Words Their Way
Presenters:
Carol CoccoJanice Lauber
Caroline PetermannKaren Pulgrano
July 2011
What is word study?
Word study includes phonics, spelling, and vocabulary instruction.
Orthography intertwines with oral language, reading and writing in a literacy braid.
Why is word study important?
Word study is an essential component of successful reading and writing instruction as determined by the National Reading Panel (April 2000).
It enables students to become fully literate.
“The purpose of word study, then, is to examine words in order to reveal consistencies within our written language system and to help students to master the recognition, spelling, and meaning of specific words.” (Bear et al, 2008).
Effective Word Study Instruction
“Teaching is not telling.” (James, 1958)
Students need hands-on opportunities to manipulate word features in a way that allows them to generalize beyond isolated, individual examples to entire groups of words that are spelled the same way.” (Juel & Minden-Cupp, 2000)
“The best way to develop fast and accurate perception of word features is to engage in meaningful reading and writing, and to have multiple opportunities to examine those same words out of context.” (Bear et al, 2008).
What is the basis for developmental word study?
Layers of Spelling Development
Alphabetic– Represents the relationship between letters and sounds
Pattern– Looking beyond single letter-sound match-ups and
searching for patterns that guide the groupings of lettersMeaning– When students learn that groups of letters can represent
meaning directly
Stages of Spelling Development
EmergentLetter NameWithin WordSyllables and AffixesDerivational Relations
How does Words Their Way differ from other word study approaches?
10 Principles of Word Study1. Look for what student use but confuse.2. A step backward is a step forward.3. Use words students can read.4. Compare use that do and words that don’t.5. Sort by sound and sight.6. Begin with obvious contrasts.7. Don’t hide exceptions.8. Avoid rules.9. Work for automaticity.10. Return to meaningful texts.
es
Assessment
Spelling Inventories (Several times a year)– Primary– Elementary– Upper-Level
Feature Guides – Analysis
Classroom Composite– Grouping
Sheet).
Grouping Students
According to developmental stagesFluid and flexible groupsMonitor frequently– Formal Spelling Inventories– Student Writing– Observation of sorting/activities– Assessment of lesson sorts– Spell checks/unit assessments
Word SortsTypes of Sorts
– Sound: picture, word, and blind sorts– Pattern: word sorts– Meaning: concepts, spelling-meaning (includes homophones and
homographs)Approaches to Sorting
–Teacher-Directed Closed Sorts–Student-Centered Open Sorts
Variations of Sorts–Guess My Category–Writing Sorts–Word Hunts–Brainstorming–Repeated Individual and Buddy Sorts–Speed Sorts–Draw and Label/Cut and Paste
Companion Books
– Word Sorts for Within Word Pattern Spellers -Yellow Book– Word Sorts for Syllables and Affixes Spellers -Green Book– Word Sorts for Derivational Relations Spellers -Blue Book
These companion books contain reproducible sorts, step by step directions to guide students through sorting lessons, follow-up extension activities, and unit review assessments.
Word Study Notebooks
Record SortsSentencesDefinitionsWord HuntsWord Explorations/ObservationsPrinciplesInteresting WordsGolden LinesWord ObservationsSemantic Maps