BY KAIT METZ The Implementation of Words Their Way in a Primary Classroom

Rationale Many different approaches to teaching spelling First year of Words Their Way at Elkridge  Developmental word study program integrates phonics, vocabulary, and spelling to enhance students’ literacy  Student-centered  Focuses on word patterns rather than a list of words that are unrelated (Baer, 2008) All students scored in the Within-Word-Pattern stage of spelling  Spelling taught whole group and as an independent center

Research Questions How does the Words Their Way program promote students’ success in spelling words on spelling tests and in independent writing? What happens to students’ spelling in writing when students have been exposed to a variety of words that follow the spelling rule that is being learned? What are students’ attitudes toward spelling after participating in the Words Their Way program?

Spelling Activities Whole group lesson on Mondays/first day of the week to introduce rule, students get word cards and do a closed sort Word study center (independent):  Tuesday is usually speed sort and definition poster  Wednesday is usually a word study game with word cards  Thursday is usually writing sort and word hunt  Friday is sort and glue and spelling test

Data Collection Followed seven students throughout the year  Analyzed spelling test scores  Chose three stories from beginning, middle, and end of the year to analyze  Looked at how many words in the students’ stories followed the word study rules we had covered through spring break  Then calculated how many of these words that were spelled correctly in their independent writing  Spelling attitude survey  5 questions (responses could be happy, curious, afraid, or angry)

Findings Spelling test average scores were all 80% or higher Spelling test scores correlated with the amount of words students’ spelled correctly in their writing Overall, students words spelled correctly in their writing improved throughout the year (especially true for on-grade level students) Students who scored better in spelling, felt curious when spelling words they don’t know whereas students who scored poorer in spelling felt afraid when they are spelling words they don’t know

Limitations Seven students were followed throughout the year so it is difficult to say how this would work in another classroom Three writing samples were collected throughout the year, which again is a limited number Two of the seven students were considered outliers when analyzing how student attitudes influenced their spelling Developmental growth over the year

Implications Word study program in which students can succeed  Overall, see improvement over the year in students’ spelling in their writing  For even more improvement in students’ spelling in their writing, a more explicit connection could be made between spelling and writing (Williams & Birdsong, 2006) May work best if students are divided into small groups, even if they score within the same general stage (Baer et al., 2008; Elliott & Rietschel, 1999)  Early within word pattern students vs. late within word pattern students Additional professional development training for staff (Carpenter et al., 2009)

References Baer, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Carpenter, K., Gehsmann, K., Smith, R., Baer, D., & Templeton, S. (2009). Learning together: Putting word study instruction into practice. California Reader, 42(3), Elliott, J. & Rietschel, K. (1999). The effects of word study on students’ application of spelling and phonics in their independent writing. (Rep. No. CS216648). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ) Goshen, IN: Chandler Elementary School. Williams, C., Phillips-Birdsong, C., Hufnagel, K., Hungler, D., & Lundstrom, R.P. (2009). Word study instruction in the K-2 classroom. The Reading Teacher, 62 (7),