We had our first spelling test returned today. It was great to see what strong spellers we have in our classroom! Our expectations are high when it comes to spelling the word correctly, while paying attention to details in printing. I watched for capital letters in all the appropriate places, letter reversals, floating or sinking letters, as well as spacing of letters. For example, if your child spelled the word correctly but had a capital letter at the beginning or middle of the word, it was marked as incorrect. This initial spelling test is a starting point for the year and it will be exciting to see the progression throughout the rest of the school year.
A side note about the spelling program from Mrs. Kelln:
This spelling assessment is done at the start of the year and at the end of the year. In grade three we now begin to distinguish between simply putting LETTERS in the correct spot and proper spelling that allows the reader to understand the word and sentence as a whole. As a result, your child may achieve lower than they (or you) expect on this initial test to begin with as they get use to the structure of properly spelling words. For example, look at the following sentence.
The broWn bog is ve ry faSt, dut the blue Snail is very sLoW.
You can immediately see the errors in the above sentence. I don't believe anyone would say that this sentence is correct despite all the LETTERS being in the right places. The first letter of the first word should indeed be capitalized while the "s" in the word "snail" should not be. The capitals in the middle of the words make it harder to read and the large spacing between the "ve" and "ry" requires the reader to have to read the sentence again to get the proper meaning. Additionally, the "b" and "d" reversals create new or nonsense words that are not intended (this is a very common issue in grade 2 and 3). Finally, if you could see this on paper, the word sLoW might have the letters falling down the page or floating up to the top. In grade 3, students are learning the fundamentals of reading and writing and it is important we begin to emphasize proper spelling.
In our class, we model proper spelling that includes capitalization, spacing, anchoring, etc. as this will allow the total of our work to be understood and appreciated. Prior to being given this test students were reminded of all of these classic errors to watch out for. This provides you with a starting point as to where your child is in their spelling journey today and you will hopefully see great gains made over the course of the year. It is not uncommon for students to be a full grade level (or even two) below on this initial test as they learn the increased spelling expectations of grade 3.
Don't worry though, students are reminded repeatedly throughout their day to ensure they are following proper spelling guidelines while writing and often show improvement quite quickly! Soon they are even catching our mistakes! (We encourage this as it shows that we are all lifelong learners and that everyone makes mistakes and that's ok!)
This spelling assessment is done at the start of the year and at the end of the year. In grade three we now begin to distinguish between simply putting LETTERS in the correct spot and proper spelling that allows the reader to understand the word and sentence as a whole. As a result, your child may achieve lower than they (or you) expect on this initial test to begin with as they get use to the structure of properly spelling words. For example, look at the following sentence.
The broWn bog is ve ry faSt, dut the blue Snail is very sLoW.
You can immediately see the errors in the above sentence. I don't believe anyone would say that this sentence is correct despite all the LETTERS being in the right places. The first letter of the first word should indeed be capitalized while the "s" in the word "snail" should not be. The capitals in the middle of the words make it harder to read and the large spacing between the "ve" and "ry" requires the reader to have to read the sentence again to get the proper meaning. Additionally, the "b" and "d" reversals create new or nonsense words that are not intended (this is a very common issue in grade 2 and 3). Finally, if you could see this on paper, the word sLoW might have the letters falling down the page or floating up to the top. In grade 3, students are learning the fundamentals of reading and writing and it is important we begin to emphasize proper spelling.
In our class, we model proper spelling that includes capitalization, spacing, anchoring, etc. as this will allow the total of our work to be understood and appreciated. Prior to being given this test students were reminded of all of these classic errors to watch out for. This provides you with a starting point as to where your child is in their spelling journey today and you will hopefully see great gains made over the course of the year. It is not uncommon for students to be a full grade level (or even two) below on this initial test as they learn the increased spelling expectations of grade 3.
Don't worry though, students are reminded repeatedly throughout their day to ensure they are following proper spelling guidelines while writing and often show improvement quite quickly! Soon they are even catching our mistakes! (We encourage this as it shows that we are all lifelong learners and that everyone makes mistakes and that's ok!)