Word study

Word study• Spelling• Word study stations• Grammar• Daily Oral Language• Vocabulary study

Why is word study important?

To be fully literate, students must be able to quickly and accurately recognize words when they read and must be able to quickly and accurately produce words when they write.

Commercial Spelling Programs

• Target the average learner. Students on the low and high ends learn very little because spelling is developmental.

• Allow very few opportunities for students to manipulate words.

• Learning is too “out-of-context” to transfer.• The best way to develop as a speller is by

through meaningful reading and writing.

Word StudyGeneral Knowledge

Teaching students to examine words and discover patterns, regularities, and conventions of spelling.

Specific Knowledge

Spelling and meaning of individual words

General Knowledge• What we access when we encounter a new

word, when we don’t know how to spell a word, when we don’t know the meaning of a specific word.

• The better our general knowledge, the better we are at decoding the unfamiliar words, spelling unknown words correctly, and guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Focus on Patterns

Help students focus on patterns by doing word sorts.

Discovery learning works best for students to internalize spelling

concepts.

What kind of “c” is it?Hard C Soft C

cat city

crafty centipede

colorful cellophane

cabin democracy

What do you think makes “c” soft or hard?

Developmental Spelling Stages

• Emergent• Letter-Name Alphabetic• Within Word• Syllables and Affixes• Derivational Relations

Emergent

• Grades Pre-K to mid-1• Random marks, letter-like writing• Random letters and numbers

• Do picture sorts and alphabet games.

Letter Name Spellers

• Grades K--Early 3rd• “net” spelled N .or NT or NAT• Help students compare the beginnings

and endings sounds of words and sort pictures and words to contrast vowel sounds

Within Word Pattern Spellers

• Grades 1 through mid 4th

• Spell “seat” as SEET or SETE• Spell “back” as BAKE

• Examine long vowel patterns, homophones, r-influenced vowels.

Syllables & Affixes

• Grades 3 to 8• Spell “hopping” as HOPING• Spell “hockey” as HOCKY• Spell “pleasure” as PLESURE

• Study consonant doubling, common prefixes and suffixes, and past tense endings.

Derivational Relations

• Grades 5 through 12• Spell “solemn” as SOLEM• Spell “criticize” as “CRITACIZE”• Spell most words correctly.

• Study Latin and Greek roots, study derived forms in bases and roots.

Words Their Way

• By Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton,& Johnston, 2004)

• Spelling inventories for testing students with to determine groups

• Arranged by spelling stage with many activities

Identifying the Meaning of Root Words Activity

fraction, fracture, infraction, refract

The root fract means:______________

stretch, eat, or break?

What if I need or want to use spelling lists?

--Each DLG has lists of spelling words. --Words are for average student.--Will be too hard for some and too easy for others, so adjust.--Give pretest and posttest.

Did you know?• In English, about 120 words make up

HALF of all the words we read and write. Most of these words are meaningless, abstract, connecting words.

Word wallsHigh Frequency

From the most frequently written words. Use words students are misspelling in their writing. Readily accessible dictionary

Theme Words or Big Words

From Pathways books, science, social studies and math and others.

Use for quickwrites and reviews.

Don’t just have a word wall!

DO a word wall!

How to DO a Word Wall

1. Make words in advance large enough to be seen from anywhere in the room, on bright paper, cut around letters.

2. Place 5 new words per week on the wall, none starting with the same letters.

3. Introduce and practice.4. Hold students accountable for spelling ALL

word wall words correctly in their writing.

Making Words Activity

1. Choose your secret word.2. Make a list of other words that can be made

from these letters. (www.wordplays.com)3. Pick 12-15 that you can sort for a pattern

you want to emphasize (little and big words to make this multilevel.)

4. Write all words on index cards and put in order from smallest to biggest.

5. Store cards in an envelope on which you write the words in order, the patterns you’re sorting for, and transfer words.

Grammar Use Pathways Manual for overview of

skills, pp.199-203. Skills are embedded in DLGs. Create minilessons on what you see

students need to learn from looking at their first draft writing.

Use English books. Skills are practiced in D.O.L.

How do you know if you’re teaching everything you

should be?Check the Southern

Union Language

Arts Standards.