Articles on: Literacy

What to do when students are working above their year level? How do I cater for strong spellers?

PLD recommends that teachers avoid fast-tracking students through the PLD Stages. Instead, we encourage teachers to provide challenging tasks linked to existing concepts. Exploring how words are built and related (word study/morphology) helps strengthen spelling, reading and vocabulary.

Step 1: Consider How to Add a Challenge to the Existing Stage, without Creating Another Group

PLD recommends stretching these students with Challenge Tasks that focus on meaning, morphology and oral/written language, rather than standard spelling tasks. An assortment of challenge tasks is outlined below. The templates for these tasks are available for download:

Year 1 & 2 Challenge Tasks download)HERE
Year 3 & 4 Challenge Tasks download)HERE
Year 5 & 6 Challenge Tasks download)HERE

How do these tasks fit into your PLD structure without creating another group?
PLD recommends that high-achieving students stay within their existing group and continue following the teaching sequence: they remain part of core instruction, participate in whole-group learning, and work from the same weekly word list as their peers. The difference comes during independent practice time. Where other students consolidate through standard list work, these students apply the same words to one of the challenge tasks outlined above.

Since the ultimate goal of spelling is to apply sophisticated language and vocabulary in self-generated writing, it is beneficial for strong spellers to slow down and engage in word study (morphology) rather than progress quickly through PLD's stages.

Step 2: Consider the PLD Implementation Process.

PLD recommends that teachers avoid accelerating students. Keep in mind that:

Stages 1, 2 and 3 have four terms (36 weeks) of teaching outlined in the Teaching Sequence Manuals (even though only 16 concepts are contained within the placement test).
Stages 4, 5 and 6 have five terms (45 weeks) of teaching outlined in the Teaching Sequence Manuals (even though only 16 concepts are contained within the placement test).
The Teaching Sequence Overviews are accessible here.

Note: When students are moved higher than their teaching sequence, this impacts the entire class, as inevitably an additional group is formed. PLD’s strong recommendation is for classroom teachers to deliver no more than three targeted teaching groups.**

The placement tests are designed to be relatively short and efficient to administer. Stages 2-6 only present 16 concepts (around a third of the concepts within a Stage). So even if students score highly on a placement test, there is still likely much more content to present.

When students are accelerated through the teaching sequence, often by Year 5, these students have completed the full PLD Teaching Sequence, but even though they may be achieving high scores in the spelling placement screens, it is highly unlikely they are consistently transferring with high accuracy to extended writing. There is also little benefit for students if they can spell the words but do not know what they mean. For this reason, avoid accelerating students through the PLD stages.

If you need support with the range in ability within your class, schedule a SUPPORT SESSION through the home page. Remember to supply your tracking sheets. We’ll be more than happy to provide guidance.

Updated on: 24/07/2026

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