how to set homework on spelling shed

Spelling Shed – Setting up

by Ian Addison | Jan 4, 2019 | General Thoughts | 0 comments

I was talking to a friend of mine about Spelling Shed and she asked for my opinion and some tips on getting it all set up and working. I then thought that it might be useful to have a blog post so that if anyone else had similar questions, I could point them here instead.

This is Part 1 and will look at setting up Spelling Shed. The second part looks at how we use it day-to-day.

Disclaimer: I do not work for Spelling Shed and they have not asked me to write this. I have contacted them for permission to include screenshots. I have written this because I like the product.

I don’t want this to be a step-by-step guide per se, there are guides on the site for that, but some of the parts of the site may need explaining so I will try and do that as I go along.

The first thing that I would do is to upload some pupils. For this post, I am going to use some demo accounts.

I have written about creating usernames for sites a few times here and here and it is a massive bugbear of mine. I want children to have to remember as few logins as possible so we have come up with a username system in school that we use across all sites.

Some sites let you have school-specific logins and others are site-specific meaning that you share available usernames with everyone else using the site. Spelling Shed is the latter. It is worth bearing this in mind when creating your usernames because if your logins for school were first initial and then surname e.g. John Smith becoming jsmith , this might work fine in your school with 100 users but when going onto a site such as Spelling Shed, jsmith will be taken so you might end up with jsmith325 or something. Not a big deal, but worth a few moments to think about.

In the example above, I have included the email addresses of the pupils. I use Google Apps/GSuite so the pupils have email addresses (although noone could contact them as we have settings in place). As far as I am aware, Spelling Shed doesn’t use the email addresses but I am adding just in case. Education City released an update that gave users the option of signing in with Google accounts rather than remembering usernames/passwords and it was nice to be able to have this available to our pupils. Maybe Spelling Shed will do similar one day, who knows.

The “reggroup” part is the name of their class. You can move them and swap them about later, it just helps to put them somewhere to get them started.

When you go to the Pupils page of the dashboard, you will see all pupils in your school. As you type, it will search and show you the pupil you were looking for and you can see Mickey Mouse here. It shows his username, password and class too. If I click on details, it would show me which classes/groups he is in, his spelling data and any spelling lists I have assigned for him. As he is not real, there isn’t any data yet. I’ll include data in the second blog post .

These pupils are ready to go and use the site now if they wanted but I want to make some changes first.

If you have children at different levels, for whatever reason and need them to be in different spelling groups, you can assign that through the dashboard. It might be that I need to challenge some children or support others. Maybe there is a small group of children that are really struggling with a certain set of prefixes and I want to target them, whatever the reason it only takes a few seconds to setup. On the Dashboard, click on Groups, add a new group and then search for the pupils.

Now, when I come to set spelling lists or assignments, I have the option of this group as well as my main class.

That’s the end of Part 1. Your children are all set-up and ready to go. Part 2 looks at managing the site now it is all setup.

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• G-Suite – Internal Email
• Manga High – A bit of an overview
• Setting Targets
• Spending time in the shed
• Setting up Chromebooks – Part 1
• Setting up Chromebooks – Part 2
• Mobile Devices – Part 2 – Setting up Tablets

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English – KS2 – Spelling Shed

In this section.

Spelling Shed

As children progress into KS2, they begin to use Spelling Shed.

Spelling Shed is part of the well-known Literacy Shed group and aims to support children with their spellings in a fun and interactive way.

Spelling Shed includes:

• A whole-school spelling scheme, giving 100% coverage of the National Curriculum.
• The ability to create unlimited custom lists and search for others’ lists within the platform.
• A tablet and mobile game for students to use to practise spelling.
• An online game, which gives access to our platform on all current desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices.
• A teacher hub, which allows management of student records, teachers and classes.
• The ability to set and monitor homework assignments for e.g. weekly spelling lists. (For teachers)

There is an app available to download onto phones and iPads. The cost is £2.99 but this is not essential and is not a school requirement as the games are available to play directly on line.

Children can practice set spelling rules and play games to support their learning. Teachers are able to use the program in school and monitor practice and progress when the site is used at home.

Y3 & Y4 Statutory spellings

Y5 & Y6 Statutory spellings

Woodborough Wood's Foundation C of E Primary School Lingwood Lane Woodborough Nottinghamshire NG14 6DX

0115 965 2136

[email protected]

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Math Shed and Spelling Shed Review

by Josh · Published June 10, 2020 · Updated June 10, 2020

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Spelling is not my specialty so we were excited to receive 12 months of access to both  Math Shed  and  Spelling Shed .  If you are looking to add some spelling and math  digital learning  to your homeschool, let me tell you about Math Shed and Spelling Shed.

What is Math Shed and Spelling Shed?

Math Shed  and  Spelling Shed  are part of EdShed.  The programs are designed to help your student improve their math and spelling proficiency.  Math Shed and Spelling shed are an online subscription. The program is web-based so it works on both a computer and also on the iPad.

Spelling Shed –  Spelling Shed is a full Spelling curriculum program.  There are six levels (called Stages) plus a beginner level for phonics.  Each level has spelling lists that focus on a particular spelling rule.  For example, Stage 3 has a list for Long /a/ sound words. You can assign your student a Stage and even a specific Spelling word list.

You set up students and give them assignments in the “Teacher Hub”. You can also set the password for your student there or keep the recommended one.

They can work on spelling lists or play a game called”buzz” where they try to make different words with letters on the screen.

There are three kinds of game:

•  Play – This is the main game type and use used for assignments
• Bee Keeper – Can you guess your words by choosing letters.
• Buzz Words – Make words using random letter tiles.

MathShed –  MathShed is a web-based program with games to help your child learn different math facts.

Both games allow you to earn honeypots to buy different accessories for the avatar.  That is the main motivation for the student. There are also points so you can have a competition between students.  If you have two computers you can also set up a head to head competition by creating what’s called a Hive.  The teacher or the student can set up a hive competition game.  I tried it with my boys however we had issues with the iPad not showing the keyboard so we were not able to fully try that level.

What we thought

Math Shed  and  Spelling Shed  were definitely helpful for my children working on spelling and math facts.  The boys enjoyed the games and were challenged.  I usually set up the game difficulty level for them depending on what I thought their level.  The Easy level shows all the letters that are used in the spelling word but the most difficult level does not give any help.  The instructions say not to worry about it using the easy level and to use the hard levels towards the end of the week.

One of the other nice features I liked about Spelling Shed was the curriculum guide.  There is a pdf and PowerPoint that you can use to teach the new spelling list.  I thought it was very helpful to see all the spelling words and the instructions on. how to teach and use the program.  Each week has a lesson plan, activities and printable practice/homework sheets with answers

I hope you consider EdShed to help your child spell better and build math mastery!

Be sure to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of Math Shed  and  Spelling Shed .

Tags: Digital Learning Distance Learning homeschool iPad games learning literacy math Math Facts Math Fluency phonics spelling Vocabulary

Husband, Father, and Engineer trying to use technology for homeschooling my five children.

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The Science of Spelling

What is the science of spelling.

The Science of Spelling is a systematic approach that involves understanding the relationship between sounds and written symbols.

It utilises the large body of Science of Reading research to implement evidence-based best practices and strategies to teach and practise spelling. Learning to spell is a key ingredient to becoming a good reader and is far more intricate than just memorising words.

There are over 300 words on the statutory spelling lists from years one to six. Committing each word to memory would be an enormous and daunting task for any learner. Instead, The Science of Spelling teaches children to recognise spelling patterns and highlights notable exceptions. Words are taught in context and linked to other words with similar patterns in order to fully explore their meanings.

Why is Spelling Important?

Research confirms that spelling enhances young children’s ability to read and write. However, as children get older, the continued teaching of appropriate spelling practices (spelling patterns; studying the meaning of roots, prefixes and suffixes; the historical development of the English language and words’ language of origin) could provide them with significant benefits (Moats, 2005).

Moats (2005) describes the two big sources of complexity in English spelling as the layering of various languages as English evolved and the emphasis on meaning instead of sounds. Explicit spelling instruction in these areas can help pupils unlock clues about the meaningful relationships between words as well as contribute to vocabulary growth and reading comprehension. The Spelling Shed Stages 3-5 lists slowly begin to introduce these concepts and provide for rich vocabulary and morphology acquisition.

Written language is a form of communication. Errors in spelling can lead to misunderstandings and a loss of meaning. While the basic meaning may still be conveyed in a message peppered with spelling errors, the authority and tone of the communication have likely been lost. Daffern and Fleet (2021) note that: “In an age of fast-paced digital modes of communication such as texting, emailing, and messaging through social media platforms, it seems more important than ever to be able to efficiently spell words in a range of contexts."

How Does Spelling Impact Reading?

Learning to spell is a key ingredient to becoming a good reader and is far more intricate than just memorising words. Catherine Snow et al. (2005) summarise the real importance of spelling for reading as follows: “Spelling and reading build and rely on the same mental representation of a word. Knowing the spelling of a word makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading.” Encoding (spelling) is a developmental process that impacts fluency, writing, pronunciation and vocabulary. Fluency is best developed through a combination of mastering systematic phonics, practicing high frequency words and repeated readings (Moats, 1998; LeBerge & Samuels, 1974; Rasinski, 2009).

As pupils begin to master phonics, it is advantageous to use those skills to practice the 300 high frequency words that make up 65% of all texts (Fry, 1999). When the relationship between spelling and reading is conveyed, pupils gain a better understanding of the code and demonstrate gains in reading comprehension (Moats, 2005), vocabulary (Moats, 2005), fluency (Snow et al., 2005) and spelling (Berninger, 2012).

How Does Spelling Shed Use The Science of Spelling to Deliver Effective Spelling Lessons?

To deliver effective spelling lessons that align with the principles of the Science of Spelling, we must focus on research-backed approaches. This means teaching strategies rather than memorising them. These strategies include direct instruction, word study and practice. Spelling Shed lists were developed by applying the Science of Reading research and follow a systematic progression of phonics and word study skills typically addressed in each Stage.

Spelling Shed supports differentiated learning, allowing pupils to progress at their own pace and receive activities tailored to their individual needs. This personalised approach aligns with the Science of Reading's emphasis on accommodating diverse learning styles and abilities.

At Spelling Shed, every lesson has a main objective from the National Curriculum 2014. We use word study and the latest spelling research to effectively teach spelling. The timing is flexible to fit with your school’s needs. Spelling Shed provides children with multiple methods for approaching spelling. Each lesson is planned and has resources, including a lesson plan, a lesson presentation and worksheets.

At the beginning of each Stage, there is an intentional spiral review of skills expected to have been acquired in the previous Stage but they also include words of increasing difficulty. Throughout the progression, new and more advanced concepts and skills are delicately intertwined within the review. This aids in linking past learning to the new concepts and skills and reinforces and solidifies learning. If pupils are struggling with a particular skill, teachers can use previous Stage lists, which will have a more in-depth focus to match pupils’ needs. The majority of the words selected for each list contain only the grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPC’s) that have been previously reviewed to avoid cognitive overload, help ensure focus and attain mastery of the skill at hand.

Practising to read high frequency words is essential to becoming a fluent reader but not by memorising the whole word. Brain research shows that strong readers, even when they process a written word, such as ‘instantaneously,’ are reading by sounds. Researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that readers who read fluently are able to map phonograms to their sounds automatically. The process occurs so quickly that it appears they are reading “by sight” (Ehri & Snowling, 2004). Most high-frequency words are decodable and are more efficiently taught alongside the corresponding phonetic patterns. When pupils use their knowledge of the sounds to learn and master high-frequency words, they simultaneously strengthen the skills that will enable them to read thousands more.

The Linguistic Tapestry

An effective speller draws upon the entire rich linguistic tapestry of a word to spell it correctly. the threads of this tapestry can be identified as phonological knowledge, orthographic knowledge, morphological knowledge, etymological knowledge and visual knowledge. (apel et al., 2004a, b; henry, 1989; masterson and apel, 2010)..

Phonological Knowledge

This is simply knowing the phonemes (sounds) and understanding how to represent them as graphemes (letters). Using Spelling Shed, students will be systematically taught the different graphemes for each phoneme.

Orthographic Knowledge

‘Ortho’ meaning ‘correct’ and ‘graph’ meaning ‘to do with writing’. Orthography is the spelling system of a language. It is the patterns the language can use.

“Alongside phonological knowledge, students must have orthographic knowledge, that is, understanding which letter sequences are both possible and plausible in English.” Adoniou (2024, p. 146)

Let's take 'drip' as an example. It can’t be spelled ‘dd’ with /d/ because ‘dd’ is most often in the middle of words or before a suffix. It would never be at the beginning of a word.

“Orthographic mapping is the cognitive process by which readers associate speech sounds with written letters (phoneme-grapheme associations) in a written word to store it for immediate retrieval “on sight”.” Mather & Jaffe (2021, p. 15-16)

As it is a cognitive process, it is not something you can directly teach; however, you can use methods that support orthographic mapping. This might include breaking down words in different ways: sound buttons, Elkonin boxes or syllables and looking at the positional best fit of words.

Teaching morphemes and word origins helps pupils understand the meaning of words at a deeper level, which helps them connect to and recognise unfamiliar words. This means that explicit and systematic spelling instruction can increase vocabulary acquisition.

Morphological and Etymological Knowledge

“visual memory is dramatically better when meaning can be attached to the to-be-remembered pattern.” bowers & bowers (2017, p.132).

Morphology and etymology are important aspects of language that can significantly aid in learning to spell correctly.

Understanding Word Structure: Morphology

Morphology deals with the structure of words and how they are formed from smaller units called morphemes (the smallest units of meaning). Understanding morphology helps pupils break down words into meaningful parts, such as prefixes, suffixes and root words. Knowing common prefixes and suffixes can provide clues about the meaning of a word and its spelling. For example, the prefix "un-" often indicates negation (e.g., unhappy) and recognising this can help in spelling related words.

Identifying Word Origins: Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history and origins of words. Knowing the origin of a word often provides insight into its spelling and meaning; e.g., ‘ch’ can be pronounced as /k/ in words such as choir, school and stomach. Words that pronounce ‘ch’ as /k/ are often Greek in origin. Words with similar roots or bases often have similar spellings. For instance, if you know that "bene-" means "good" or "well" (as in "beneficial"), you can apply this knowledge to spell and understand other words with the same prefix, such as "benefit" or "benevolent."

Learning morphology and etymology enhances vocabulary. As pupils become familiar with root and base words, prefixes, and suffixes, they can more easily recognise and learn new words.

Memorised Words (Lexical Store)

“in order to spell well, children need to learn how to strategically use knowledge about phonology, orthography, morphology and etymology. it is also a visual activity that involves the laying down and retrieval of visual representations of words and word parts in the memory.” oakley & fellowes (2016, p.1).

Research shows that visual memory is dramatically better when meaning can be attached to the to-be-remembered pattern. As spellers, we build up a mental lexicon. This is a bank of words we have committed to our visual memory and can spell almost automatically.

Effective spelling instruction teaches strategies that support spelling skills. Often, we rely heavily on visual memory for spelling, but there is much more to it than that. Word study directly teaches the linguistic skills that contribute not only to effective spelling but also to reading and further literacy skills such as spoken language.

Strategic Knowledge and Application

We often start with explicit, systematic phonic instruction. However, in later years, this is frequently disregarded. This is best demonstrated using the overlapping waves theory (Siegler, 1996). Wave theory explains that as children grow up and experience different things, they rely on different strategies to learn new things.

Direct instruction should be explicit and systematic, teaching patterns of the English language as well as common exceptions.

This includes:

• Alphabetic Principle (an understanding that oral language can be converted to written language by using alphabet letters—graphemes)
• Spelling-Pattern Knowledge (phonics)
• Patterns, not ‘rules’

Word study involves teaching pupils strategies for decoding and encoding words, such as identifying morphemes, prefixes, suffixes and roots.

• Spelling variations based on word origins (etymology)
• Meaning (morphology)

Practice should be both guided and independent, giving pupils opportunities to apply their learning to new words and contexts. Additionally, it should also be differentiated, meaning different pupils will be given different activities or tasks to work on in order to meet their individual needs. It is also important to incorporate multisensory techniques and activities to build a broader understanding of a concept.

As the concepts and skills advance in difficulty in Spelling Shed Stages 2–5, the importance of teaching the etymology and morphology of words increases. As Venesky (1967) stated, “The simple fact is that the present orthography is not merely a letter-to-sound system riddled with imperfections, but instead a more complex and more regular relationship wherein phoneme and morpheme share leading roles.” Words are encoded by their relationship between sounds (phonemes) and meaning (morphology). Moats (2005) states, “Learning to spell requires instruction and gradual integration of information about print, speech sounds, and meaning—these, in turn, support memory for whole words, which is used in both spelling and sight (automatic) reading."

Find Out More:

Spelling Shed enables learning to happen anywhere and everywhere, giving teachers the peace of mind that pupils can learn and get practice unhindered.

For more information on the ways Spelling Shed ensures effective teaching of spelling, visit our blog or watch our webinar .

• Moats, L., & Snow, C. (2005). How Spelling Supports Reading. American Federation of Teachers, 1–13. How Spelling Supports Reading by Louisa Moats
• Daffern, T., & Fleet, R. (2021). Investigating the efficacy of using error analysis data to inform explicit teaching of spelling. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties (accepted). Investigating the efficacy of using error analysis data to inform explicit teaching of spelling | Tessa Daffern
• Berninger, V. “Evidence-based, developmentally appropriate writing skills k-5: teaching the orthographic loop of working memory to write letters so developing writers can spell words and express ideas.” Presented at Handwriting in the 21st century?: An educational summit, Washington, D.C. January 23, 2012.
• Ehri, L. and Snowling, M.J. (2004). Developmental variation in word recognition. In Stone, C.A., Silliman, E.R., Ehren, B.J., and Apel, K. (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders, pp. 433-460. New York: Guilford.
• Fry, E. B. (1999). 1000 Instant Words: The most common words for teaching reading, writing, and spelling. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials.
• LaBerge, D., & Samuels, J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293-323.
• Moats, L. (1998). Teaching decoding. American Educator, Spring/Sum, 1–8.
• Snow, C. E., Griffin, P., and Burns, M. S. (Eds.) (2005). Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading: Preparing Teachers for a Changing World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Rasinski, T.V. “Introduction: Fluency: The Essential Link From Phonics to Comprehension.” Essential readings on fluency. Newark, Del.: International Reading Association, 2009. 1-10. Print.
• Venezky, R. L. (1967). English orthography: Its graphical structure and its relation to sound. Reading Research Quarterly, 75-105.
• A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words | Reading Rockets
• A New Phonics-Based Approach to Teaching High Frequency Words
• Teach “Sight Words” As You Would Other Words
• High-frequency words: some ways to teach and help students practice and learn them
• How Phonics Helps Your Child To Read
• II. Overlapping Waves Theory - Chen - 2000 - Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development - Wiley Online Library

ABOUT MATHSHED

Mathshed - proudly powered by edshed - is a math platform designed to significantly impact on enjoyment of math and results. it is built with students, teachers and parents in mind and aims to make learning math facts fun for students as well as simple for teachers to manage..

MathShed includes:

• Mastery teaching slides following White Rose and taking a whole-class, no worksheets approach.
• A wide range of math skills categories including number-bonds and times-tables.
• An online game, which gives access to our platform on all current desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices.
• A teacher hub, which allows simple management of student records, teachers and classes.
• The ability to set and monitor homework assignments for e.g. weekly times-tables practice.
• A Year 4 multiplication tables check simulator to help pupils in year 4 practise for this assessment.

Our platform works in conjunction with Spelling Shed to help develop learners retention and recall of number facts. MathShed can be used with a small group to improve a specific skill or across a whole school with different number skills being targetted across year groups.

Our game has been developed to be ‘dyslexia friendly’ using the ‘Open Dyslexic’ font and has three levels of difficulty to support pupils of all abilities through the math challenges with appropriate degrees of scaffolding.

Our app also allows full offline play and scanning of QR codes to both import lists as well as for pupils to sign in to their account.

Our online game mirrors our app and functions on all current desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices.

When a school has any subscription, students can access our online game using their account from any location.

Subscriptions & The Teacher Hub

For subscribers, our teacher hub allows teachers to manage pupil groups, set assignments and view pupil attainment data. Teachers can set assignments for pupils, individually or in groups. As pupils practise these math challenges teachers can view the pupils' activity.

How to add pupils