Year 6 Spelling
Table of Contents
Teaching your Year 6 class can sometimes bring a wave of mixed emotions. You have watched them from the very beginning of their journey, and now it’s time for them to move on to even bigger and better things. As students enter their last year of primary school. Teachers are getting them ready for what’s to come. And that includes spelling!
Year 6 spelling on the National Curriculum:
As said in our Year 5 blog, Year 5 & 6 share the same statutory spelling lists and requirements on the National Curriculum. This makes it easier for students to fully learn all the content on the national curriculum.
What Year 6 focuses on
In Year 6, students will go over everything previously learnt in other years. Additionally, Year 6 students will continue learning material that they were introduced to in Year 5.
- Morphology
- Etymology
- Using the thesaurus
- Using more prefixes
- Using more suffixes
How Year 6 spelling is taught
Like every other year group, Year 6’s will be given lists of 10-20 words to learn each week. Students in Year 6 are expected to do independent learning, this is a practice that they will have to get used to for higher education.
Additionally, promoting independent studying creates a sense of routine and discipline that allows children to learn how to prioritise and time manage their activities.
Activities
Teacher Monologue
This could be interesting, especially if you have a highly imaginative class. Ask your students to create a small script or story they would like you to read aloud. Here is the catch: students must use a set of words you have provided them with; however, they are spelt incorrectly. For each word spelt correctly in their script/story they gain a point. Yet, if they spell any other word incorrectly, they lose a point. Students can start with 5 points (or as many points as you want), and whichever group has the highest points wins.
Correct the spelling
Students need to get into the habit of checking their work. This is extremely important for when they go into high school, especially during exams. Get students to constantly check their spelling in their work, this way they can create a great habit for when they have to write. Regardless of whether they are writing something important or not, students should still strive for good spelling. Being able to spell correctly will help students feel confident in their writing.
Here is a small worksheet to get students to practise their spelling.
Spelling who am I?
Add spelling words onto post-it notes and split your classroom into two teams. The first player must sit at the front of the classroom facing their teammates. The player at the front of the classroom must wear a post-it-note on their heads and allow their team to describe the word so they can guess it correctly. Students cannot say the actual word, but they can use gestures, rhyming words, antonyms, and synonyms. After guessing the word, they must spell it. Two points are awarded if they get the word and the spelling correct. Let the teams take turns, and whoever gets the most points win.
Interactive Games
A good way to engage your students with spelling is by using interactive games. Learning with Emile has been designed by teachers for teachers and students. Learning with Emile has tons of resources, especially for spelling and phonics.
If you haven’t tried Learning with Emile, why not request your free demo today!
Worksheets with Emile
Worksheets are a classic way of helping students spell better. Following the “look, say, cover, spell, and check” method, students can fully learn the required words given by the government on the National Curriculum.
These worksheets are for Year 6 and Year 5 and 6, following the appendix on the National Curriculum. Download them for free below!
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