Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Spelling sequence

The Word List

The statutory word list: learning what cannot be worked out

Lesson 11 of 17
Year 3 45 min

Objective

Spell words from the statutory list using look-cover-write-check, and identify the part of each word that does not follow the sound.

Board title: Words we learn by heart  ·  Say it: “Today we're learning words that refuse to be sounded out, using look, cover, write, check, and marking the tricky bit hiding inside each one.”

Curriculum

  • Y3/4: spell words from the statutory word list
  • Y3/4: use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary
  • Terminology: syllable · vowel · consonant · word list
  • STA domain: spelling (S)

Success criteria

  • look, cover, write, check without peeking
  • point to the tricky bit inside a word
  • say why my ears cannot spell this word for me
  • use these words in my own writing

Key vocabulary

word list · syllable · tricky bit · look, cover, write, check · dictionary

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter: spell green together by ear, it works. Then try enough and ask what went wrong. Say it plainly: today's words are learnt, not worked out, your ears are a good speller most of the time and a bad one here. That honesty buys their trust.
9 min
Model look-cover-write-check with February, back turned so they see you actually cover it, then check letter by letter out loud. Teach the spelling voice: say Feb-ru-ary deliberately wrongly while you write it. Then ring the tricky bit in because (the au), occasion (the cc) and calendar (the ar at the end), two or three letters only, if everything is hard nothing gets learnt.
9 min
Stir the Pot on the whiteboard, Medium: levels 5 and 6 are the tricky-word levels and the ones that matter today, and a word you miss comes back later, which is the method in game form. Name the tricky bit aloud before you tap. Move up to Spicy for the full word list once the routine is secure.
4 min
The four vote pairs: a child says WHY before each reveal (answers: a-right, b-left, c-left, d-right). Febuary is the lost unstressed syllable, use the spelling voice on it again.
15 min
Worksheet, independent, and watch for one collapse above all: look-cover-write-check turning into look-and-copy the moment you stop watching, the cover step is the entire method, so have them fold the paper. Circulate on Task 3 checking each ring holds two or three letters, not the whole word. In Task 2, enough looks odd and is already right.
3 min
Plenary: two children read a Task 3 word aloud and name its tricky bit. Then the class quiz: Polpetta's new sign says We open early every day in Febuary, say it the way it is written, Feb-ru-ary, what is missing?
On screenSPAGhetti → Stir the Pot → Medium. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. Levels 5 and 6 are the tricky-word levels, those are the ones that matter today. Move up to Spicy for the full word list once the method is secure.
SPAGhetti · Spelling sequence · Lesson 11 of 17  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils The Word List · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the four pairs aloud and vote with thumbs. The lesson still works.
If they're on devicesLesson code WRDSC (on the worksheet footer) opens the right game, locks the café until 10 items are done, then unlocks it as the reward.

Misconceptions to watch for

Sounding out a word that will not sound out. enuf, becos, beutiful. The strategy that has served them for three years now fails. Say so out loud rather than letting them discover it alone.

Ringing the whole word as tricky. If everything is hard, nothing gets learnt. Push them to two or three letters. occasion is only difficult at the cc.

Losing the unstressed syllable. Febuary, sepatate, intresting. They write what they say. Teach the spelling voice: say Feb-ru-ary deliberately wrongly while you write it.

Copying instead of covering. Look-cover-write-check collapses into look-and-copy the moment you stop watching. The cover step is the entire method. Fold the paper.

The three sheets

Same four tasks on every sheet, in the same order, with the same look. Only the demand changes. Print the one each child needs; nobody does two.

Mild

Same four tasks as every other sheet, same order, same look, the demand is lower, not the dignity. Shorter passage in Task 2, and in Task 3 a word bank or words to tick, with printed sentence starters. Give it to anyone who needs a way in, and expect them to move up.

Medium

The core sheet. Give this to most of the class. No word bank; in Task 3 pupils choose from a few close options, then use one in a sentence of their own.

Spicy

Same four tasks, more demand, a longer passage with a subtler error, and Task 3 asks for two things at once. Not extra work; harder work. Nobody should be doing Spicy and the Medium sheet.

Adaptive teaching

  • Support: five words, not ten. Choose the ones that appear in their own writing.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; read Task 2 aloud before they edit.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, a sentence using three list words, each tricky bit ringed.
  • EAL: the list is arbitrary in any language. Pair each word with a picture or a gesture, not a rule.

Play it

Lesson code WRDSC at playspaghetti.com. The code is printed on the bottom of every pupil sheet with a QR, and Class Quiz in your dashboard opens the plenary quiz for this lesson pre-picked.

SPAGhetti · Spelling sequence · Lesson 11 of 17  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora