Digging Deeper with Word Study:
Word Study for Phonics, Spelling and Vocabulary
Word Study for Transitional Learners in the
Within Word Pattern Stage
“We can never rest until we wrest every ounce of meaning from word study!”
p. 203
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS IN THIS STAGE
During this stage students build on their knowledge of the sound layer of English orthography
and explore the pattern layer.
VOCABULARY LEARNING
Vocabulary and spelling should not be confused: “The words that students [in elementary school]
may read and study for meaning are more complex than those they study in spelling.” p. 202
On average, students are capable of adding 10 – 15 new words per week to their oral
vocabularies.
SUPPORTING STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
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Read aloud.
o Use quality children’s literature (filled with new and rich vocabulary wrapped in
complex sentences).
o Teach students to use context to unpack meanings.
o Provide repeated exposure to new words.
Build interest and awareness of words throughout the day.
o Support students’ attitudes in becoming “wordsmiths.”
o Use sophisticated language in daily interactions with students (see ch. 5 and activity
5.1).
o Develop habit of commenting on and making observations about words throughout
the day.
Use word sorts for vocabulary development.
o Always take the time to read through words in a sort to be sure students know the
meanings of words.
 Homophones
 Second or third grade whole class, all-year activity: Homophone
Pear/Pair tree. Children are on the lookout for homophones while
reading. They write a homophone pair on a pear and put it on a paper
tree in the classroom.
 Homonyms – multiple meanings (block, head)
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Use concept sorts across the curriculum.
o Sample: activity 6.17
o To prepare concept sorts, preview the vocabulary in textbooks or other curricular
materials and create sorts of the key terms. Students and teachers can also work
together to brainstorm words on a particular topic (i.e. words related to outer space)
that can then be sorted into categories.
o Use a concept sort at the beginning of a unit of study as an informal assessment of
background knowledge.
 Begin by going over words to be sure students can read them and have some
familiarity with the meanings of the words (deeper understandings will come).
 Students sort the words as an open sort either individually or with a partner.
o At the end of a unit, students repeat the concept sort again and add related words to
show what they have learned.
Teach students to use dictionaries strategically.
o By this stage, students can begin using dictionaries regularly to look up word
meanings.
 This does not mean they should be assigned to look up 10 definitions as
classwork/homework.
 Rather, dictionaries can be used as a resource throughout day to look up words
that present a puzzle.
 Teachers should model using the dictionary as needed in context for real
reasons.
Teach the meanings of simple prefixes and suffixes.
o Systematic and extensive exploration occurs in SYLLABLES AND AFFIXES.
o Simple affixes as meaning vocabulary beginning in 2nd grade is appropriate.
o Teach students how simple affixes combine with base words. Explore first as
vocabulary words students encounter in their reading, not as spelling words until
students know how to spell the base words on which they are built.
ORTHOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE WITHIN WORD PATTERN STAGE
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See pages 205-210
ROUTINES AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE WITHIN-WORD PATTERN STAGE
Word Study Notebooks
 Provide an organizational structure and documentation of student work for assessment
and grading.
 Can include separate sections for different elements of word study:
o Weekly word study where students record their weekly sorts and other activities
and summarize what they learn from their sorts in their own words.
o Vocabulary work from other content areas.
o Lists of homophones, homographs and polysemous (multiple meaning) words with
sentences or pictures to illustrate different meanings.
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Word Hunts
 Word hunts help readers make the connection between word study and reading.
 Common long vowel patterns will easily be found in most reading materials, but
decodable texts or phonics readers can also be used for particular features.
 Word hunts help extend generalizations into more difficult vocabulary.
 Students can be encouraged to always be on the lookout for new words that they might
add to earlier sorts.
Resources and Games
 See pages 225-239.
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