and the Common Core Standards Jennifer Bradshaw Jenifer Pastore Literacy Facilitators Rogers Public Schools, Rogers AR
and the Common Core Standards
Jennifer BradshawJenifer Pastore
Literacy FacilitatorsRogers Public Schools, Rogers AR
How is Word Learning Addressed in the Common Core Standards…
Reading Standards: Foundation Skills K-5 Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
“Instruction should be differentiated: good readers will need much less practice with these concepts than struggling readers will. The point is to teach students what they need to learn and not what they already know- to discern when particular children or activities warrant more or less attention.”
Foundational Skills
Common Core Standards, p. 15
IRA Literacy Implementation Guidance for Foundational Skills
Early, systematic, and explicit teaching of the foundational reading skills is required.
During the K-2 years, teaching of all aspects of the English Language Arts should take place simultaneously and be coordinated
IRA- Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core Standards p. 2
How is Word Learning Addressed in the Common Core Standards…
Language Standards K-5 Conventions of
Standard English
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
“Our goal is to help children become active word solvers who can recognize words, take them apart or put them together, know what they mean, and connect them to other words-all directed toward reading and writing continuous text.”
Pinnell and Fountas
Word Matters, p. 31
Develop an understanding of
phonics and spelling patterns
high-frequency word recognition
decoding strategies
insight into word meanings
Through multiple opportunities to
discover patterns
generalize beyond isolated, individual examples
manipulate word concepts
apply critical thinking skills
“Educators still make the mistake of having children focus on learning a list of specific words rather than on learning how spelling works across words.”
Many teachers see spelling as more arbitrary than systematic. Perhaps it is that their own knowledge of the spelling system is largely implicit or relatively poorly understood.
Hughes and Searle, p. 132-133
Spelling Misconceptions
In order to improve spelling instruction…
We need to understand for ourselves how words work.
Aa
cat
witch
whichcompose
composer
composition
decompose
any
cry
The Orthographic Structure of Written Words
Sounds represented by groups/patterns of letters within syllables and across syllables
Each sound is directly represented by a letter.
Units of letters representing meaning: prefixes, suffixes, Greek roots, Latin stems.
In mature readers and writers there is interaction among layers
Pattern
Meaning
Alphabet
Emergent Stage
Words Their Way, 2008
•Vocabulary growth and concept development
•Phonological awareness
•Alphabet knowledge
•Letter-sound knowledge
•Concept of word in print
Alphabet Letter-Name
Words Their Way ,2008
•Beginning and ending consonants
•Short vowels
•Consonant digraphs
•Consonant blends
•Pre-consonantal nasals
Within Word
Words Their Way, 2008
•Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-e (silent e)
•Other common long-vowel patterns
•Less common long-vowel patterns
•Consonant-influenced vowels (r,l,w)
•Complex consonant clusters
•Diphthongs and other ambiguous patterns
Syllables and Affixes
Words Their Way, 2008
•Inflected endings: Plural and past tense
•Open- and closed-syllable patterns
•Vowel patterns in accented syllables
•Unaccented Vowels
•Common prefixes
•Common suffixes
•Sounded-silent spelling/meaning connections
Derivational Relations
Words Their Way, 2008
•Consonant alternations in derivationally related pairs
•Vowels alternations in derivationally related pairs
•Greek roots
•Latin roots
•Predictable changes in derivationally related words
•Advanced suffixes
•Absorbed or assimilated prefixes
“A key element in improving how spelling is taught is to ensure that spelling be well embedded in literacy…
After all, reading is a vital source of information about spelling, and writing provides both opportunity and need to put those understandings into use.”
Hughes and Searle, p. 134
A Literacy Classroom Word Study
Shared Reading
Interactive Writing
Writing Workshop
Independent Reading- Instructional Level Texts
Interactive Read Alouds with Accountable Talk
Teaching for TransferWord Sorts Writing
SortsShared
ReadingInteractive
Writing
Teaching to read the feature in isolation
Teaching to write the feature in isolation
Teaching to read features in context
Teaching to write features in context
From a presentation by Enid Martinez at the TCRWP Summer Reading Institute, July 2011
What Do My Students Know? Administer a spelling
inventory (PSI- Primary Spelling Inventory or DSA- Developmental Spelling Assessment)
Score the assessments to determine the developmental level of students
Begin with 2, but no more than 3 groups
EmergentCharacteristics of students
Know less than half the alphabet
Lack concept of word
May know a few sight words
“Read” from memory and pictures
Scribble and/or write random letters and numbers
Lack letter-sound correspondence or represent most salient sounds with single letters
Reading Levels 1-2/A-B
Instruction and Practice
Emergent
Phonemic Awareness Activities
ABC books, Concept Books, Emergent Texts for Independent Reading
Working with names
Alphabet Awareness Activities
FOCUS ON:The Alphabet Chart Read the chart
Forward, backward, in columns, every other box, sounds only
Ask questions and play games: “Find a letter that…”
Has sticks, circles, tails
Begins John’s name
Says /m/
Use the chart to write
Model using it in shared or interactive writing
Encourage students to use it during writing workshop
Early Letter Name-AlphabetCharacteristics of students
Know most letter-sound correspondences
Rarely use vowels
Recognize 10+ sight words
Control 1-1 matching
Have basic concept of word
Read word by word in beginning reading materials
Reading Levels C-D/3-4
Instruction and Practice
Early Letter Name-Alphabet
Picture sorts
Picture/word sorts
Draw and Label Activities
Building, blending, and extending word families
Reading Decodable Texts
Word/Picture Hunts
Word wall activities
Games and foldables
FOCUS ON:Word Families
37 rimes can generate 500 different words
Word family rimes will be familiar chunks in multi-syllabic words
Vowel sounds are more stable within word families
Two Ways Teachers Address Word Families
Individual Word FamiliesSorting Same Vowel
Word Families
cat
mat
fat
sat
flat
cat fan mad
hat
sat
fat
mat
rat
can
ran
man
dad
sad
bad
-at
Two Ways Teachers Address Word Families
Sorting Same Vowel Word Families
cat fan mad
hat
sat
fat
mat
rat
can
ran
man
dad
sad
bad
In order to sort words with the same vowels but different word families, students must focus on the beginning and ending consonant sounds- not just a single rime.
Mid Letter Name-AlphabetCharacteristics of Students
Correctly spell initial and final consonants and some blends and digraphs
Use but confuse medial vowels
Recognize approximately 50+ words
Reading Levels E/6-8
Late Letter Name-AlphabetCharacteristics of Students
Spell some short vowels and many blends and digraphs correctly
Use but confuse long vowels
Recognize approximately 75+ words
Reading Levels F-G/10-12
Instruction and Practice
Mid-Late Letter Name-Alphabet
Word sorts for fluency and accuracy
Draw and Label Activities Build, blend, extend word
families Decodable Texts Word/Picture Hunts Word wall activities Games and foldables Word Study Notebooks Written Sorts Blind Sorts
FOCUS ON: Preconsonantal Nasals Nasal sounds (m, n, ng) that come right before the
final consonant make the final blends difficult to spell.
Students often spell
PEK for pink
JOP for jump
Sorts for Preconsonantal Nasalsan/ant ink/ank/unkin/ing amp/umpug/ung end/ent/anting/ang/ung
Characteristics of Students
Early Within Word
Word patterns used in reading and writing
Spell most single-syllable, SV words correctly
Attempt to use silent LV markers
Recognize approximately 100+ words
Begin to transition to silent reading
Reading Levels H-I/14-16
FOCUS ON:Sample sort k, ck, ke
Sound Sort Generalizations
sick bike took
lock smoke look
pack spoke book
truck strike
1. All the words ending in ck have short vowel sounds.
2. All the words ending in kehave long vowel sounds.
3. All words ending in k are ambiguous- neither long nor short.
Characteristics of Students
Mid-Late Within Word
Word patterns used in reading and writing
Spell most common long vowel words and r-controlled words correctly
Use but confuse “other” vowel patterns
Recognize approximately 150+ words
Reading Levels J-M/18-28
Instruction and Practice
Early, Mid, Late Within Word
Word sorts for fluency and accuracy
Word Study notebooks
Written sorts, blind sorts, and speed sorts
Word hunts
Word wall activities
Games and foldables
Homophone collections
FOCUS ON:Spelling-Meaning Connection
Collecting Homophones
Students can begin collecting the homophones they encounter On a classroom chart
In a class book
In a section of the word study notebook
The study of homophones begins the spelling-meaning connection
FOCUS ON:Vocabulary Connection
Attention to idioms can
develop appreciation for language
Increase vocabulary knowledge
Add humor to learning
Choose idioms that relate to words being studied
Idiom 4 Square
Amelia Bedelia stories
Integrating Idioms
Do… Look for what students use
but confuse
Use words they can read
Let students discover patterns and make generalizations
Sort by sight and sound
Work for automaticity
Work in and out of context
Teach word knowledge…not just words
Don’t… Teach spelling as an
isolated subject
Expect one-size-to-fit-all
Rely on spelling rules
Hide the exceptions
Do all the talking
Vocabulary InstructionStudents in primary grades will not encounter rich language in the books they are reading or the word they are studying.
We need to provide opportunities to bring words to life in the primary classroom through read alouds, word play, and explicit instruction.
IRA Literacy Implementation Guidance for Vocabulary
Study all strands of the standards for references to vocabulary
Plan for vocabulary development across the school day in all subjects
Provide instruction in word-solving strategies as well as teaching individual words
IRA- Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core Standards p. 3
Four-Part Vocabulary ProgramAn explicit, comprehensive plan for vocabulary instruction for all learners that…
Fosters word consciousness
Provides rich and varied language experiences
Teaches word learning strategies
Teaches individual words
(Graves, 2006)
Foster Word Consciousness
an awareness of words
interest in learning words and learning about words
noticing when new words are used
By providing an environment that supports
Word conscious classrooms…
“…turn children on to words so that they would continue to explore and use new words and phrases on their own.”
Scott and Nagy, 2004
Children need many opportunities to…
Hear spoken language in a variety of situations.
Engage in frequent discussions in a variety of situations.
Read. A lot.
Write. A lot.
Provide Rich and Varied Language Experiences
Teach students to use word parts: prefixes, suffixes, and root words
Provide rich, sustained instruction on using context clues
Examine how word patterns reflect meaning
Use dictionaries, word walls, and related tools
Teach students how to apply word learning strategies independently
Teach Word Learning Strategies
Teach Individual Words Select Tier Two Words
Provide explanations of their meaning
Provide lots of contexts for the words
Provide many opportunities for students to use and think about words
Engage students in studies of homonyms and idioms
Tier Two Words Meet Specific Criteria not the most basic way to express a concept
general words that can be found across types of genres and texts
more common in written than in oral language
Tiers of Words Low frequency of use
Limited to specific domains
Words of high frequency
Across domains
Allow students to build rich representations
and make connections to other words
Most basic words
Require little instructional time
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
Ready, set, GO!1. Take steps to become a more word conscious classroom.
2. Commit to becoming more knowledgeable about how words work.
3. Assess your students to determine their developmental levels.
4. Plan for instruction based on what they are using and confusing.
5. Provide daily opportunities to sort, manipulate and discuss words.
6. Connect their word work back to reading and writing.
7. Be more intentional with vocabulary instruction.
If you want to know more…Reading Rockets, “Word Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom”http://www.readingrockets.org/article/40267/
Scholastic Teacher, “My November Top Ten List: Word Study in Action”http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2010/10/my-
november-top-ten-list-word-study-in-action
Word Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary and Spelling Instruction by Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston (5th edition)
Articles in The Reading Teacher (subscription required)For the Love of Words: Fostering Word Consciousness in Young Readers by
Michael F. Graves and Susan Watts-TaffeStrategy Instruction During Word Study and Interactive Writing Activities
by Cheri Williams and Ruth P. Lundstrom
“Perhaps the greatest tools we can give students for succeeding, not only in their education but more generally in life, is a large, rich vocabulary and the skills for using those words.”
John J. Pikulski and Shane Templeton
References
Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York, NY: Guilford Press
Graves, M. (2006). The Vocabulary Book: learning and instruction. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Hughes, M. and Dennis Searle. 1997. The Violent E and Other Tricky Sounds. York, ME: Stenhouse.
Pinnell, G.S., & Fountas, I.C. (1998). Word matters: Teaching phonics and spelling in the reading/writing classroom. Portsmouth,NH: Heinemann.
Tyner, Beverly. (2004). Small-Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Contact UsJennifer Bradshaw
Literacy Facilitator
Eastside Elementary, Rogers, AR
Jenifer Pastore
Literacy Facilitator
Bellview Elementary, Rogers, AR