word study

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Home : 2004 : December : 27

word study
By Mary

What all this word study is about is centered around a book titled Words Their Way. It promotes word study, as opposed to, or in conjunction with, spelling lists/tests. This book has all these lists of words (word sorts)
for students. All kids have a word study notebook, and they get their sort for the week on Monday. They sort the words into piles, based upon the generalization (not rule) that they discover, for instance, the vce pattern makes the vowel long. They copy the sort into their notebook, and write the generalization they've discovered. They have until Friday to get all these steps done.

It takes them forever the first time, but they get faster at it, so that it should only take minutes a couple or so times a week. You can introduce more than one sort a week, if you like. The book is full of games and activities that you can make (I was a new teacher and so full of energy for coloring and cutting lots of stuff) and on Friday, they can play the games. You just make them on manila folders and my school laminates them for me. They are board games and card games and stuff like that. It's a huge hassle to make it all, though. I minored in reading, and Words Their Way was Reading 3450. We made a bunch of the stuff in there. I have used this program with varying degrees of success, and have only used it with my lower readers. I teach middle school (6th grade lang. arts) and so I really can't manage all of this for 100 kids. Also, a lot of kids come from elementary now having done word sorts already, so that makes it easier. Anyway, research seems to say that spelling lists and spelling tests are a huge waste of time, and that's sure been my experience.

But you were talking about a word wall. Do you find that your kids have just no vocabulary? Mine sure have none! One day, the journal prompt was, "What is your favorite form of exercise?" and at least one third of them didn't know what "form" meant! So I would be very interested in hearing your word wall ideas. I think it's hard to teach vocabulary. I try to always teach vocabulary in context, but I still find they have so few words!