What is Word Study? Professional Development Study Group PS 48 Summer Planning July 20th --25th

What is Word Study? Teaching students to use word analysis strategies in reading and writing. Word Analysis -examining the parts of words and patterns. Analogizing – recalling words already learned (or parts of words) to read/write new words. ( If you can spell “ wait ”, you can spell … )

To be effective, Word Study must have these components: Teaching students spelling strategies Helping students memorize high frequency words Teaching students to generalize spelling patterns Creating conditions that develop students’ spelling consciousness Communicating with parents about your methods.

How is it different from a traditional spelling program? Traditional Teacher provides the rule to be learned. Student learn specific sounds/words Students learn sets of words and sounds Grade level spelling lists Word Study Student discovers the rule Students look for patterns and exceptions Students learn habits and strategies Developmental stages, assessment driven

Developmental Stages Emergent Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage Within-Word Pattern Stage The Syllables and Affixes Stage Derivational Relations Stage.

Emergent Spellers Age 1-7 Grades: pre-K to mid-1 Writing looks like this: Activities oTalking and reading to children oconcept sorts develop vocabulary opicture sorts develop phonological awareness oalphabet games and activities develop letter recognition ofont sorts and matching games establish upper- and lower-case equivalence o beginning consonant picture sorts secure initial phonemic awareness.

Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage Ages: 4--8 Grades: K to early 3 Students spell this way: M MN MIN = mine J JV JRF DRIV = drive T TP TEP = tip BK BAK = back Activities: –comparing and contrasting initial and final consonant sounds through picture sorts –word banks develop sight-word vocabulary –hunt for words that begin or end the same –sort pictures and words to contrast single consonant sounds with consonant blends.

Within Word Pattern Stage Ages: Grades: 1 to mid-4 Students spell this way: Seet sete Crie cry Nale nail Fownd found Roap rope Bote bought Activities: Sort pictures to contrast long and short vowels Use teacher-made word sorts to examine long vowel patterns C ollect words in word study notebooks Sort words by grammatical and semantic features Conduct word hunts for specific long and complex vowel patterns Play card games such as Homophone Rummy

Syllables and Affixes Stage Ages: Grades: 3 to 8 students spell this way: hopping confussun atend plesur capchur disposul Activities: o Study consonant doubling, common suffixes, and past tense endings in sorts and word hunts o study common prefixes and suffixes ointerrelate spelling and meaning in word study groups

How do we assess spelling? What rules and what sight words is the child using? What is the child “using but confusing?” What is absent?

At what stage is this third grader?

And what about this one?

The Staple of Word Study: Sorting Why? Leads to discovery,and… – What we discover on our own is more enduring. Concept Formation: –You give some words, children come up with the categories. –Children find words, come up with the rule. Concept Attainment: –You demonstrate the categories, children infer from your categories what the rule is.

Let’s try a sort.

Questions When do we do Word Study? What assessment/s will we use? Do we want our word wall public or personal? What structures & supplies will support us? Notebooks, folders What dictionary skills are necessary?-- online and in hand How can we differentiate? What about Spanish word study?

The “Diane Snowball Approach to Word Study” : Look At The Word (so hard that when you close your eyes you can still see the word Say The Word Spell The Word (Close Your Eyes – Let’s Spell Together) Cover the Word ( spell the word over and over again) Write the Word (Get the White Boards, Markers – Open your eyes and write the word) Check the word with your partner

Have-a-Go Spelling Checker

Teacher Resources for Word Study (links and activities) (links, articles and activities) (links, articles and activities) (word wall ideas) (downloadable sorts) (all kinds of word work, including downloadable sorts. Some great, some ok) : Great selection of poems!!