Students in fourth grade do not have spellings lists every week, and we do not have spelling tests every Friday.
Instead, we assess students' spelling skills in two ways:
Spot-checks of high-frequency sight words (also called "No Excuses" words)
Unit tests of phonetically-spelled words (words that follow spelling rules; "sound-out" words)
This category on the report card refers to high-frequency sight words ("No Excuses" words).
Students receive an ever-increasing list of No Excuses words at the beginning of each unit.
In class we practice these words which do not follow spelling rules.
Every time they write, students take out their word lists for spell-checking.
Once a week, Ms. Becker collects a writing assignment and looks at how well students spelled their No Excuses words. Students do not know which writing will be graded. This is called a "spot-check."
Practice these words with your child. Since these words do not follow spelling rules, they have to be memorized, not sounded out. The list is available as an attachment below, or you can ask your child to bring the current list home to study.