Does this seem right?

[BCFD]

Does it seem odd that DD, who is now in 1st grade, is being given a spelling workbook (don't get me started!) that is starting with a "lesson" with "at" words (fat, cat, hat, etc.). She is reading large words really well now and I'm semi-concerned that she might start getting bored. I know the teacher did an assessment at the beginning of the year and we are about to have a conference with her, but I wasn't sure if this is a standard thing for Montessori charter school's (or even public school in general!) to do....or if they truly felt she needed to start all over again. She was spelling words like 'hospital' and 'yellow' by the end of kindy and she has no problem with words like that. So, AT? FAT? CAT? REALLY????? Here is an example from the book that she has to read and complete:

Missing Letters
Add the missing letters.
Then write the spelling words.

1. was a kitten c_t (then there is a space to write the entire word)
2. like dad m_n
3. big and round f_t
4. went fast r_n

So, they expect her to be able to read words like "kitten" and "round" by herself, but the answers are "cat, man, fat, and ran"?? I don't get it.

They are also doing the exact same report as last year that they did in kindergarten (invertebrates). While it is a different animal, it just seems like a lot of the exact same curriculum from kindergarten.

What do you think?

[Rose-Roget]

Doesn't sound right to me - from a Montessori or even public school perspective. Ds was given a "pre-test" (don't get ME started!) with questions like that on it at the beginning of the year (which he failed because he'd never done the paper-pencil tests before, but the teacher has realized that). Anyway, his spelling lists have been pretty easy, but nothing like that. He's had silent "e" words - working through all the vowels. More recently, he's had long "a" lists, with a focus on different long "a" letter combo each week (one week "ai" and another week "ay" etc.). I assume long vowel sounds for each of the others are to follow.

Montessori or not, I would talk to the teacher about where she's assessed your dd to be. Maybe she could talk to last year's teacher. Good luck!

[MattBronsil]

So...
c_t
h_t
b_t
b_d
m_n

Let me think about this from a logical perspective of how kids will (and do) do this work.

1) I am learning about the letter "a."
2) I have to write a letter on this line.
3) If I write "a" constantly, I get the right answer and do not even have to read anything!

Sounds like there is no real learning outcome happening.

[BCFD]

Originally Posted by MattBronsil

So...
c_t
h_t
b_t
b_d
m_n

Let me think about this from a logical perspective of how kids will (and do) do this work.

1) I am learning about the letter "a."
2) I have to write a letter on this line.
3) If I write "a" constantly, I get the right answer and do not even have to read anything!

Sounds like there is no real learning outcome happening.

Oh, Matt...thank you!!! I never even looked at it that way. I just thought, "Here we go with the 'at' words again! Something she did back when she was 3 1/2!"

I am going to get my list of concerns together today and I am SO bringing this up with the teacher!

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by BCFD

Oh, Matt...thank you!!! I never even looked at it that way. I just thought, "Here we go with the 'at' words again! Something she did back when she was 3 1/2!"

I am going to get my list of concerns together today and I am SO bringing this up with the teacher!

Teaching phonics in Taiwan is an absolute nightmare because they do worksheets like this. I have to live with the problem I described many times a week. I honestly did not think people still did it back in the states.

I so need to get married to change my Visa status and open my own school. Haha.

[BCFD]

Originally Posted by MattBronsil

I so need to get married to change my Visa status and open my own school. Haha.

LOL Matt!! The Montessori world is a better place with you in it! If you ever decide to move to Northern California and open a school, my 3 kids will be in line waiting for your doors to open!!!!!

[BCFD]

I briefly talked to the teacher about this yesterday and she said that DD is still really shy around her, so she is not letting on that she knows the material. ::sigh:: I can totally see this because DD *IS* very timid at times, but this teacher is so sweet and she loves her, so I'm not sure what's going on.

The teacher said that she may be able to read words like: little, hospital, yellow, etc.....but can she *SPELL* them? I sat down with DD yesterday and she totally read the words, but the teacher is right - spelling is another thing all together.

Matt, how does Montessori approach this? I just assumed that if she wants to spell little as 'litl" then that is ok. She will eventually spell it correctly! As a parent, the way I see it is that she can decode it when reading, so I don't see the need to add this stupid spelling workbook!!! Isn't the moveable alphabet enough? Ugggh. I'm definitely not a parent that needs to see workbooks and worksheets coming home to prove that my kid is working in school. I know she can read. I know she can do math. I'd prefer if my first grader DIDN'T do homework and spelling tests! I want to convey this to the teacher calmly. LOL! I really, really love her and I know she is just following the "rules" of the school. I just wish some of the public Montessori school teachers would take a stand against this type of learning. ::sigh:::

[Rose-Roget]

I'm interested to hear the reply about this too. I don't mind the idea of learning the rule to spelling and being able to differentiate which words are spelled with a silent 'e' and which have 'ai', but I'm curious how Montessori approaches this.

I totally agree the public M teachers needing to take a stand. I'm curious whether the teachers at your school were Montessori first or whether they were trained in traditional first. I think that makes a LOT of difference in the mindset of the teacher. I think sometimes it's hard to let go of a philosophy, a way of life, that you have experienced and been taught since you were a young child. Unless it's in the teacher's heart that the exploration of a non-traditional method could be better, I don't think they can really let go of traditional ideas. That's why when I read that our school district is going to train every new teacher in the district to be M certified, I cringed at the decline of the program and the waste of money. There will just be more traditional minded teachers moving into the M program to do their "combination" classrooms. (Sorry. Rant)

As for the moveable alphabet, that's something ds's teacher has all but forgotten, I'm afraid. Kids are supposed to practice their spelling words in 5 different writing activities each week, no moveable alphabet, nothing auditory, just writing. That doesn't work for all kids, and it doesn't seem very Montessori to assume it would.

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by BCFD

The teacher said that she may be able to read words like: little, hospital, yellow, etc.....but can she *SPELL* them? I sat down with DD yesterday and she totally read the words, but the teacher is right - spelling is another thing all together.

Matt, how does Montessori approach this? I just assumed that if she wants to spell little as 'litl" then that is ok. She will eventually spell it correctly! As a parent, the way I see it is that she can decode it when reading, so I don't see the need to add this stupid spelling workbook!!! Isn't the moveable alphabet enough? Ugggh. I'm definitely not a parent that needs to see workbooks and worksheets coming home to prove that my kid is working in school. I know she can read. I know she can do math. I'd prefer if my first grader DIDN'T do homework and spelling tests! I want to convey this to the teacher calmly. LOL! I really, really love her and I know she is just following the "rules" of the school. I just wish some of the public Montessori school teachers would take a stand against this type of learning. ::sigh:::

As usual ... excuse my rambling.

Your daughter is doing inventive spelling. It is a very important step to learning writing and reading. My favorite phrase: "i luv jraf nex." (I love giraffe necks, in case you are wondering.)

The beginning of a 6-9 class is a good time to start helping students fix this problem, but:

1) 6-9 is a time of researching and writing reports. It is also a time to learn how to use a dictionary. The children take such an interest in questions and research that there are countless opportunities to help students learn how to work on their mistakes slowly and naturally.

2) I don't think having her write "a" in for "c_t" will help her spell "little" even if we do take the worksheet method.

[elsie123]

So many schools do this, and I wish they would stop!

Kids learn to spell properly by reading words in books. Real books. There is relatively current research out there showing this. As kids read, they absorb the correct spellings. I tell my students who want to know a proper spelling to think of a book they have seen that word in before, and go find it. Or go right to the dictionary.

[GuildJenn]

Originally Posted by elsie123

So many schools do this, and I wish they would stop!

Kids learn to spell properly by reading words in books. Real books. There is relatively current research out there showing this. As kids read, they absorb the correct spellings. I tell my students who want to know a proper spelling to think of a book they have seen that word in before, and go find it. Or go right to the dictionary.

Many kids do, but some don't.

I have some issues still with visual memory, and when I was a kid I had basically no visual memory. I was a prodigious sight reader (phonics was never my strong suit) who read far above grade level, including comprehension tests - which sounds weird, until you understand that my 'quirk' is that I can recognize things I've seen once I see them again. But I can't always conjure up a visual image in my mind out of thin air.

By contrast, I can often remember verbatim things I've heard, like entire lectures. For me reading to myself is a very aural experience because I 'hear' the words and then I remember them.

SPELLING the words though, as in making them visible, as a kid was almost impossible, to the point where I got seriously in trouble for 'faking' my spelling tests. I also failed in later years art tests, map tests, and other visual type tests. The only way I learned to spell at all was through drills (a lot of them leaning on spelling the words out loud spelling-bee style, or skipping rope while spelling out loud), learning a bunch of rules, and in some cases training my hand to write them correctly (motor memory).

BCFD - sorry that doesn't address your core question 'cause...I dunno, we're not at that level yet. But if you end up working on spelling I would keep in mind that some kids need different ways to learn.
So like any statement about language acquisition I think we have to be mindful that there will always be some people who need different approaches.

(Here's irony - I'm an editor...but not a copy editor. )