1. W ORD S ORTS By Chaitra Jewell and Ryan Adams

2. W HAT ARE WORD SORTS ? Word study activities where students group words into certain categories Two different types: open word sorts, closed word sorts: Open word sorts: Students determine the categories themselves depending on the words they are given Closed word sorts: Teacher presents the categories students can sort the words into Information retrieved from: Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21 st century: A balanced approach. Boston, MA. Pearson, Inc.

3. H OW CAN THEY BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM ? Helping students sort rhyming words Deciphering between sound-symbol relationships (ex. long i sound in cr y and the long e sound in bab y ) Distinguishing between suffixes and prefixes Counting the amount of syllables in various words Helping students classify nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Teaching spelling words and vocabulary words Information retrieved from: Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21 st century: A balanced approach. Boston, MA. Pearson, Inc.

4. W HY ARE WORD SORTS EFFECTIVE / IMPORTANT ? Help students identify repeated patterns that appear in words Help students learn classifications between different types of words Students can visually see how words are similar/different depending on their categories

5. M ODELING Observe as Mr. Adams (the teacher) and Chaitra (the student utilize a word sorting activity in “the classroom”

6. G ROUP WORK ! Have students number off using 1-4 All 1’s will report to the large table near the door All 2’s will report to the desks by the window All 3’s will report to the desks near the back of the room All 4’s will report to the desks near the front of the room Hand out worksheets (every student gets one) Have students work as a large group to determine the appropriate categories for all 28 words Interactive Word Sorting Website

7. Q UESTIONS ANYONE ? How are word sorts related to phonics? What are some different ways that you think you could use word sorts in your classroom someday? What is your overall opinion of using word sorts in the classroom?