My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Calling Mrz and other year 1 teachers/ phonics enthusiasts!

45 replies

ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 17:58

I teach in a primary school. We have some very needy children in Year 1 but have recently changed the way we teach phonics.

We just did the screening test with our class. We had 100% pass rate, even some with SEN who I think would've definitely failed, prior to our new phonics teaching regime.

We often teach non word reading as part of the daily phonics lesson, but have been doing extra non word reading this week, in preparation. This was because some of the children were tending to convert some non words in the closest real word that they know.

We wanted to really emphasise the point that you should read only the sounds that they you can see.

A colleague suggested that we had unfairly 'taught to the test'. What do you think?

OP posts:
Report
Feenie · 20/06/2013 18:06

It isn't possible to teach to the test. Either you teach children to use phonics to read words - any words - effectively, or you don't!

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:08

That's how I feel, feenie!

We have just slightly altered our phonics teaching in the last week to mirror the format of the screening.

The implication was that this was giving a true picture of their phonic knowledge.

OP posts:
Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:09

'Wasnt giving at rue picture'

OP posts:
Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:09

True
Gah! iPad !

OP posts:
Report
ClayDavis · 20/06/2013 18:11

You haven't 'taught to the test', you've 'taught'. If you've emphasised that they should only read the sounds they see and consolidate this in the rest of their reading, you are teaching them to read not to pass a test.

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:14

Thanks. Sorry, I should also say we did a couple of extra lessons of phonics this week too, to revise tricky graphemes. I think the suggestion was that we should have gone in totally 'cold' without giving phonic knowledge/ teaching any kind of 'boost'.

OP posts:
Report
boredofwork · 20/06/2013 18:25

And the other teachers in your school do no prep for SATs, optional SATs etc?

We all help to prepare our children in some way. They need to remember these children are 5 and 6 years old, they need an idea of the format otherwise they will be terrified. Or at least my children would be!

I have done lots of buried treasure and non-word reading over the last couple of weeks.

You have done nothing wrong as long as you administered the actual test according to the guidelines.

Report
ClayDavis · 20/06/2013 18:26

I'm still not sure that matters. Presumably, in order to revise the tricky graphemes, you have to identify which graphemes the children find tricky and then revise them. That should form part of good phonics teaching anyway with or without the test.

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:30

Bored, clay, I absolutely agree but wanted to see what others think. I guess I just wanted to know what others felt about raising the profile of phonics teaching in the run up to the assessment.

OP posts:
Report
Periwinkle007 · 20/06/2013 18:35

I am just a parent but quite frankly to me 'teaching to the test' would be to be doing lots of example practice tests or cheating and giving them the actual test words before the test itself. The extra work you have put in should (one hopes) remain in their heads in which case they have learned how to do it so it doesn't matter if it was this week or a month ago really. I would be interested to know though if you are now changing how you teach it in general as if such a concentrated couple of weeks on it has made a big difference then if that concentrated couple of weeks had been say in January would they be further on.

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:39

Good point peri. I guess what I would say to that is that in a typical week we also go work on sight and high frequency words, spelling dictation etc and this week we have focused on the non word reading and let the others areas get neglected. But I agree, there may be something to be said for upping the pace/ amount of the phonics for some children, the light of this success.

OP posts:
Report
Periwinkle007 · 20/06/2013 18:46

it would be interesting to perhaps look at that for next year wouldn't it.

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:48

Peri, we reflect on our practise all the time, I promise :)

OP posts:
Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 18:49

We already do extra, but maybe we should do 'extra extra' :)

OP posts:
Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 19:03

Tbh, I am rather upset as the person who criticised is SMT and no longer in the classroom. Very easy to forget the pressure that class teachers are under.

OP posts:
Report
mrz · 20/06/2013 19:11

Does this person think you shouldn't teach the curriculum because children will be tested on it at some point.
It's a bit like saying that a secondary teacher shouldn't teach Romeo and Juliet because their pupils will have to answer questions on it in their GCSE exams

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 19:18

Hi Mrz, I quite agree but somehow she got me thinking that I might not have played fair. She is very senior. I am new to the school and whilst I absolutely stand by our treatment of this assessment process I did not feel able to defend myself fully. And she caught me off guard, so I struggled to put forward a defence at the time.

OP posts:
Report
sittinginthesun · 20/06/2013 19:22

I can't believe you feel you have to defend yourself - you have taught the class the the point where you have achieved 100%! What is her problem?

In my ds's class, they have been practising alien words all year. Great fun - they all have alien names, and have had "Alien Days".

If your SMT have a problem with the test itself, that is a different issue. Y

Report
mrz · 20/06/2013 19:29

I've got to be honest I haven't done any practice checks or alien words with my class

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 19:30

There was a reason why this discussion point came up, but I don't want to out myself...

OP posts:
Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 19:32

It would be nice to think everyone could pass without any kind of a 'boost' but in truth, I do think this made a difference to a small number of children.

OP posts:
Report
mrz · 20/06/2013 19:34

Don't get me wrong we do lots of decoding words everyday

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

mrz · 20/06/2013 19:37

and since it's a decoding check it could be argued I'm teaching to the test.

Report
ClayDavis · 20/06/2013 19:38

I'd put money on the fact that if OfSTED come calling and ask to look at the results she won't be complaining then. She'll be shouting the result from the rooftops.

FWIW, if you could get 100% of children meeting the standard just by doing a few extra non words and revising tricky graphemes the week before the test, every school would get that result. They're not. That result comes from good groundwork over a period of time.

Report
ThermalGirl · 20/06/2013 19:38

I suppose what I feel is this. If we are looking at passing the test as an indicator of child's phonic knowledge - a summative assessment- then it is valid.

If we are looking at the overall picture of the school's performance, as an indicator of the efficacy of the day to day phonics teaching, then I accept that the resulted were very, very slightly skewed.

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.