: Spelling List
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Approach: Independent Level: Year 4 and year 8 
Focus: Conventions of spelling
Resources:4 individual answer sheets

Questions/instructions:
In this activity you are going to try to spell some words without help from anyone else. I’ll give you the paper to write your words on, then I will tell you what to do.

Give one answer sheet to each student.
Now listen carefully to the instructions before we start. I will say each word on its own, then I will say a sentence with the word in it, then I will say the word on its own again. It is best that you listen to the word each time before you write it down.If you make a mistake, cross out the word and write it again on the same line.

Read out the words and sentences, allowing time for each word to be written before moving to the next. [Read as below – word, sentence, word repeated.]


% responses
2006 ('02)
y4
y8
1. BOY He is the oldest boy in the class.
BOY
98 (97)
99 (100)
2. WITH Come with me to the shops.
WITH
94 (92)
99 (100)
3. MAKE Let’s make some popcorn.
MAKE
93 (92)
99 (100)
4. CAVE There is a cave in those rocks.
CAVE
96 (92)
99 (98)
5. COOK Who will cook dinner?
COOK
92 (90)
98 (100)
6. BABY The baby has gone to sleep.
BABY
88 (90)
98 (98)
7. SHOW Show me what you can do.
SHOW
92 (89)
99 (98)
8. THERE There are 26 letters in the alphabet.
THERE
80 (73)
89 (85)
9. SCHOOL We are at school today.
SCHOOL
94 (94)
99 (99)
10. KNOW Do you know this story?
KNOW
75 (67)
96 (95)
11. BEING Are you being looked after?
BEING
92 (92)
97 (97)
12. FIFTEEN The car was fifteen years old.
FIFTEEN
45 (41)
79 (77)
13. DECEMBER December is the last month of the year.
DECEMBER
65 (70)
90 (91)
14. USUALLY Jack usually walks to school.
USUALLY
11 (10)
61 (57)
15. REALLY Are you really that old?
REALLY
55 (48)
87 (82)
16. FLOOR Sweep the floor with a broom.
FLOOR
74 (74)
93 (94)
17. MIDDLE We sat in the middle row.
MIDDLE
61 (56)
92 (93)
18. EAR She had a ring in her ear.
EAR
83 (81)
96 (97)
19. RIVER The river was good for fishing.
RIVER
87 (85)
97 (97)
20. LYING Why are you lying in bed?
LYING
37 (30)
74 (73)
21. ADVENTURE I like to read adventure books.
ADVENTURE
40 (35)
83 (81)
22. WRONG It was a wrong answer.
WRONG
49 (49)
91 (89)
23. QUIETLY Walk quietly out of the room.
QUIETLY
30 (25)
74 (64)
24. STRAIGHT Jess went straight home after school.
STRAIGHT
30 (24)
72 (71)

25. HAVING

 We are having a good time.
HAVING
77 (75)
95 (93)
Total score:
25
3 (3)
37 (31)
23–24
17 (11)
32 (28)
20–22
23 (20)
16 (26)
15–19
28 (37)
12 (12)
0–14
29 (29)
3 (3)
Subgroup Analysis:
Year 4
Year 8
Commentary:
December was marked correct whether or not the first letter was a capital D. About 20 percent fewer students at both levels would have suceeded if a capital D was required. About 70 percent of year 8 students, compared to 20 percent of year 4 students, spelled more than 90 percent of the words correctly. Girls averaged better than boys but Pakeha, Mäori and Pasifika students performed comparably.
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