Word Study
Wonderings
Joanne C. Letwinch
Language Arts Literacy Specialist
Tatem School
PTA Meeting
October 13, 2010
Some Things to Know
• What is English orthography?
• What is a proficient speller?
• Why word study and not just
spelling?
English Orthography
• The alphabetic spelling system used in
the English language
• The set of rules that govern how speech
sounds are represented in writing
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography,
accessed 4-26-09)
What is Word Study?
• Learning Word Patterns
– Investigate and understand patterns in words
– Eliminate the need to learn the spelling of one word at
a time.
• Developing a general knowledge of English
spelling
– Examine words to discover spelling generalizations
– Learn the regularities, patterns, and conventions of
English orthography
(Leipzing, 2000)
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
The Importance of Word
Study
• Full literacy requires that students
have knowledge of specific words.
– Examples: rain, rane; which, witch
• The relationship between specific
knowledge and general knowledge
support each other.
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
The English Spelling
System
• Not as irregular as we think
• Eighty-four percent of words is
predictable for the most part.
– Focus on instruction to demonstrate how
English is regular and predictable.
– Assist students in memorizing the most
common irregular words.
• Knowing word origins aids in spelling
correctly.
( Moats, 2005)
Why Word Study and Not
Just Spelling
• Word study examines the consistencies in
the written form of the English language;
therefore, students learn the,
“recognition, spelling, and meaning of
specific words.”
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston, 2008, p. 4).
Why Word Study and Not
Just Spelling
• Instruction is through:
– linking words to texts and a systematic scope and
sequence of word level skills.
– providing hands-on practice through the
examination, categorization, and manipulation
of word features and their application. Avoid
rules. Develop strategies instead.
• Students:
– develop accurate perception of word features
through meaningful reading and writing.
– have a number of opportunities to examine those
words out of context.
Developmental Stages
of Word Study
•
•
•
•
•
Emergent Stage
Letter-Name Alphabetic Stage
Within Word Pattern Stage
Syllables and Affixes Stage
Derivational Stage
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston, 2008)
Emergent Stage
• Generally Pre-K to First and ages 1-7
• Student:
– Knows the name of some letters.
– Scribbles letters and names.
– Usually lacks letter-sound correspondence.
– Needs to learn the concept of a word and how
to notice symbols.
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
(Marten, 2003)
Letter-Name Alphabetic
Stage
• Generally K-early 3rd and ages 5-7
• Student:
– Knows letter names and uses them for invented
spelling.
– Experiments with letter sounds using mostly
beginning and ending sounds.
– Has much to learn at this stage.
• Initial and final consonants
• CVC, short vowel patterns; s, r, l blends; ck, nd, ng, nk blends;
final sound of y, adding s to nouns, and some easy contractions
and beginning homophones
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
(Moats, 2006)
(Marten, 2003)
Within Word Pattern
Stage
• Generally grades 1-4 and ages 6-9
• The student uses word patterns and word families;
beginning consonant digraphs and two-letter consonant
blends.
• Single syllable and short vowels are usually correct, as are
the majority of high-frequency words.
• The student begins to explore long vowels, r-controlled
vowels, diphthongs and vowel digraphs.
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
(Marten, 2003)
Syllables and Affixes
Stage
• Generally grades 3-8 and ages 8-18
• The student correctly spells single-syllable words and
consistently uses short vowels and initial digraphs and
blends correctly.
• Long vowels are almost always correct and silent letters
are beginning to be used correctly.
• Linguistic features to learn are compound words, plurals,
simple inflectional endings, stress and accent on syllables,
and prefixes and suffixes.
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
(Marten, 2003)
Derivational Patterns
Stage
• Generally grades 5-12 and ages 10-adult
• The student spells almost all words correctly.
• Misspellings are generally errors in etymology or
morphology.
• Instruction should focus on word origins, Greek and Latin
word roots, stems and suffixes, and unusual plurals.
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
(Marten, 2003)
Words Their Way
Program:
How it Works
Pre-Assessment
Use the spelling inventory researched
and developed by Bear and Barone
(1989), which is widely used and
accepted.
(Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston, 2008)
A Walk Through the
Week
•
•
•
On Monday, the teacher will typically introduce the
sort in order to highlight the pattern (s) and discuss
and highlight the pattern and its effect on spelling and
meaning.
Demonstrate the word sort and point out any
“oddballs.”
On Tuesday, the students will cut and sort their words
and engage in one or two different sorts depending on
the categories or word meanings. Students and
teacher will practice the sorts together, work in pairs,
etc.
Purpose for Sorting
•
The main purpose of sorting is to gain
automaticity with the pattern (s) and
word meanings.
–
Leads to fluency in both reading and
writing
•
Accuracy and speed are indicators of
mastery.
Types of Sorts
•
–
•
–
•
–
•
–
•
Sound sort:
Teacher/student says word. Student places word in the correct
column.
Blind sort:
Using only the key words, a student calls out a word and the
second student says or points to the correct key word.
Blind writing sort:
Same as above, except the second student writes the correct
word underneath the key word.
Pattern sort:
Guess the category: a student or teacher begins to sort the
words. With the next card, say it and ask the student to state
the category.
Speed sort
Application and Words in
Context
Days 3-4
•
•
•
•
•
Second Activity Page in Student
Workbook
Games
Word Hunts
Scrambled Words
Rhyming Activities
Homework
•
Games
–
http://k12.pisd.edu/schools/aldridge/par
ent%20Handbook/word%20study%20ga
me%20for%20lc%20.pdf
•
Word Hunts
•
Sorts
•
Word Study Notebook
–
Include
sentence/paragraph/rhyming/story
writing
Word Hunts
•
Daily word hunts-Very important in making the
connection between spelling and reading
–
–
•
•
•
•
•
•
Find five or more per week
Be sure it is the actual sort pattern and sound, not just
the same spelling
Look for a word that fits the weekly sort anywhere
Driving in the car
Reading in class or at home, individually or together
In a commercial on TV
In the dictionary
Through family discussion
Word Study Notebooks
Weekly Assessments
•
•
Sort and paste
Writing words correctly based on
pattern
– Include bonus words
– Include high-frequency words
•
Attached rubric
High-Frequency Words
• Use words from students’ writing
• Use list included with hand-outs
– Five new words per week
– Include as part of a word wall
– Hold students accountable
References
Bear, 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.
Bear, D. R, Invernizzi, M, Johnston, F. (2005). Word study
in action: Words their way teacher resource guide.
Parsippany, NJ: Pearson Learning Group.
Cunningham, P. M. (2009). Phonics they use: Words for
reading and writing. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Leipzig, D. H. (2000). Word study: A new approach to
teaching spelling.
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/80?theme=print.
Accessed April 15, 2009.
.
References
Lucht, L. B. (2006). The wonder of word study.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Marten, C. (2003). Word crafting: Teaching spelling,
grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Moats, L. (2005). How spelling supports reading: And why
it is more regular and predictable than you may think.
American Educator, Winter 2005-06.
Moats, L. (2006). Speech to print: Language essentials for
teachers. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing