1. Word Study for Phonics, Spelling and Vocabulary Instruction
Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, 4th ed.
Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston

2. About Words Their Way™
Based on research about the importance of developmental spelling and a knowledge of “how words work”
Organized around five stages and instructional levels of spelling development

3. Why Word Study? Word Study Traditional Spelling
Explicit skill instruction
Systematic scope and sequence
Feature analysis
Authentic repeated practice
Hands-on learning
Higher level of transference due to critical analysis of words
Accurately use word patterns studied in daily writing.
Traditional Spelling
Explicit skill instruction
Systematic scope and sequence
Repeated practice
Rote drill and memorization
Little transference or critical thinking
Retention only for “Friday’s test”

4. Fundamental Principles
The authors describe two basic principles of word study:
Students’ learning of spelling and vocabulary is based on their developmental or instructional level.
Students’ learning is based on the way they are naturally inclined to learn, on their natural course of conceptual learning.
Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2004, p. 27

5. Layers of English
Alphabet—deals with the relationship between letters and sounds; the first layer of orthographic development.
Pattern—because there isn’t a letter for every sound, patterns guide groupings of letters to represent sounds under different conditions.
Meaning—groups of letters can represent meaning directly; builds on knowledge of meaning parts and their derivations.

6. Levels of Learning
Independent level: what students do correctly, on their own.
Instructional level: what students “use but confuse.” Instruction is most helpful at this stage.
Frustration level: what is absent in students’ spelling. Concepts are too difficult and instruction is not appropriate.

7. The Basis for Word Study
Word study is developmental—activities match the developmental, or instructional, level of the individual child.
Word study follows the continuum of word knowledge. Most students follow the same continuum, but possibly at different rates.

8. Stages of Spelling Development
Emergent
Letter-Name Alphabetic
Within Word Pattern
Syllables and Affixes
Derivational Relations

9. Emergent Stage
Involves the writing efforts of students who are not reading conventionally
Includes the time before students have made the conventional letter to sound connection in a left-to-right sequence.
Age range of 0-5 years. Many kindergarteners are emergent spellers at the beginning of the year.
Emergent spelling ranges from random marks to actual letters that have no sound relationships
Students are pre-phonetic spellers: lack of correspondence to sound when writing

11. Letter Name-Alphabetic Stage
This stage encompasses the time when students are first taught to read.
The name reflects students’ dominant approach to spelling—by using the names of the letters in connection with the alphabetic principle.
Students move from partial to full phoneme segmentation; spellings thus become more complete.
It is typically observed during kindergarten and first-grade years.

13. Within Word Pattern Stage
Students have a sight word vocabulary of words.
Students exhibit automatic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences and short-vowel patterns; allows for independent reading.
It begins as students transition into independent reading late in first grade and expands into second and third grade.
Struggling readers/writers may not move into this stage until much later.

15. Syllables and Affixes Stage
This stage is often achieved in upper elementary and middle school years.
Students are often between 9 and 14 years old.
They correctly spell most one-syllable short- and long-vowel words
Spelling experimentation shifts to the orthographic conventions of preserving pattern-to-sound relationships at the place where syllables meet.
Students consider where syllables and meaning units meet at their juncture: examine multi- syllabic words.

18. Derivational Relations Stage
This is the last stage in the developmental model.
Most D.R. spellers are in middle school, high school, and college though development continues throughout adulthood.
Students build on and expand a wide vocabulary.
Spelling errors deal with conventions of affixation and root constancy across related words.
Students examine how words share common derivations and related roots and bases. They discover that meaning and spelling of parts of words remains constant across different but derivationally related words.

20. Words Their Way Bringing Reading and Writing Together
Reading and Writing Stages:
Emergent
Beginning
Letter Name-Alphabetic
Transitional
Within Word Pattern
Intermediate
Syllables And Affixes
Advanced
Derivational Relations
Pretend read
Read aloud, word-by-word fingerpoint reading
Approaching fluency, some expression in oral reading
Reads fluently with expression. Develops a variety of reading styles. Vocabulary grows with experience, reading, and writing.
Pretend write
Word-by-word writing, may write a few words or lines
Approaching fluency, more organization, several paragraphs
Writes fluently with expression and voice. Experiences different writing styles and genres. Writing shows personal problem solving and reflection.

21. Instructional Practices
Types of Sorts

22. Word Study Activities: Sound Sorts
Pictures are appropriate for sound sorts because they don’t deal with printed language, though printed words can also be used for sound sorts. The types of sound sorts are:
Picture sorts —used to develop phonological awareness
Word sorts —words can also draw attention to sound, such as with long/short vowel sorts
Blind sorts —picture examples are used as categories so that students can develop an understanding on their own, rather than relying on the printed name of the sort

24. Word Study Activities: Pattern Sorts
Pattern sorts involve sorting the printed words to differentiate patterns in spelling, such as with word families, vowels, syllable juncture, etc.
Picture sorts —pictures are not appropriate for these sorts, unless used at the top as a category “name”
Word sorts —the mainstay of pattern sorts
Writing sorts —students record their sorts into a Word Study notebook. A question mark can be used as the header of an oddball category.

26. Word Study Activities: Meaning Sorts
Meaning influences the spelling of words. May include: homophone and homograph sorts, or roots, stems, and affix sorts.
Concept sorts —a good way to link vocabulary to conceptual understanding. Appropriate for all ages; particularly useful for English Language Learners.
Meaning sorts related to spelling —homophones are words that sound alike but have different spellings; homographs have same spellings but different sounds. Record sorts so students have a record of them for future use!

28. Sort Variations Teacher-Directed Sorts Student-Centered Sorts
Guess My Category
Writing Sorts
Word Hunts
Brainstorming
Repeated Sorts
Speed Sorts
Draw and label/Cut and paste
Refer to the Words Their Way™ Classroom Implementation Resource Guide for descriptions and other activities.

29. “Looking at a child’s spelling gives us a window into that child’s word knowledge…Spend some time sitting beside your students and looking through the window that their spellings provide.”
--Bear, Donald R. et al. Words Their Way. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning (2008). Pg 48.