tracks. It's used to teach pupils to spell words that they use in their writing. The formal system is structured and cumulative. An informal system extends the knowledge that pupils acquire through the formal system by relating their individual words to other words.  Start Spelling is for pupils who are not ready to start Write Words. 










The Formal system




The formal system has been designed to enable transfer to the writing task. Words are taken from pupils' free writing, or DIY Writing, and each pupil has a personal set of words.  Words are chosen according to frequency of use in the pupil's writing, and how easy they are for the pupil to learn.  The way in which words are changed  is dependent on the error rate. We have sampling systems to ensure that words continue to be spelt correctly in different contexts. 



Pupils have the choice of which words they reject, and in certain circumstances, how many.  They make informed choices, weighing up the desire to maximise the number of words they learn, but balancing this with the risks of forgetting in the longer-term.  The recording systems and self-monitoring mean that over time pupils come to understand how a fairly complex system works for them.  As in other parts of Tracks they are learning how to learn. 





The Informal system





When a pupil can spell a word the teacher will start adding related words to the known word. The aim of this is to exploit existing knowledge to extend the pupil's spelling vocabulary. Through this system pupils will lay foundations for more complex spelling, which they will meet formally in other tracks.

 



DIY Writing





Do It Yourself Writing is completely free writing that pupils do, unaided, outside the Tracks Literacy session. It is used in the early stages of Tracks as the source of Write Words.