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Read 436
Words Their Way
Ch. 6, “Word Study for Transitional Learners in the Within Word Pattern Stage”
Literacy Development of Students in the Within Word Pattern Stage
Reading in the Within Word Pattern Stage
 They have taken flight in their reading but have limited elevation, and
it does not take them much to bring down to frustration level or to
cause them to be less fluent in reading.
 Transitional readers read most single syllable words accurately when
they read at their instructional level.
 During this stage, students move from the full alphabetic phase to the
consolidated alphabetic stage, in which they begin to recognize
patterns and chunks to analyze familiar words (ex. Instead of
processing chest as five letters to match sounds, they process it as two
chunks ch-est).
 Lots of experience in reading is crucial during this stage. Students
should read for at least 30 minutes a day in instructional and
independent-level materials.
 Repeated readings (timed), reader’s theatres, and poetry readings are
good ways to promote fluent, expressive reading.
Writing in the Within Word Pattern Stage
 Writing becomes more fluent during this period of development
because students know how to automatically spell many words. The
physical act of writing is performed with greater speed and less
conscious attention. This added fluency gives transitional writers
more time to concentrate on ideas, which may account for greater
sophistication in the way transitional writers express their ideas.
Vocabulary Learning
 On average, children can add 10 to 15 new words a week to their
vocabulary. During the transitional stage of literacy, teachers need to
take active and deliberate roles in making sure vocabulary growth
happens for all children.
 Word consciousness or awareness is a critical aspect of vocabulary
growth.
 Read-Alouds - Good children’s literature continues to be the best
starting place for vocabulary learning and is a much richer source
than television or adult daily conversation. Context is the key to
unpacking the meanings of new words from read-alouds, and with
guidance from teachers, students can develop the skill of using
context to learn the meanings of new words.
 Word Sorts and Vocabulary –Always take the time to read through
words in a sort to be sure students know the meanings of words. Most
words will be familiar ones, but there are still opportunities to explore
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the meaning layer of English, most specifically in the case of
homophones and homonyms.
Concept Sorts – The study of nonfiction and subjects such as math,
science, and social studies will expose children to new concepts and
new vocabulary. Concept sorts are a powerful way to actively explore
vocabulary.
Dictionaries- By the within word pattern stage, students can begin
using dictionaries on a regular basis to check word meanings. The
dictionary should be used as a resource during reading groups, class
discussions, word study lessons, and content area study.
Simple Prefixes and Suffixes- A systematic and extensive exploration
of prefixes and suffixes occurs in the next stage (syllables and affixes).
However, students can be taught simple affixes as meaning
vocabulary beginning in the second grade when most students are
developmentally within the word pattern stage of spelling.
Orthographic Development in the Within Word Pattern Stage
 Students within the within word pattern stage use but confuse vowel
patterns. By the time students reach the within word pattern stage,
their phonemic awareness is well developed. Short vowels, blends,
and diagraphs are nearly mastered and should only require some
review.
The Pattern Principle
 Students in this stage explore the pattern layer of English Spelling.
This requires a higher degree of abstract thinking because they face
two tasks at once. They must not only isolate the phonemes to
determine the sounds they need to represent but also must choose
from a variety of patterns that represent the same phoneme, which
usually involves silent letters as part of the vowel spelling.
The Complexities of English Vowels
 There are many more vowel sounds than there are letters to
represent them (ex. The silent e in came, and the w in saw are
examples of silent vowel markers).
 Not only are there more vowel sounds than vowels, most of those
sounds are spelled a number of different ways.
 In addition to long and short vowels, there are many more vowel
sounds, all of which are spelled with a variety of patterns (ex. Rinfluenced vowels like car, sir, and earn, diphthongs like brown, cloud,
and toy, and other ambiguous vowels that are neither long nor short
like caught, chalk, and straw).
 English is a language of multiple dialects, and the differences among
dialects are very noticeable in the pronunciation of vowels (ex. “Pahk
the cah” for park the car).
 Many words in English do not match even one of the patterns listed.
They are put in the miscellaneous or oddball category.
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English vowels pose special challenges for English learners because
English has so many more vowel sounds than most languages.
The Influence of Consonants on Vowels
 R-influenced vowels – “R is a robber!” The influence of r causes some
words with differenet vowel spellings to become homophones
(fir/fur) and makes vowel sounds spelled with er, ir, and ur
undistinguishable in many cases (herd, bird, and curd). Even long
vowel sounds before the robber r are pronounced differently than the
same vowel preceding other consonants (pair vs. pain).
 The r-blends are sometimes confused with r-influenced vowels as in
the spelling of girl as GRIL or bird as BRID. The r-influenced vowel
sorts draw students’ attention to the location of the r and to the subtle
difference in sound that location creates.
Triple Blends, Silent Initial Consonants, and Other Complex Consonants
 There are several other consonant issues that pose challenges for
within word pattern spellers who already know the basic beginning
and ending consonant blends and diagraphs (ex. Spr in spring, thr in
throw). Because words that contain these triplets have a variety of
vowel patterns, they are specifically studied toward the end of the
stage but can also be included in sorts throughout the stage when
appropriate.
 Complex consonant patterns are of special interest in this stage
(consonant units occurring at the end of words determined by the
preceding vowel sound. Ex. The tch in fetch and scotch).
Homophones, Homographs, and other Features
 Students are beginning to scratch the meaning layer of orthography.
Homophones will inevitably turn up in the study of vowel patterns.
 The study of contractions also presents a new series of features to
examine that are rooted in the pattern and meaning layers of
orthography.
Word Study Instruction for the Within Word Pattern Stage
 Students should be able to read the words before sorting.
 Choose sorts that match students’ development and represent what
they use but confuse.
 Avoid teaching rules- instead, have students find reliable patterns.
 Sort by sound and pattern.
 Don’t hide exceptions.
The Word Study Lesson Plan in the Within Word Pattern Stage
 Demonstrate the sort (This can be a teacher-directed sort, closed sort,
or open sort with key pictures or key words).
 Sort and Check.
 Reflect: Declare, compare, and contrast.
 Extend: Students work independently across the week (Incorporate
blind sorts that involve students sorting words by sound as a partner
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reads them aloud. This is particularly recommended at this stage
because students must not only distinguish the sound of the vowel but
also associate it with a visual orthographic pattern).
Picture Sorts to Contrast Long and Short Vowels
 Select 10 to 14 different pictures for one short vowel and its
corresponding long vowel from the picture sets.
 Set up the headers and explain to the students that they will be
listening to the vowel sound in the middle of each word that names
the pictures.
 Model several pictures.
 Students should sort the remaining pictures.
 Give the students their own pictures to sort and observe how
accurately they sort.
Teacher-Directed Two-Step Sort for Long Vowels
 Use a prepared sort or words selecting about seven short a words,
seven long a words that are spelled with the CVVC pattern (rain, pail),
and seven with the CVCe pattern (cake, tape). Include one or two
oddballs.
 Introduce the sort by reading the words together and talking about
any whose meanings may be unclear. If there are homophones like
tale or tail, talk about what each one means.
 Introduce key words for the sound sort.
 After discussing the two sound categories, ask students to look for
patterns in the long a column and separate them into two separate
subcategories.
 Keep the headers in place and scramble the words to sort a second
time. Do not make any corrections until the end.\
 Students need their own sheet of words to cut apart and sort.
Open Sorts
 After students are familiar with listening for vowel sounds and looking for
the patterns, they can be challenged by open-ended sorts.
 Use a prepared sort or select about 20 words that are spelled with ir (bird),
ire (fire), or ier (drier). Look for words that your students should already
know how to read.
 Introduce the sort by reading the words together and talking about any
whose meaning may be unclear. Invite students to make observations,
discover the categories, and find the oddballs.
 Agree on key words and underline them to use as headers.
 Ask the students to scramble their words and sort a second time. Shuffle and
store the words for sorting activities on subsequent days.
Sequence and Pacing of Word Study in the Within Word Pattern Stage
 The sequence of word study in the within word pattern transitional stage
begins by taking a step back with a review of short-vowel sounds as they are
compared with long vowel sounds in CVCe words. Then the focas shifts to
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other common and less common long vowel patterns and r-influenced word
patterns. Ambiguous vowels and complex consonant patterns are studied
towards the end of the stage.
 Pacing will depend on several factors: developmental level, grade level, and
rate of progress.
The Study of High-Frequency Words
 A number of spelling programs feature high-frequency or high-utility words.
Many high-frequency words do not follow common spelling patterns but can
be included in within word pattern sorts as oddballs.
 Some teachers study about five high-frequency words a week as part of word
wall activities. An alternative is having a week long unit of high frequency
words several times a year. In either case, studying high-frequency words
should not replace the developmental study of the words by features, but
should rather supplement such study.
 Select 6 to 10 words a week of each nine week period for a total of 24 to 40
words a year. A cumulative, alphabetical list of these words should be posted
in the room for reference, with the understanding that the students are
expected to spell those words correctly in all their written work.
 Develop routines to help students examine and study the words carefully.
o Introduction and discussion
o Self-corrected test method
o Self-study method
o Practice test
o Final test
Assess and Monitor Progress in the Within Word Pattern Stage
Weekly Spelling Tests
 Used to both monitor progress and to make students accountable for their
learning.
 It is recommended to deign your weekly spelling tests as a blind writing sort,
having students sort the words as they write them. This will reward the kind
of thinking about sound, pattern, and meaning that is the whole point of
word study.
Unit Assessments and Goal Setting
 Teachers observe that students study for weekly tests and then forget the
words when they need them for real writing. For this reason, it is
recommended periodic unit spell checks to determine whether words and
features are being retained over time. Teachers can create their own spell
checks every three to six weeks.
Word Study with English Learners in the Within Word Pattern Stage
Teaching Vowels to English Learners
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As hard as vowels are for English-speaking children, they can be truly
challenging for English learners because many vowel sounds in English do
not exist in other languages.
 Vowel pairs do occur in Spanish but no vowel is truly silent as they often are
in English.
 For students who have learned to spell in Spanish, there will be some
predictable confusions as using e for long a, as in LEK for lake.
Strategies for Teaching and Assessing English for English Learners
 Be prepared to understand and talk about differences in sounds and spelling
between languages whenever possible.
 Reduce the number of words in a sort so students will not be overwhelmed.
 Pair words with pictures whenever possible.
 Discuss the meanings of the words in the introductory lesson and throughout
the week as needed.
 Students can illustrate the words in their word study notebooks.
 Spend extra time reading the words in columns aloud as students check their
sorts.
 Pair English learners with native English speakers.
 Model careful pronunciation but do not be overly concerned if English
learners do not master the correct pronunciation.
The Influence of Dialects
 Teachers need to accept variations in pronunciation due to individual and
regional dialectical differences. This means that some students will sort
words by sound a little differently than the teacher or their classmates, but
there is no harm to this. The goal is for students to associate patterns with
their own pronunciations.
 Disputes will arise among the students whether about words are oddballs.